Author: EVAI

ChargePoint aims to curtail vandalism at public electric vehicle charging stations by equipping them with cut-resistant cables and alarm systems.

The company unveiled both features Thursday, confirming that cut-resistant cables will be available for all of its “commercial and fleet charging stations.” It also plans to license the cut-resistant cable design—which uses a novel mix of materials the company claims is more difficult to tamper with—to other charging-equipment manufacturers starting in the middle of this year. But it’s unclear if existing stations can be retrofitted with the new cables.

Porsche Macan EV at ChargePoint charger

Existing owners of certain charging stations can have the alarm system added, though, as it’s a software-based feature that uses the speakers and lights already built into compatible station models. It’s available via a free over-the-air (OTA) software update, and includes email or text-messaging notification options if the alarm is triggered.

EV charging cables have been targeted by copper thieves in the past. A 2024 Associated Press report noted an increase in reported cable thefts that coincided with rising copper prices. Such thefts leave big repair bills for charging-station owners and fewer available chargers for EV drivers.

ChargePoint Omni Port

Additional security measures and tamper-proof cables could help deter cable-cutting thieves, but the solution might also be partly technological. Higher-power 800-volt charging means thinner cables that might be less of a target for theft. Companies have also been aiming to reduce cable bulk through innovative cooling methods, which could at least soften the financial blow when cables need to be replaced due to theft or vandalism.

A more direct solution to cable cutting is to eliminate the cables altogether. Wireless charging offers this, along with added convenience for EV drivers, but it’s been slow to catch on. So far, WiTricity is the only company supplying the tech in an original-equipment, passenger-vehicle, personal-use application outside China—the South Korean-market version of the Genesis GV60.

What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Ford Maverick? What does it compare to? The 2025 Ford Maverick is a small crew-cab pickup. It compares best with the Hyundai Santa Cruz, though those who need more towing capacity should look at the automaker’s larger, costlier, and thirstier Ranger. Is the 2025 Ford Maverick a good pickup? So long as you…

Ineos Automotive announced late Thursday that production of the rugged Grenadier SUV and Grenadier Quartermaster pickup truck has resumed at the vehicles’ plant in Hambach, France. Production was paused last September after the Grenadier’s seat supplier, Recaro Automotive, ceased production in July due to insolvency. Italian seat manufacturer…

Mitsubishi is developing a new Pajero Sport, the current generation of which is sold as the Montero Sport in some markets Sales of the midsize SUV are expected to start in 2026, though a U.S. launch is unlikely Mitsubishi may also be planning a new version of the larger Pajero/Montero, thanks to a new partnership with Honda and Nissan Mitsubishi…

A rare Mercedes-Benz owned by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is headed for auction and expected to fetch more than $50 million The car is a W196 raced by Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss The auction will take place on Feb. 1 at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany A 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 raced by the legendary Juan Manuel…

Manthey-Racing has a new upgrade package for the 991-generation 911 GT2 RS The upgrades focus on the aerodynamics and chassis, rather than the powertrain Manthey has also launched a similar upgrade package for the 992-generation 911 GT3 RS The 991-generation Porsche 911 GT2 RS, offered from 2018-2020, is already among the fastest production cars…

Slovenia’s Elaphe is emphasizing performance applications for its in-wheel electric motors.

At CES 2025, the company unveiled the Sonic 1, a thin electric motor it claims is compatible with high-performance brakes. That can be difficult with in-wheel motors, as they occupy the same real estate as brake hardware. Slimming down the motor allows for larger 400-millimeter brake rotors to be packaged together with motor hardware within a 21-inch front wheel, Elaphe claims in a press release.

The Sonic 1 is intended for EVs or hybrids. It generates 268 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque by default, but can be tuned for higher outputs. Each motor also adds 88 pounds of unsprung weight, which could make tuning for ride and handling more difficult.

Italdesign Quintessenza concept

Elaphe in-wheel motors were showcased on the Italdesign Quintessenza GT concept, a grand tourer with a raised ride height and pickup-style bed. Italdesign quotes a 0-62 mph time of 2.5 seconds, or 2.2 seconds with performance tires. A 150-kwh battery pack mounted under the floor provides an estimated 466 miles of range, although it’s unclear which test cycle that number is based on.

Elaphe in-wheel motors were slated to be used in the Lordstown Endurance pickup truck and the hyper-efficient Lightyear 0 sedan, but neither reached volume production. In 2023, Elaphe also announced a partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies—the tech arm of the race team and supercar builder—to use its motor tech in “highly efficient and hyper-responsive electric vehicles.”

Italdesign Quintessenza concept

In-wheel motors offer the packaging advantage of moving propulsion hardware to the corners of the vehicle. Despite the tradeoffs, established automakers are also showing more interest. Ferrari has tried to patent an in-wheel motor design for performance EVs, while Ford pickup trucks with what might be in-wheel motors were spotted testing last year.

Elaphe isn’t the only company slimming its in-wheel motors to achieve greater packaging flexibility and reduced unsprung weight. Donut Lab unveiled its own family of motors at CES 2025, claiming record power density and a wide range of sizes for use in everything from cars to drones.

• The Polestar 7 will be the brand’s compact SUV replacement, of sorts, for the Polestar 2 sedan.
• Polestar is owned by China’s Geely Group, which builds many different cars on versions of the same platforms worldwide. One common architecture can be found with Zeekr and Volvo as well.
• Could the Polestar 7 emulate the Volvo EX30 and Zeekr X? We’ll soon see.

The Polestar 2 has consistently been one of our favorite electric vehicles on the market. There’s only one big problem with it: it’s a sedan doing battle in an SUV-centric world. As good as it may be, it could only take the electric startup brand so far when people want bigger cars to haul kids and gear.

Actually, it has one other problem: it is built in China. That was fine for the Polestar 2 a few years ago when it launched, but these days, anti-China protectionist tariffs are all the rage in the U.S. and Europe. But today we learned that the upcoming Polestar 7 aims to solve both problems. It will be a compact electric crossover SUV, and built in Europe to avoid any of that tariff unpleasantness.

But while Polestar announced the Polestar 7 in its 2025 Business and Strategy Update video, it offered almost no details about the car at all—including from the company’s new chief designer. However, we can look to the rest of the Geely Group family for clues as to what it could be. 

The rendering you see here is based on the Zeekr X, from another Geely Group EV and hybrid brand that we’ve covered extensively. And if that silhouette looks familiar, it’s because the Zeekr X is closely related to the Volvo EX30, another compact crossover that’s just now making it to U.S. shores.

Now, Zeekr’s cars are currently manufactured in China, which keeps it from coming to America for now. And after getting delayed by U.S. tariffs, the also-China-built EX30 now may face an uncertain future with a looming ban on Chinese car technology. But Volvo is moving fast to fix the latter issue; the EX30 will be built in Ghent, Belgium later this year, and that version of the car should be exported here.

All of this is to say that if Polestar is aiming to build a compact, performance-focused crossover in the Polestar 7, the EX30 and Zeekr X’s SEA-2 platform could be a great contender for it. 

And the specs are already pretty legitimate. In U.S. form, Single Motor Extended Range Volvo EX30 has 268 horsepower and 253 lb-ft of torque with a range of 275 miles. The Twin Motor Performance has 422 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque and up to 253 miles of range. (Only the latter is being sold here right now, after the former was punted down the road due to tariffs.) In WLTP specs, the Zeekr X models are capable of at least 300 miles of range. The biggest battery in all of them is a 69 kWh NCM lithium-ion unit. 

Hopefully—and if my theory is right—our Polestar 7 would be capable of at least 300 miles of range too, as that’s increasingly feeling like table stakes these days. But the Geely Group is also using this same platform for the Smart 1 and Smart 3, as well as the new Lynk & Co Z20. I would be quite surprised if Polestar didn’t go this route as well. All of these cars even look fairly similar inside: big screen, very few buttons and physical switches, and a big emphasis on software. 

One of the only things we do know is that while Polestar–and the wider Geely Group—use many different vehicle platforms for now, the plan is to increasingly unify its hardware.

“Reinforcing the value of Polestar’s asset-light business model, Polestar 7 is planned to be manufactured in Europe,” Polestar officials said in a news release. “With production already in place in the U.S., South Korea and China, Polestar continues to strengthen its global position with a well-balanced international manufacturing network. Over time, from Polestar 7 onwards, the Company will gradually move from a multi-platform approach to one single architecture, reducing complexity, costs, and investments.” 

Regardless of how it goes down, Geely clearly has a lot to draw from. And as I experienced at CES sitting in the Zeekr 001, these cars seem very promising. Polestar may be coming off a rough year of sales and finances in 2024, but if it can get its own spin on cars like the Zeekr X and Volvo EX30, it should be in much better shape long-term.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

The next Polestar electric vehicle will be a compact SUV called the Polestar 7, the automaker confirmed Thursday in a business update.

The Polestar 7 will be manufactured in Europe, and will mark the beginning of a move to a single common architecture for future vehicles, according to Polestar. The brand currently relies on an assortment of platforms shared with other brands under the Geely corporate umbrella, but has been emphasizing more bespoke engineering work for future vehicles, while further differentiating exterior design. 

Polestar 5 prototype ride

“Polestar is known for its progressive design, with each car standing out and creating its own buzz—so too will Polestar 7,” design boss Philipp Römers said in a statement.

Launch timing was not discussed, but Polestar was two other models already in its queue. The automaker reaffirmed that the Polestar 5 will start sales in the second half of this year. The four-door fastback looks to be a major technical leap for Polestar, with an 800-volt architecture for faster charging and huge battery cells for increased range.

Polestar 6 Concept AT 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The automaker didn’t provide any updates this time around, but in 2022 it confirmed the Polestar 6 roadster for production in 2026. The timing was still in effect last July, when Polestar showed the Concept BST, which hinted at a spicier version of the convertible sports car.

Ambitious plans to grow the model lineup are matched by ambitious plans to grow sales. Polestar said it aims to increase global sales volume 30%-35% between 2025 and 2027, aided by a 75% increase in retail spaces, while retaining its current hybrid model of direct sales with servicing handled by traditional dealerships. Polestar claimed a 5.3% increase in global sales in the fourth quarter of 2024, but a 37.2% increase in new orders during that period.

• The Rivian R1T and the hybrid Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro are both seriously capable off-roaders.
• The R1T gets adaptive dampers, dual e-motors churning over 800 pound-feet of torque and a clever traction system.
• The hybrid Tacoma is raw and mechanical, with proven off-road chops to take on the toughest terrain.

An electric vehicle may not strike as an obvious choice for your off-road escapades, but automakers are advertising their EVs as off-road capable anyway. Rivian is doing that more than others, with its adventurous positioning as the key differentiator between itself and its rivals like Tesla and Lucid. Rivian says the R1T can crawl on rocks, drive over snow, keep moving through sand and get you to your destination. But when it’s up against a proven hybrid off-roader in the real world, how does it fare?

Edmunds correspondent Emme Hall, who’s also an InsideEVs contributor, recently put the second-generation R1T head-to-head against the hybrid Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro to find out which truck would go further in an adventure setting. Her team drove both trucks to Johnson Valley in Southern California to test them out.

The R1T was the dual-motor version with the 149 kilowatt-hour Max battery pack. While it seems capable on paper with 533 horsepower and over 800 pound-feet of torque, off-roading requires more than that. Crazy torque figures won’t cut it. Its off-road chops include adaptive air suspension, a trick hydraulic suspension, high approach and departure angles, off-road tires, brake torque vectoring and a bunch of drive modes that adjust traction and suspension settings.

The Tacoma, on the other hand, is more mechanical. Its 2.4-liter, four-cylinder, turbo-charged engine produces 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque. Unlike the unibody R1T, the Tacoma relies on a body-on-frame construction, which is generally better suited when the going gets rough, thanks to its inherent rigidity. The Tacoma also has a locking rear differential, solid rear axle, disconnecting sway bar at the front, 4×4 transfer case and off-road-tuned Fox shocks.

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In the hill climb test, the R1T struggled to get past the steepest section despite having so much oomph from the electric motors. Rivian offers brake torque vectoring to power the wheels that have the most traction—and brake the ones slipping—but that wasn’t enough to get past this section. Brake torque vectoring only stops the wheels spinning excessively. It does not redistribute that lost torque to wheels with traction.

The Tacoma, meanwhile, aced the hill climb thanks to its rear locker, which allowed both rear wheels to spin together and put down power more effectively. The Tacoma also nailed the rock climbing and articulation tests thanks to its disconnecting sway bar, which allowed the front axle to dance up and down and adapt to the pattern of the terrain.

The Rivian, however, seemed more at home on the sand. That’s where the excess power and torque really helped it shine without the traction control being too intrusive. The sand section also seemed bumpy, which a unibody construction typically handles better as it can absorb, distribute and dissipate those harsh impacts much better, especially while going fast.

That last bit also makes the R1T better on the road, at least in comfort and smoothness. That’s not to say that it’s not capable off-road, but the Tacoma’s mechanical set-up seems just better suited for the slow-speed hill climbs and rock crawls.

The upcoming Scout Terra would probably make for a more apple-to-apples comparison. Scout has said that its EVs will get a solid rear axle like the Tacoma plus locking front and rear diffs, which should help them stand out as true off-roaders, at least on paper.

The video above is worth watching because it will help you understand the current limitations of the dual-motor R1T and what Rivian can do to improve its future iterations.

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