Huawei is moving deeper into the electric vehicle business with the help of Chery Autos and now we know when the first production model from their joint venture will arrive. Luxeed is slated to debut its coupe-style S7 in China in late November, according to the South China Morning Post.

Luxeed's blend of Huawei's tech and Chery’s manufacturing know-how could help the S7 to make a splash in an increasingly crowded EV market. There's clearly some confidence in the car too. “It will be superior to Tesla’s Model S in various aspects,” Richard Yu Chengdong, head of Huawei’s car unit, said at an event.

The EV's range, price and tech features weren't disclosed at the event, the South China Morning Post noted. However, it emerged in August that the S7 will be based on state-owned Chery’s E0X platform, which is designed for two-motor, all-wheel-drive EVs.

This isn't exactly Huawei's first foray into EVs. The company collaborated with automaker Seres to create the Aito brand (which Huawei now fully owns) in 2021. Aito's first all-electric model, the M5, arrived last year. Aito will start deliveries of its M9, a luxury electric SUV, in China in December. Huawei has also been supplying other automakers with its Huawei HI intelligent automotive solution that includes a 4D imaging radar and an autonomous driving platform.

Don't expect to see Luxeed's S7 make its way over to the US anytime soon, if ever, though. Huawei is still subject to sanctions in the country.

Jaguar is joining Mercedes, Polestar and other automakers in adopting Tesla's NACS chargers for vehicles sold in North America starting in 2025. The company signed an agreement with Tesla to gain access to its 12,000+ Superchargers for its "current and future customers" using the standard.

"The next generation luxury electric Jaguars, launching in 2025, will incorporate the NACS connector without the need for an adapter in the USA, Canada and Mexico," it said in a press release, adding that it will adopt the standard for "vehicles and home chargers, and source and supply adapters from Tesla for I-PACE drivers once available." Jaguar noted that its in-house battery and power electronics technology will optimize charging rates on both Tesla's current V3 (250 kW) and upcoming V4 (350 kW) Superchargers. 

Jaguar has been quiet of late around its EV plans, but announced back in 2021 that it would become an all-electric brand by 2025, with its Land Rover division rolling out six new EVs in 2024 — all as part of a sweeping "Reimagine" strategy. The company will use a pure electric architecture for its Jaguar lineup, replacing gas and hybrid vehicles like the XE, XF, E-Pace and F-Pace with all-electric versions. Land Rover, meanwhile, will introduce two separate platforms for all-electric and hybrid vehicles. 

Many, if not most, major automakers have now signed up to use Tesla's Supercharger network, including Fisker, Ford, GM, Honda, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Polestar, Rivian and Volvo. A number are reported to be in talks, including VW, Stellantis and Hyundai. In addition, other networks are adopting NACs, including ChargePoint and Electrify America. And recently, Tesla received $160 million in funding to expand its Supercharger network in year. 

All of that shows the wisdom in Tesla's gambit over ten years ago to make Superchargers a strong selling point for its EVs. Now, the network is becoming a key feature for other manufacturers as well — to the likely benefit of Tesla. 

That’s not Photoshop — it’s supposed to look like that. This is Honda’s Motocompacto, a throwback all-electric rideable inspired by the short-lived Honda Motocompo scooter of the ‘80s, and I'm sorry to say that I'm kind of into it.

The vehicle, folded up, resembles one of those Costco folding tables but with little aluminum wheels poking out the bottom. To transform it into a scooter, you extend the handlebars, seats and back wheel, and ride away on something vaguely approximating a bike. (To give you some perspective on the design, this thing is just over three feet long.)

Honda

Honda says its aluminum frame and wheels keep it “lightweight” but at 41 pounds it’s firmly in the same weight class as regular e-bikes, and with a range of "up to 12 miles," it's not getting you very far either. After its 12-mile range is used up, it can be re-juiced in 3.5 hours, which is a considerable amount of time, but at least it comes with an on-board charger ready for you to plug into a 110V outlet.

The scooter is designed to be easy to take into vehicles or on public transportation — which could be a huge selling point for city dwellers that want the convenience of an e-bike or scooter but not the trouble of securely locking it up all day. It's part of Honda's big EV push, which aims to replace its entire lineup with battery-electric and fuel-cell-electric vehicles by 2040.

The Honda Motocompacto will be available starting in November priced “under $995” exclusively on Motocompacto.com and at Honda and Acura dealers.

The European Union (EU) is providing €352 million ($378 million) in funding to support green transport infrastructure, and Tesla will get a large chunk of that money. The company's Polish and Italian divisions will receive a total of €148.72 million ($159.64 million) to install or upgrade 7,198 Superchargers across 22 countries, according to the EU's list of projects. 

"The project aims at deploying 6,458 recharging points (250 kW) for LDV in 613 locations in 16 countries (AT, BE, BG, DE, ES, FI, FR, IE, IT, LV, LT, LU, NL, RO, SK, SE) along the Core and Comprehensive Network. The project foresees both the deployment of new recharging stations and the replacement of existing outdated recharging points not satisfying the requirement of the call in terms of recharging capacity and open-accessibility," the Tesla Italy project description reads. It states the same for Poland's Tesla division, while adding an additional six nations (CZ, EL, HR, HU, PL, SI). 

Proposals for the project had an April 13, 2023 deadline, and the EU just announced the successful bids. It appears to cover a large chunk of Europe, but there are no details on a breakdown of new stations or upgrades yet. Much of the funding could go toward updates to Tesla's Supercharger V4, which offers a power output of 350 kW — up from the last model's 250 kW. 

Tesla recently celebrated its 10,000th individual Supercharger connector in the EU, and counts 875 stations in total. The following is a breakdown for the top countries: Germany (143), France (123), the UK (100), Norway (95), Sweden (65), Italy (59), Spain (50), the Netherlands (39), Austria (27) and Switzerland (27).

It's a large percentage of funding for one company, but the EU's decision seems logical. Other car companies including Ford, GM, Volvo and Mercedes have said they'll switch to Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) port, and struck deals with the company to use its Superchargers — meaning a lot of drivers will be able to access Tesla's network. Early in 2021, Tesla opened up its network to all EV users at select Superchargers in the Netherlands, France and Norway. 

The EU greenlit 26 projects in total, with most dedicated to EV charging points but several relating to hydrogen refueling stations for heavy duty and other types of vehicles. "Our investment of €352 million will translate into approximately 12,000 charging points, 18 hydrogen refueling stations, and the electrification of ports and airports, including the port of Rotterdam and 37 Spanish airports," said European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean.

Cadillac just unveiled the 2025 CT5 luxury sedan and it ships with a tech-forward feature that’s certain to annoy the “back in my day, cars were for driving” crowd, a 33-inch 9K touchscreen display. The dashboard-based LED screen curves toward the driver in a “single, continuous screen” that spans the entire viewing area.

Like most in-car displays, this is a customizable user interface that you can access in a number of different ways. Cadillac has partnered up with Google, so many of the company’s apps are built-in to the display, like Google Assistant and Google Maps. This allows for live traffic updates, podcasts, music streaming, hands-free communication and more. The inclusion of Google Play lets you shop around for all kinds of apps to help pass the time during that annoying commute.

Cadillac has been teasing this display for a while, after it first showed up at CES in 2021 as part of the Lyriq EV concept car. However, the 2025 CT5 is far from a concept vehicle, as it likely releases next year. It seems as though automobile manufacturers are in a race to push out the widest and more versatile screen, with BMW recently introducing full-width displays on windscreens that are also set to launch with 2025 models.

Of course, the Cadillac CT5 is also a car, and not just a big metal house for a touchscreen display. The CT5 refresh boasts a 2.0L turbo engine, upgradeable to 3.0L, with 237 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, along with dual exhaust tips. The company promises a “quiet, smooth and effortless” ride, thanks to all-wheel drive, Super Cruise drive assistance technology, and something called the Drive Mode Selector that uses a full range of sensors to automatically adjust responses depending on the surface and weather conditions.

Cadillac says the 2025 CT5 will be manufactured at GM’s assembly facility in Michigan, with production beginning in the spring. We’ll have to wait for pricing and availability details, however, as the company says more news will be announced in the future. In the meantime, we can all live in terror at the prospect of a child accidentally breaking that touchscreen during a particularly grueling and anxiety-inducing road trip.

What you're looking at is a concept car, but it's also so much more. This is the car that could change everything you've come to expect about acceptable range from an electric car, not to mention raise the bar for visual style and aggression along the way. This is the Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class.

The Concept CLA inherits a lot of learnings from the extremely slippery Vision EQXX, but it's a car that’s a lot more ready for production, and should be a lot more affordable. The current CLA is one of the most affordable Mercedes-Benz cars you can buy in the US, and with any luck this future one won’t break the bank, either.

That’s despite a range that should surpass 400 miles on a charge, plus a wholly new software architecture ready to deliver level-three advanced, hands-off driver assistance. It’s an exciting combination of form and technology, and hopefully close to something we’ll see in dealerships soon. Watch the video below for the full story.

SpaceX's Starship test launch in April will be its last for the foreseeable future. The FAA announced Friday that it has closed its investigation into April's mishap, but that the company will not be allowed to resume test launches until it addresses a list of 63 "corrective actions" for its launch system.

"The vehicle’s structural margins appear to be better than we expected," SpaceX CEO and mascot Elon Musk joked with reporters in the wake of the late April test launch. Per the a report from the US Fish and WIldlife Service, however, the failed launch resulted in a 385-acre debris field that saw concrete chunks flung more than 2,600 feet from the launchpad, a 3.5-acre wildfire and "a plume cloud of pulverized concrete that deposited material up to 6.5 miles northwest of the pad site.”

"Corrective actions include redesigns of vehicle hardware to prevent leaks and fires, redesign of the launch pad to increase its robustness, incorporation of additional reviews in the design process, additional analysis and testing of safety critical systems and components including the Autonomous Flight Safety System, and the application of additional change control practices," the FAA release reads. Furthermore, the FAA says that SpaceX will have to not only complete that list but also apply for and receive a modification to its existing license "that addresses all safety, environmental and other applicable regulatory requirements prior to the next Starship launch." In short, SpaceX has reached the "finding out" part.

SpaceX released a blog post shortly after the FAA's announcement was made public, obliquely addressing the issue. "Starship’s first flight test provided numerous lessons learned," the post reads, crediting its "rapid iterative development approach" with both helping develop all of SpaceX's vehicles to this point and "directly contributing to several upgrades being made to both the vehicle and ground infrastructure." 

The company admitted that its Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS), which is designed to self-destruct a rocket when it goes off its flightpath but before it hits the ground, suffered "an unexpected delay" — that lasted 40 seconds. SpaceX did not elaborate on what cause, if any, it found for the fault but has reportedly since "enhanced and requalified the AFSS to improve system reliability."

"SpaceX is also implementing a full suite of system performance upgrades unrelated to any issues observed during the first flight test," the blog reads. Those improvements include a new hot-stage separation system which will more effectively decouple the first and second stages, a new electronic "Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system" for its Raptor heavy rockets, and "significant upgrades" to the orbital launch mount and pad system which just so happened to have failed in the first test but is, again, completely unrelated to this upgrade. Whether those improvements overlap with the 63 that the FAA is imposing, could not be confirmed at the time of publication as the FAA had not publically released them. 

Honda announced today that it’s switching to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) for upcoming EVs sold on the continent. Honda models that go on sale in 2025 and later will use NACS instead of the Combined Charging System (CCS). The automaker says it’s developing an adaptor to allow pre-2025 Hondas to charge using Tesla’s system, as it further establishes itself as the North American standard less than a year after Elon Musk and company opened it up to rivals.

“We’re excited to announce that Honda will expand fast-charging access for Honda & Acura #EV customers by adopting the North American Charging Standard (NACS),” Honda in America posted today on X (formerly Twitter). The company said it plans to launch a new EV model in North America in 2025 that includes the NACS port; all Honda EVs will use Tesla’s standard after that point.

Honda is also part of a recently formed group aiming to create a new charging network across North America with BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes and Stellantis. Honda and the other automakers said in July they wanted to “accelerate the transition to electric vehicles” and “make zero-emission driving even more attractive.” Honda’s press release today describes the NACS adoption as existing “in addition to” those plans, but we asked Honda to clarify if or how today’s NACS announcement might affect that coalition’s strategy. (We’ll update this article if we receive a response.)

Other vehicle manufacturers announcing NACS adoption in North America include Ford, GM, Mercedes, Polestar and Volvo. In addition, Texas announced in June that state-funded EV charging stations would need to include NACS.

Ford has announced that it's building the Mustang Mach-E Rally, an off-road version of the Mach-E with extra power, a raised suspension, Ford's new RallySport Drive Mode and more. The new model follows Volkswagen's unveiling of the ID.GTI, showing that automakers are finally focusing on enthusiast versions of their electric vehicles. 

The Mach-E features Shelby-like racing stripes on the hood, along with a black painted steel roof, upper and lower body moldings, a rear spoiler, a protective shield for the front and rear motors, a front splitter and a front fascia housing "rally-inspired fog lights," Ford wrote. It's even got a a recovery point in the front end with an included hook, in case you need to get winched out of a tough spot. 

Charlie Magee for Ford

The powertrain seems like it will be no joke either, with at least 480HP and 650 lb.-ft. of torque targeted, Ford said — equal to or greater than the Mach-E GT. Meanwhile, the Rally will be raised by 20mm compared to the Mach-E GT and fitted with specialty-tuned springs and MagneRide shocks, along with 385mm front brake rotors with red Brembo-branded calipers. As for the battery and range, it's targeting an estimated 250 mile EPA range with a 91kWh battery that can be charged from 10 to 80 percent in 36 minutes on a DC fast charger. 

To aid in off-road handling, the Mustang Mach-E Rally has the first ever "RallySport Drive Mode" from Ford, allowing added yaw for bigger slides, linear throttle response and more aggressive damping when entering loose corners. It works in concert with the new tires, helping the Mach-E Rally "to perform in snow and other slick on-road conditions." Ford tested the vehicle at an all-new rally course at its Michigan proving ground, "then abused Mustang Mach-E Rally prototypes in 500-mile simulating rally-cross durability trials to make sure it lived up to their design intent," it said. 

Charlie Magee for Ford

Despite the rally trappings, the vehicle has a high-tech interior, offering Ford's latest BlueCruise hands-free driving tech (available by subscription), along with Lane Change Assist, In-Lane Repositioning and more. The interior has the same dashboard display and large control screen (with Android Auto and CarPlay support) as other Mach-Es, but adds performance seats, gloss white accents and other Rally-specific design touches. 

The Mach-E Rally makes more sense in some ways than the Mach-E GT, since the base vehicle is a crossover SUV and not a sports car. It also looks better raised up as a rally vehicle than a lowered GT, in my opinion. It's not going to tromp very lightly through nature, though, given that the curb weight is likely to be around 5,000 pounds. 

Charlie Magee for Ford

It won't be terribly cheap, either, as Ford is targeting a starting MSRP at around $65,000 in the US, with exact pricing to be revealed closer to launch. That would be the same price as as the base Mach-E GT Performance Edition — though we'll find out for sure once it goes on sale in early 2024.

Mercedes-Benz is developing a more budget-friendly sibling to its hotly-anticipated G-Class all-electric SUV, as originally reported by Electrek. The EV will be a smaller, cheaper version of its iconic G-Wagon and it was confirmed this weekend at IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich. CEO Ola Kallenius said the “baby” G-Class EV will be significantly more compact than its cousin and that it’ll be “fun to drive.”

This model is a spinoff from the G-Class EQG concept first unveiled at IAA Mobility 2021. The German newspaper Automobilwochereports that the company has been planning a smaller all-electric G-Wagon for several years, and suggests that the variant could go by the name “g-Class” with a purposeful lowercase “g.” Kallenius told CNBCthat he views the vehicle as the "daughter or son of the big-G."

Details are scarce, but it’ll be based on a purely electric powertrain and should feature all-wheel drive, especially with Kallenius’s assurance that it’ll be fun to drive. As for the promise of a cheaper G-Class vehicle, a new Mercedes G-Class SUV starts at $140,000, so it won’t be difficult to get in at a lower price point than that. However, if the company wants mass market adoption, a slight price cut to the $100k to $120k range likely won’t do the trick. Actual pricing remains a mystery.

We still have a long while to wait before getting behind the wheel of this diminutive wonder. The vehicle’s powertrain is likely based on the forthcoming MB.EA platform, a proprietary battery technology Mercedes is developing. This platform isn't likely to show up in vehicles until 2025, which places the release of the smaller, cheaper G-Class EV in 2026 at the earliest.