Author: EVAI

Volkswagen Group’s Cupra brand has given an update on its plans to launch in the U.S. The Spanish performance marque still targets a U.S. arrival by the end of the decade, but a previous plan to only sell electric vehicles, starting with a pair of crossovers, has been abandoned. Cupra now expects to offer gas, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicles…

What kind of vehicle is the 2026 Kia Sportage? What does it compare to? Kia’s entry in the most popular compact crossover segment rivals bestsellers such as the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, and squares off against the related Hyundai Tucson as well as redesigned versions of the Mazda CX-50, Volkswagen Tiguan, and Chevy Equinox. Is the 2026…

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is round 22 of the 2024 F1 season The race runs on a Tilke-designed street circuit known as the Las Vegas Strip Circuit The race is scheduled for Saturday night instead of F1’s usual Sunday setting The 2024 Formula 1 World Championship heads to Las Vegas this weekend for what will be the third to last race of the season…

Swedish battery firm Northvolt filed for U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday, with CEO Peter Carlsson stepping down the following day.

Northvolt needs to raise between $1 billion and $1.2 billion to restore itself to full operations, Carlsson told Reuters and other media Friday. On Thursday, the company said it only had enough cash to support operations for about a week, and that it had secured $100 million in financing to take it through the bankruptcy process, according to Reuters.

Rendering of Northvolt Six battery factory in Quebec, Canada

In its Chapter 11 filing, Northvolt said it expected to complete the restructuring required by the bankruptcy process by the first quarter of 2025. Carlsson told reporters that the bankruptcy process will give the company time to reorganize itself and ramp up operations, while honoring customer and supplier commitments.

Carlsson will remain on the company’s board and will take on a new senior advisor role. The company has reportedly started searching for a new CEO, and will be led by current CFO Pia Aaltonen-Forsell for the time being.

Volvo and Northvolt partner on battery development and production

Northvolt was the subject of high hopes for the establishment of a local EV battery industry for Europe. It opened its first battery factory in Sweden in 2021, and that year claimed to be making battery cells with 100% recycled nickel, manganese, and cobalt. Battery-supply deals with BMW and Volvo, as well as for a Canadian battery factory, soon followed.

But Northvolt has faced several setbacks recently. In June BMW cancelled its battery deal, estimated to be worth about $2 billion, and in September Northvolt announced a strategic review and cost cuts, including suspension of cathode active material production at its first factory. That plant never reach full production capacity, Reuters reported at the time.

Honda on Thursday unveiled what it calls a demonstration production line for solid-state batteries, with aims to commercialize the technology later this decade.

Located in Sakura City, in Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture, the 295,000-square-foot facility is intended to establish the process for eventual mass production, as well as determine costs and some final cell specifications, Honda said.

Construction was completed this past spring, and all necessary equipment has now been installed, according to the automaker. Honda plans to start making cells in January 2025. That’s almost a year later than the spring 2024 target date Honda executives mentioned when first publicly discussing the demonstration plant in 2022.

Honda solid-state battery production demonstration plant in Sakura City, Japan

Honda said the production process it plans to use is based on that of liquid-electrolyte lithium-ion cells, albeit with a roll-pressing step designed to increase the density of solid electrolyte layers that’s unique to solid-state cells. This also increases the degree of interfacial contact between by the electrolyte and electrodes, according to Honda.

The automaker also claims to have consolidated or accelerated several other parts of the production process, including bonding the positive and negative electrodes, and hopes to cut other associated costs, including by lowering energy consumption.

Honda solid-state battery prototype

Honda aims to start mass production of solid-state batteries in the second half of the 2020s, for use “not only in automobiles, but motorcycles and aircraft.” With this wider array of applications, Honda hopes to achieve reasonable economies of scale to make solid-state batteries financially viable.

Honda has been discussing solid-state batteries since at least 2021, at the time also saying that they would arrive later in the decade. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe told Green Car Reports earlier this year that solid-state batteries may enable a small affordable EV by 2030 thanks to lower battery costs and higher potential range than current cell chemistries.

The five-star safety rating system gets an overdue overhaul to test for pedestrian safety Measuring the effectiveness of driver-assist systems mirrors testing by the IIHS Analysts call the updates the most significant in the agency’s 46-year history The U.S. government’s new car safety agency will enact more rigorous crash-test criteria to offset…

The Jeep Recon has been spied testing with minimal camouflage gear The Recon will use the STLA Large platform shared with the Jeep Wagoneer S EV The design was previewed in 2022 and first deliveries are expected to start in 2025 The production version of the Jeep Recon electric off-roader has been spied testing in prototype form for the first…

• The Chrysler Pacifica lineup will gain an electric variant
• Electric Chrysler Pacifica interior will feature flexible interior packaging
• Pacifica will be refreshed in 2026 with the electric variant to follow 

Chrysler’s inching closer to an electric minivan, and now we know what it will be called.

On Thursday at the 2024 LA Auto Show, Chrysler CEO Christine Feuell confirmed to Green Car Reports that the upcoming electric Chrysler minivan will bear the Pacific name.

“There’s so much equity in the market, consumers have a favorable opinion about Pacifica and very high awareness. I see no reason at this point to change the name,” Feuell said.

In 2022 at the New York Auto Show, Feuell told GCR the automaker was rethinking the minivan for the electric era. That future is coming quickly.

Chrysler Portal concept, 2017 Consumer Electronics Show

In 2026 the Pacifica will receive a refresh, according to Feuell. The updated design will set the stage for the electric Pacifica that will follow, likely a year later.

Chrysler will not use the design direction set by the Airflow electric SUV concept. Feuell said the brand’s design identity will take design cues from the Halcyon concept shown in February. “Modern” and “futuristic” were the design terms Feuell used for Chrysler’s design direction.

Feuell wouldn’t commit to whether the Pacifica Hybrid with its plug-in hybrid powertrain will coexist alongside the electric Pacifica. The executive also wouldn’t comment on whether an electric Pacifica with a range extender, like the Ram Charger EREV pickup truck, would make sense.

Chrysler Portal concept, 2017 Consumer Electronics Show

Electric Chrysler Pacifica getting flexible seating

Feuell was quick to note that with the VW ID.Buzz–the first electric minivan to hit the U.S. market–you have to remove the seats entirely to create an open space.

The Chrysler team’s been working up creative ways to reimagine the automaker’s patented Stow ‘N Go seating system with a BEV powertrain. Feuell noted one option is pushing the front seats forward to create a clever cargo space under the front seats to store the second row. The executive also mentioned looking at the outboard seating positions in the second row and perhaps putting them on rails to slide sideways.

No final interior configuration for the reconfigurable seating has been locked in yet, according to Feuell. But the planning stages are advanced enough that suppliers are now involved in the discussion to understand what’s possible.

Feuell said the team’s looking at the use cases and how customers will want to use the space. From lounging while waiting for their kid’s soccer practice is done to camping or having a picnic or tailgating, it’s all on the table. There’s also a focus on how to load and unload cargo along with ingress, egress, and cargo liftover height. 

• The electric sedan now has NACS ports for easy access to Tesla Superchargers
• The base EV6 has a 68.0-kwh battery pack, up from 63.0 kwh last year
• The top-rated models have an 84.0-kwh pack, up from 77.4 kwh last year

The 2025 Kia EV6 made its U.S. debut Thursday at the 2024 Los Angeles auto show with updated styling, bigger battery packs, and confirmation of U.S. assembly.

Unveiled earlier this year in Kia’s home market of South Korea, the exterior gets a mild refresh with new headlights and more subtle changes in other areas, including a new graphic for the curved bar of the taillights. Kia says these changes were made to keep the EV6 more in line with its other models stylistically.

The standard battery pack has also been enlarged to 63.0 kwh, from 68.0 kwh currently, while an 84.0-kwh pack replaces the 77.4-kwh pack that has been the largest available since the EV6’s 2022 model year launch. Kia is targeting 319 miles of EPA range with the larger battery in single-motor rear-wheel-drive Light Long Range, Wind, and GT-Line models—a bit higher than the current peak of 303 EPA miles.

Rear-wheel-drive models are still rated at 167 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque with the smaller pack and 225 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque with the larger pack. A dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain also remains available with the bigger pack, delivering 320 hp and 446 lb-ft.

The sporty EV6 GT returns as well, but now makes 601 hp, compared to 576 hp before, while torque remains unchanged at 545 lb-ft. A standard GT mode provides a temporary boost to 641 hp and 568 lb-ft.

Like the related Hyundai Ioniq 5, the EV6 also receives a North American Charging Standard (NACS) port with this update. The charge port was also moved to the left rear fender on all models expect the GT. Kia didn’t say whether it will provide adapters for continued use of Combined Charging Standard (CCS) charging stations, as Hyundai is doing, or discuss how fast the EV6 will charge at Tesla Supercharger stations owners will now have access to.

Kia also implemented a new operating system that offers fast processing and enables over-the-air (OTA) updates, as well as digital key functionality that allows drivers to use a smartphone in place of the key fob. Automatically-deploying flush door handles are now standard on all models as well.

The 2025 Kia EV6 is expected to go on sale in the first half of 2025, with pricing to be announced closer to that time. Assembly will move to Kia’s West Point, Georgia, plant, which also started building the three-row Kia EV9 earlier this year. The U.S.-built EV9 still only qualifies for a $3,750 federal tax credit—half the full amount—because its batteries aren’t sourced from the U.S., and that could be the case for the EV6 as well.

• The performance model of the EV9 three-row electric SUV debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show
• Expect a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 seconds for the 2026 Kia EV9 GT
• The 2026 Kia EV9 comes with a NACS port to access Tesla’s Supercharger network

Three-row SUVs aren’t generally the first choice for performance car buyers, but Kia believes dialing up power and speed is the next logical step for its all-electric EV9.

Debuting at the 2024 Los Angeles auto show, the 2026 Kia EV9 GT applies a similar template to the previous EV6 GT to the larger EV9. That starts with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain producing 501 hp—122 hp more than the EV9 GT-Line, currently the most powerful EV9 grade. Kia estimates that this will reduce 0-60 mph acceleration from 5.0 seconds for the GT-Line to 4.3 seconds for the GT.

Kia also gave the EV9 GT virtual shifting, which provides the feel of running up through gears this EV does not have (or need), and will even slow acceleration once an artificial “rev limit” is achieved, just like in a combustion car. The artificial gear shifts are accompanied by their own soundtrack. Similar features debuted in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N from Kia’s parent brand—but in a more track-focused package.

GT models also receive Continental performance tires, upgraded brakes, an electronic limited-slip differential, and adaptive suspension. Normal, Eco, Sport, and My Drive modes change the damping, as well as steering and brake feel, as does a GT mode that automatically dials in the stiffest damping. Kia notes that the 7.8 inches of ground clearance and 5,000-pound towing capacity of other EV9 models carries over.

Exterior differences between the GT and other EV9 models are subtle, mostly limited to new 21-inch wheels and green brake calipers, the latter a styling trait shared with the EV6 GT. The green theme continues inside with select trim elements. GT models also have a different steering wheel and robustly bolstered sport seats with Alcantara inserts, as well as unique schemes for the ambient lighting and the menus of the 12.3-inch touchscreen.

Kia expects to begin U.S. deliveries in the second half of 2025, meaning the EV9 GT will have a standard North American Charging Standard (NACS) port, which will be standard on all EV9 models starting in the first half of the year.

Pricing will be announced closer to launch, but expect the GT to come in higher than the current range-topping GT-Line, which is priced at $75,225 for the 2025 model year with the $1,325 destination charge factored in. The EV9 sees a modest $700 price increase for 2025, with no other significant changes to the vehicle that we named Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2024.

All EV9 GT models will be assembled in South Korea, meaning they won’t qualify for the $3,750 federal tax credit available for EV9 models assembled in Georgia, either at Kia’s West Point factory or Hyundai’s new Metaplant. It’s another indication that, as a recent report suggested, Kia is becoming less committed to U.S. assembly of the EV9 in the face of tougher tax-credit rules.