Author: EVAI
Tesla pause sparks EV charging rivals in $5B federal buildout
Amid uncertainty about the future of the Tesla Supercharger network, rival charging networks see an opportunity to grow.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently fired most of the Tesla Supercharger team, but has since reversed that move and attempted to hire people back. Tesla has also made it clear that it will continue the buildout of whatever new infrastructure is in process, but may still shift way from further fast-paced growth of the Supercharger network. That, reports Politico, creates an opening for other networks.
Those networks are now planning more charging stations and seeking to hire jilted Tesla employees, according to the report. For example, Atlanta-based EnviroSpark Energy Solutions hired “a dozen Tesla castaways” in the last month, and landed $15 million in funding in the days after the Tesla layoffs. The company started out installing chargers for Tesla before looking to create its own network.
Rendering of EnviroSpark EV chargers at at Waffle House
New York City-based Revel last week hired Tesla veteran Edward Noseworthy to lead its design and construction team, Politico notes. And EVgo vice president Sara Rafalson told Politico that the company was having “a lot of conversations with talent.”
Immediately after the announced of the Supercharger-related layoffs at Tesla, BP also announced that it was seeking to buy stranded sites from the charging network for its own use. The oil giant reportedly plans to spend $1 billion by 2030 to install over 3,000 chargers in the U.S.
Part of the motivation for this is to grab some of Tesla’s share of the $5 billion federal EV charging infrastructure push, Politico reports. Part of the Biden administration’s infrastructure law passed by Congress in 2021, this National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program is slated to spend that money on road-trip fast chargers over five years.
2023 Nissan Ariya at EVgo charging station
Installations for the NEVI-funded network started last year, with the first site opening in Ohio in December. NEVI is one of the factors related to how the national fast-charger network is filling in, but the buildout still has a long way to go.
Federal guidelines for the NEVI funding call for four 150-kw connectors every 50 miles. A 2023 analysis found that 1,104 new EV fast-charging stations will be needed to meet those parameters.
First Shift: Papin to Nissan dealers: Throughput coming
• Papin to Nissan dealers: Throughput coming
Cadillac Optiq preview, $22,000 VW EV, hydrogen hybrid engines: Today’s Car News
VW gets on board with affordable EVs. Toyota, Subaru, and Mazda commit to a new generation of engines. And Cadillac’s most affordable EV makes its debut. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
The 2025 Cadillac Optiq EV arrives later this year, and Green Car Reports recently got up close with it. All-wheel drive, a vast fixed-glass roof, lots of screen space, and an interior that looks all the part of a luxury vehicle will distinguish this 300-mile EV that turns to lighting to sharpen its look.
Toyota, Subaru, and Mazda are allying to build downsized engines for hybrid models—engines that would potentially burn hydrogen or e-fuels in addition to gasoline. Subaru suggested the next-generation tech could be headed to its next Crosstrek Hybrid.
And Volkswagen has confirmed that it’s working on a $22,000 VW EV created in Europe and intended primarily for the European market—at a price of only about $22,000. Would such a vehicle also make waves in the U.S.?
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Art & Science? 2025 Cadillac Optiq EV pivots to Millennials, vibes
- A small electric SUV, the Optiq joins the Ultium family of GM EVs that includes the Blazer EV, Equinox EV, and Lyriq
- Prices start in the mid-$50,000s—and the Mexico-built Optiq should qualify for tax incentives
- Cadillac promises fully-charged driving range of about 300 miles
Cadillac has revealed an entry EV for the GM luxury brand that doesn’t seem so entry-level in size, technology, or price.
The 2025 Cadillac Optiq will cost about $54,000 including destination when it arrives later this year with a range of around 300 miles, according to Cadillac. While that price tag won’t be anywhere as affordable as the XT4 ($39,090 base), Cadillac’s gasoline-fueled compact entry SUV, if it qualifies for the $7,500 EV tax credit it will cost about the same, effectively, as today’s XT5 SUV ($47,290 base) while providing much more cargo and passenger space.
Green Car Reports was able to get up close with the Optiq a few weeks ago, and as far as first impressions go, this vehicle sheds the last remaining design bits of Cadillac’s long-held Art & Science themes that held onto chiseled corners, sharp edges, and straight lines. With the Optiq, the brand is veering toward softer side sculpting, a lower hoodline, and more of a rounded approach to the roofline. In front, it’s way less imposing and chiseled than the rest of the lineup, including the larger Cadillac Lyriq EV, and the Optiq cleverly depends on lighting—not actual sharp edges—to maintain its sharp-edged look and accommodate a more aero-savvy shape.
2025 Cadillac Optiq
Aero and lighting rule Optiq design
“The sporty, aerodynamic look was the main focus on the Optiq,” Cadillac design manager Hoon Kim told me. “That’s why we tried to keep it as low as possible.”
There are many details to linger on. Cadillac also uses a crisscrossing laser-etching process for the grille area, to establish the lighting signature, and it precision-prints a graphic pattern on the rear quarter panel—on acoustic laminate glass—that corresponds to the Cadillac crest. All Optiqs will have a fixed glass roof.
2025 Cadillac Optiq
One of the coolest design traits is the way that the rear lights seem to visually drop down the rear pillars, seemingly disappearing momentarily under the corners of the beltline then reemerging below.
What’s a bit surprising is that in this era of “the sky’s the limit” EV skateboard design, the Cadillac Optiq follows so closely in silhouette to its cousin, the Chevy Equinox EV. The Optiq shares that model’s 116.3-inch wheelbase and approximately 190-inch length, as well as its 85-kwh battery pack.
2025 Cadillac Optiq
Optiq has AWD, Blackwing performance connection
Likewise, it opts for a front-wheel-biased all-wheel-drive system, with a stronger permanent-magnet motor in front, making around 200 hp, while an induction motor for the rear wheels backs it up with about 90 hp. That allows it to run as a front-wheel-drive vehicle when cruising at steady speeds, and the combination provides an estimated 300 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque.
While the Lyriq is about prestige, the Optiq is more about the sporty, youthful, dynamic side of Cadillac, according to Cadillac officials. With a performance engineer just off the team that created the Blackwing models, Cadillac aimed to give the Optiq a sportier experience that should extend to the way the vehicle rides and handles. Meanwhile, towing capability will be 1,500 pounds, and hitch accessories will provide the means for carrying other types of gear.
2025 Cadillac Optiq
The Optiq will offer Tour, Sport, and Snow/Ice modes, along with personalized My Mode settings. A one-pedal driving mode will allow the vehicle to slow and stop without touching the brake pedal under some driving conditions. At the time of the preview Cadillac was still considering propulsion sounds for the cabin and confirmed that they’ll be different than Lyriq.
A new charge port for Cadillac EVs
One other thing that’s different versus the Lyriq is the charge port door. It’s a new, simplified design that will appear in other upcoming Cadillac EVs—including the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ—and the headlights will show at a glance what your state of charge is as you go.
2025 Cadillac Optiq
Charging time and a beautiful interior are among some of the top concerns for that crowd, Cadillac said; it’s aiming to recover 79 miles in 10 minutes in DC fast-charging but didn’t state a maximum charge rate.
What sets the cabin apart are some distinctive trims—including patterned accent fabric made from 100% recycled materials, and PaperWood veneer made of tulip wood and recycled newspaper. Yes, you can still read some of it.
Back support for “older Millennials”
Cadillac targets first-time luxury buyers with the Optiq and sees the target buyers as “older Millennials” in their late 20s through 30s (and yes, some Millennials already top 40). For them, it’s bringing on the comfort. There are massaging seats, and the seats are generous on back support, with a new design adapted from one developed by GM in Europe but made wider.
2025 Cadillac Optiq
2025 Cadillac Optiq
2025 Cadillac Optiq
2025 Cadillac Optiq
The expansive front floor takes advantage of the flat battery pack underneath, and the cargo floor is relatively low, but there isn’t a front trunk (or frunk). The back seat has loads of legroom, but my head touched at the back of the glass roof frame.
The 33-inch dash display has a 9k resolution and can project more than a billion colors, GM claims. While it’s the centerpoint of the dash, it doesn’t support Apple CarPlay or Android Auto but has a “Google built-in infotainment experience”—meaning you’ll need to subscribe to separate data coverage for the vehicle rather than sharing it from your phone. GM has also considered the breakout between screens and switchgear and given the Optiq hard buttons for climate control.
2025 Cadillac Optiq
2025 Cadillac Optiq
2025 Cadillac Optiq
GM will be including three years of Super Cruise driver assistance tech with the Optiq, and adaptive cruise control, an automatic parking system, and a full suite of active safety features are all included.
Optiq is one of many GM EVs from Mexico
The Optiq will be made in Mexico starting this fall, at the same Ramos Arizpe plant that makes the Chevy Equinox EV and Blazer EV, along with the Honda Prologue. Production is also ramping up soon in China, and GM is banking on China, the U.S., and Europe as key markets.
Luxury and Sport trim levels of the Optiq will be offered, but Cadillac hasn’t yet confirmed all the differences.
2025 Cadillac Optiq
As GM rolls out more Ultium EVs, and specifically more Ultium electric Cadillacs including the larger Lyriq, the 1980s GM and the luxury-on-a-shoestring Cimarron comes to mind. How do you build more distinct EVs while avoiding the badge-engineering awkwardness? We’ll just have to wait and see later this year, when Cadillac will share more specs and feature details. But for now, the Optiq’s sharp-looking, super-comfortable interior is a great indication the brand gets it.
2025 Cadillac Optiq, brand’s smallest EV, starts at $54,000
The Optiq enters Cadillac’s EV luxury lineup as the starting point and will slot beneath the Lyriq At only about $4,500 less than the Lyriq, the Optiq aims for buyers seeking smaller footprint Despite its size the Optiq packs a 33-inch curved screen, AWD, and 300 miles of range Growth in EV demand may be slowing, but Cadillac is ploughing ahead…
M3 Competition, Ioniq 5 N, Dark Horse shine at Road America
The Carousel at Road America comprises turns 9 and 10 but amounts to one long 180-degree righthander. To tackle it in a typical street car, accelerate up to 70-75 mph, place your left-side tires midcorner, hold the throttle and steering wheel steady, and pinch it down to the final apex of turn 10. A car with a well sorted suspension and sticky…
2025 BMW 3-Series, 2025 Audi RS Q8: Today’s Car News
BMW’s 3-Series has received a round of updates for the 2025 model year. It’s actually the second round of updates for the current generation of BMW’s compact sedan, and they include tweaks to the chassis, the latest version of the iDrive interface, and new trim options for the cabin. There’s also mild-hybrid power standard across the range. Audi’s…
VW plans 2027 debut for $22,000 EV for Europe, beyond
Volkswagen on Tuesday announced a goal of launching an EV priced at 20,000 euros—equivalent to $22,000 at current exchange rates—in 2027.
This affordable EV is aimed at the European market, with a high degree of manufacturing and supply-chain localization entailed in the project, VW said in a press release. This will allow for shorter transportation routes for components, helping to lower the overall carbon footprint of the vehicles produced, the automaker noted.
“It’s about entry-level electric mobility from Europe for Europe,” Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement. “In doing so, we combine a clear commitment to Europe as an industrial location, a European industrial policy, and ultimately act in the interests of European customers.”
Teaser for $22,000 Volkswagen EV for Europe debuting in 2027
The Euro-centric rhetoric hints that this project may be a reaction to an influx of Chinese-branded EVs into the European market. France in 2023 announced that it would exclude China in its EV incentives to help staunch the flow.
It will take some heavy lifting to establish a battery-manufacturing base in Europe. China, meanwhile, now makes enough batteries to supply all global EV production, according to recent Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates.
In the U.S., the Biden administration has hiked tariffs, effective later this summer, to keep Chinese EVs out. That may help protect manufacturers, but may not be universally favored by consumers. Last week, survey results suggested that younger U.S. drivers are more open to Chinese EVs. Unlike Europe, though, no Chinese brand currently sells EVs in the U.S.
2020 Volkswagen ID 3 production at plane in Zwickau, Germany
The $22,000 EV project is just one of many VW efforts to produce a more affordable EV. The automaker has also embarked on a project for a sub-$35,000 for North America, which should arrive in the 2027 timeframe as well.
In Europe, VW also plans an “Electric Urban Car Family” with four EVs priced under 25,000 euros ($27,000) debuting in 2025. The four models include compact cars from the main VW brand and Cupra, as well as small SUVs from VW and Škoda. All four models will be built in Spain.
2025 BMW 3-Series gains updates, including mild-hybrid power
An updated BMW 3-Series arrives in showrooms later this year as a 2025 model. The update is the second for the current compact sedan, which arrived for the 2019 model year and was given its first update for 2023. The latest update mirrors changes made to the related 4-Series for 2025. At the top of the list is the addition of a 48-volt mild-hybrid…