Author: EVAI

Rivian postpones, but confirms Georgia plant thanks to fresh loan money Planned for assembly of new R2 and R3 product lines Will supplement Rivian’s existing Illinois facility How will new Trump era impact plans? Rivian on Monday announced a conditional commitment from the federal government for a loan of up to $6.6 billion under the Department of…

Falling in love with a concept car is setting yourself up to fail. The vast majority of them never become real vehicles, and those that do often end up disappointingly far from their striking original designs. For every BMW i8, we also get about 50 Pontiac Azteks. But love isn’t a rational thing, and that’s why I want to believe Kia’s PV5 WKNDR electric van concept could somehow become a reality. 

The PV5 WKNDR made its first appearance at SEMA, the giant aftermarket and performance trade show, earlier this month. But I got to see it for myself last week at the LA Auto Show. And like a good movie, book or album, the fact that I’m still thinking about it a few days later tells me a lot. 

The concept is a #vanlife take on Kia’s new Platform Beyond Vehicle program: a family of modular electric work vehicles in different sizes and configurations. Kia has big plans for that program as it expands into the commercial vehicle space; some of the ideas there are pretty wild, including transforming body types, autonomous driving and possibly even crab-walking wheels to deliver cargo to tight areas. We don’t know how far Kia will go with those technologies yet, but the Korean automaker clearly wants in on the nascent electrified delivery van and commercial vehicle space.

By comparison, the PV5 WKNDR is almost conventional. But it shows how well this platform could exist when repurposed for a consumer van aimed at off-road and off-grid adventuring. Kia describes it as “an escape pod for extended weekends in nature” and “a Swiss Army Knife on wheels.” That’s not only because of the big off-road tires, but because the whole interior has been customized to be a kind of mobile living space: the concept comes complete with lounge seats, camping chairs, tables, an extending rooftop tent and more. And you get towing hooks front and rear if other vehicles go sideways, or upside-down, in this case. 

While I didn’t get to see Kia demonstrate this on-site at the auto show, the van also features solar panels for offboard charging and “hydro turbine wheels” that generate electricity while spinning. That’s a clever idea and I’d love to see it get applied to some actual production cars. In fact, this whole concept makes a strong case for an electric off-road machine: when EVs are stationary, they can provide massive amounts of electricity to power campsites, devices and even entire homes. If you apply that idea to a bigger vehicle (with a bigger battery) you can enable a ton of zero-emission power when you go camping. I think Kia’s onto something with this concept, and I hope the automaker finds some way to make it a reality. 

If you find yourself at the LA Auto Show’s public days until the end of this month, go pay this thing a visit. I think you’ll get a kick out of it.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

The upcoming third-generation Audi Q7 has been spotted testing in sporty SQ7 guise A debut for the new Q7 is expected in late 2025 or early the following year The new midsize three-row SUV may be among the last Audis launched with a gas engine Audi is working on a redesign for its Q7, and the new generation’s sporty SQ7 variant has been spotted…

• Kia is serious about boosting PHEV electric miles—and sales
• It’s still working on hybrid, ICE development
• Range-extended EVs could be the future of hybrids

While Kia works to expand sales of American-made EVs, it’s also aiming to broaden sales of hybrids, while expanding a plug-in hybrid lineup that may keep growing—not just in sales but in electric miles. 

According to Steven Center, Kia America’s chief operating officer and executive vice president, the plug-in hybrid electric range to meet or beat is 60 miles. 

That number, said Center to Green Car Reports last week at the Los Angeles auto show, may arrive in Kia production models in as little as “a couple years”—enabled by a number of factors including the continuous improvement of batteries, as well as upcoming vehicle platforms that are being laid out to allow more space for PHEV battery packs. 

A PHEV with 60 miles of electric range would be a big jump from present numbers. Kia revealed refreshed 2026 Sportage hybrid and plug-in hybrid models at the auto show. Currently, the Sportage plug-in hybrid comes EPA-rated at 34 miles, and 35 mpg combined after that. That’s for the 2024 model; outputs are up slightly for 2025 and it’s unclear as of yet whether that and the refresh might alter those numbers. 

2025 Kia Sportage

Center didn’t elaborate about which models might get the long-range PHEV treatment first, but he noted that the 60-mile figure was informed by an “engineering statistic” relating to the total daily-driving distance for Americans—enough to be an EV in daily driving, plus more for road trips. 

That happens to be very close to California’s target of 70 miles of electric range that serves as a way automakers can earn bonus points in upcoming fleet standards. 

California does mandate EVs, but in the push toward them it’s allowing automakers some added flexibility, starting with the 2026 model year, if they deliver plug-in hybrids with more range. In short, they can apply plug-in hybrid models certified at 70 miles of electric range or higher at the same fleet-credit value as an EV, while PHEVs rated at 43-69 miles qualify at a partial value of an EV. 

It’s quite the engineering challenge in itself right now to get there. A top Nissan executive for product planning in North America told Green Car Reports earlier this year that to achieve 70 miles of plug-in electric range, the necessary 30- to 40-kwh battery packs remain prohibitively large and heavy. But next-generation batteries will bring down the size and weight and be easier to package. 

2023 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid

Center reiterated the benefits of battery improvements. Kia also continues to develop internal-combustion engines, but it’s mainly in the context of hybrid systems. For instance, according to Center, it’s considering extended range EV tech, although it’s not yet confirmed in any future vehicle from the brand. In a series-hybrid layout with the engine running as an efficient onboard generator, this type of application might warrant an entirely new kind of engine.

For instance, on the pickup front, Ram has been working on that formula, and it’s on the way next year in the 1500 Ramcharger truck. Ram claims that it will be able to get to about 145 miles of electric range with a 92-kwh battery pack and the Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 engine that it’s put in base-level pickups for years, put to task here only as a generator—amounting to 14,000 pounds of towing capacity and 690 miles considering an initial battery charge and full tank of gas. 

While some automakers continue to see plug-in hybrids as a confusing middle ground—including examples like that Ram truck—Kia isn’t holding back in plans to emphasize them over the next few years especially.

2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid

The brand is aiming to have more of them, said Center of PHEVs, calling them “the gateway drug for electrification.”

Kia is currently selling its plug-in hybrids in all 50 states, and it’s already pushed for its dealerships to be not just EV-savvy, but plug-in-hybrid-savvy. Kia Motors America marketing director Russell Wager told Green Car Reports that it’s not an easy message for dealerships to deliver—that plug-in hybrids can go 30 or 35 miles of electric range without running the gasoline engine—but it’s already done some of this hard work.

Kia isn’t naming target volumes or percentages for its hybrid vehicles, Wager asserted. “We don’t have a goal; and the reason we don’t have a goal is the customer is going to determine.”

2024 Kia Niro

“That’s why we have three choices, so that if the customers are saying we want more hybrids, we’ll build more hybrids,” Wager explained, pointing to the flexibility not only built into the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant in Georgia that will source some upcoming Kia vehicles, but to Kia’s West Point, Georgia, plant, where the majority of Sportage production will happen—and to Korea, where additional hybrids can come from if need be.

“We’re working on the supply chain to increase what we need for hybrids,” said Center. “Customers want them, dealers will have no trouble selling them, and it’s better for the environment.”

And thus, whatever new path regulators hand to the auto industry, come January or next year, the flexibility is helping Kia look very prepared.

• Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe sees few compelling sub-$50k EVs
• Scaringe is amused by the interest in Scout
• CEO believes it’s important to have a variety of EV choices

“The world doesn’t need another one of those,” said Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, referring to Tesla.

“We think Tesla has done an amazing job,” said Scaringe, during a roundtable session last Wednesday with Green Car Reports and other media outlets. “It’s a great brand; they have great products.”

The top Rivian executive noted that he’s had both a Model 3 and Y, but seemingly every competitor is chasing after them.

The upcoming Rivian R2 will aim squarely for the market the Tesla Model Y occupies, but in a different visual form factor that is much more like that of a traditional SUV. It’s set to arrive in 2026 with batteries from Arizona from LG.

Scaringe went on to say that there are “less than five highly compelling choices” in the EV market for under $50,000. With EVs at less than 10% of the market that includes “a choice” that’s bar-setting—the Model Y.

Suppliers fear a world of Tesla owning 65% of the EV market forever, as Tesla’ massive scale drives their “supply chain wonderfully aggressively,” Scaringe said, which is hard on suppliers.

Scout is owned by Volkswagen, which just invested $5.8 billion into Rivian as part of a joint venture, and so the CEO was asked about the upcoming Scout EVs.

“I’m amused by how much interest there is in Scout,” said Scaringe, later adding: “I think it’s great to see another choice.” 

California will provide its residents with $7,500 rebates for electric vehicles if the incoming Trump administration eliminates the federal EV tax credit, Governor Gavin Newsom declared Monday. And it may seek to exclude Tesla from the subsidy.

Trump’s transition team has indicated that killing the federal EV tax credit is a priority, as it’s viewed as an easy target in a likely Republican-controlled Congress and could provide some cost savings to help offset trillions of dollars in soon-to-expire tax cuts the incoming administration is expected to renew.

2025 Volkswagen ID.4

The release about the potential program noted that it “would include changes to promote innovation and competition in the ZEV market.” Several news outlets, including Reuters, later on Monday cited the California governor’s office in pointing to market share as the potential reason for a cap affecting Tesla.

The EV maker, as of the third quarter, has a 56% market share of EV sales in the state. And it’s the only automaker who makes EVs in the state on a volume basis.

That prompted Tesla CEO Elon Musk, to write on his X social media platform: “Even though Tesla is the only company who manufactures their EVs in California! This is insane.”

If Trump does nix a $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs, Newsom laid out aims to provide an equivalent amount to California residents with a revival of the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP). That program, phased out in 2023, funded more than 594,000 vehicles and saved more than 456 million gallons of fossil fuels since its launch in 2010.

The proposed rebates “would include changes to promote innovation and competition” in the EV market, according to a press release, and could be paid for out of California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which draws its money from the state’s cap-and-trade program.

2024 Nissan Ariya

It’s unclear if California might factor income into rebate qualification. Income and MSRP caps were added to the CVRP in its later years to limit the number of rebates going to the highest-income drivers. And in 2023 the California Air Resources Board (CARB)—which oversees the state’s EV incentive programs—said it would expand the Clean Cars 4 All program aimed at lower-income drivers as a replacement for the CVRP.

Also left out of this incentive would be all the other states that have opted to follow California’s Advanced Clean Cars II framework for vehicle emissions—and its mandate for plug-in vehicles.

The federal tax credit added income and MSRP caps as part of its revamp under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which also made it an instant dealership rebate, but sourcing requirements that went into effect at the beginning of 2024 also limited the number of EVs that qualify.

Yet the IRA also left the so-called “leasing loophole,” which applies a $7,500 rebate toward leased EVs even if they wouldn’t otherwise qualify for a tax credit. That’s something unlikely to be revived by even California.

UPDATED 5:45 p.m. to include citations pointing to market share and Musk’s response.

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Toyota is working on a modern Celica The new sports car is expected to complement, rather than replace, the GR86 and Supra. The jury is still out on whether the car will pack a gas engine or be an EV Toyota’s renewed interest in performance and sports cars may bring yet another gift to enthusiasts: a new Toyota Celica. Speaking during last week’s…

• Tesla’s installing longer cables on its Superchargers
• Superchargers can now detect when a non-Tesla EV is plugged in
• Tesla’s Supercharger software will take into where a vehicle’s charge port is located

Tesla is installing longer cables and making other changes to accommodate EVs from other brands at its Supercharger DC fast-charging stations.

The official Tesla Charging account on X (formerly known as Twitter) the social media network owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, recently posted that the automaker is increasing the number of longer-cable V4 chargers and expects them to outnumber short-cable chargers within the next 18 months.

Tesla has also modified over 1,500 sites to avoid drivers blocking a charging space to reach a charger, and has updated the software that tells Tesla drivers which charging stalls are available, according to the same post.

Chevrolet EVs at a Tesla Supercharger station

To further account for EVs potentially blocking spaces to plug into chargers with short cables, Tesla claims it can now detect when an EV with a charge port located somewhere other than the left rear or right front of the vehicle is plugged in at shorter-cable spots in an effort not to overpromise on charger availability.

This is possible because Tesla can now detect what type of vehicle is plugged in, Max de Zegher, Tesla’s director of charging in North American said in an X post, adding that the charger-availability algorithm now refreshes about every 15 seconds.

Polestar 3 at a Tesla Supercharger station

A migration of most major car brands to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) began in May 2023 with Ford, followed the formalization of NACS as a true standard by the SAE and the backing of that standard by the Biden administration, which has prioritized funding for expansion of public charging. Musk, meanwhile, nearly shuttered the Supercharger team earlier this year before backtracking and promising a $500 million expansion of the network.

Such expansion will likely be needed as more automakers equip their EVs to charge at Supercharger stations. To date, Ford, General Motors, Rivian, Polestar, and Volvo have made adapters available to customers, while the first non-Tesla EVs with built-in NACS ports are expected to appear in 2025.