Author: EVAI

• The Volvo EX30’s U.S. arrival was delayed due to tariffs
• Volvo’s now said the EX30 will arrive before the end of the year
• The first EX30s to arrive in the U.S. will be $46,195 dual-motor models

After being delayed in the wake of increased tariffs, the Volvo EX30 small electric crossover will reach the U.S. by the end of this year.

First shown in 2023, the EX30 was originally scheduled to arrive at U.S. dealerships this past summer. But in June Volvo said it would push back deliveries until 2025. On Tuesday, the automaker reversed course, announcing that it would “start fulfilling U.S. customer preorders” in order to “satisfy demand as quickly as possible.”

2025 Volvo EX30 electric SUV (single-motor, Cloud Blue)

Deliveries will start with the dual-motor all-wheel-drive version because it’s the most requested model, according to Volvo. Prices for dual-motor models still start at $46,195 with the $1,295 destination charge. The single-motor version, which Volvo previously said would start at $36,245 in U.S. form, will arrive later in 2025.

All U.S. models will have a 69-kwh nickel cobalt manganese (NMC) battery pack, which Volvo now expects to return 253 miles of range in dual-motor models on the EPA testing cycle. A 51-kwh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack will be offered in other markets as an entry-level option, with lower lifecycle emissions than the NMC pack, but the EX30 will still be among the lowest-priced EVs in the U.S. even with the NMC pack.

2025 Volvo EX30 electric SUV (single-motor, Cloud Blue)

Volvo in 2023 committed to moving EX30 production from China to Ghent, Belgium, starting in 2025. But sourcing cars from China became unfeasible after May 2024, when the Biden Administration hiked tariffs on Chinese-made EVs from 25% to 100%. Volvo then delayed the U.S. launch of the EX30 to 2025 to give time for the Belgian plant to ramp up.

Meanwhile, the Volvo EX90 three-row electric SUV that sits at the opposite end of the price spectrum is now being assembled at the automaker’s Charleston, South Carolina, factory alongside the Polestar 3 from that brand. Volvo has not discussed plans to build the EX30 in South Carolina, however.

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Kia is out testing prototypes for an electric crossover even smaller than the EV3 subcompact unveiled in May. The newcomer, which is also a subcompact, is likely to be called the EV2. And judging by its size and boxy shape, it may end up replacing Kia’s Soul EV at some point. The EV2 is expected to start sales in 2026, but given the small size, it…

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A new generation of the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class compact sedan arrives next year, with an all-electric variant as part of the lineup.

Mercedes first showed a camouflaged prototype of the CLA-Class EV in October, and on Wednesday it released a further tease in the form of a video of CEO Ola Källenius driving one of the prototypes.

Teaser for 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class

Underneath the camouflage, expect the CLA-Class EV to have styling based on the Concept CLA-Class unveiled at the 2023 Munich auto show. That concept also showed off the engineering of the Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) that will be the basis for the CLA EV and other next-generation compact Mercedes models.

MMA will incorporate an 800-volt electrical architecture, which Mercedes said allowed for DC fast charging that could recover up to 248 miles of range in 15 minutes in the Concept CLA-Class, and is designed around smaller battery packs. Range will be achieved more through efficiency than pack size, incorporating lessons learned from the Vision EQXX concept, which traveled a record 746 miles on a single charge in 2022. 

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The CLA EV will be unveiled in 2025, meaning it will likely reach the U.S. as a 2026 model. In the teaser, Källenius confirmed that a high-performance AMG version is in development alongside the standard CLA-Class. And a hybrid powertrain option is expected to be offered alongside the all-electric ones.

In addition to the CLA-Class, which is expected to retain the “four-door coupe” shape of the current car and the Concept CLA-Class, Mercedes is expected to introduce a range of small cars based on the MMA underpinnings, including a crossover that could serve as a Tesla Model Y rival.

California is considering an electric-motorcycle mandate that could lead to a much stronger motorcycle market in the state.

The proposed rules, which the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the powerful regulator that sets the state’s emissions standards, is set to vote on Nov. 7, could lead to annual electric motorcycle sales that are eight times the number registered in the state today, CalMatters reports.

They would impose a credit system leading to 10% zero-emission motorcycle sales in 2028 and 50% in 2035, up from about 1% today.

At the same time, new emissions targets for gasoline bikes would lower their emissions for the first time in 25 years, potentially bringing them closer to the small cars and hybrids they currently lag behind in general gasoline efficiency.

BMW Motorrad Vision DC electric motorcycle concept

Zero-emission vehicle mandates are nothing new in California; the state is on track eliminate sales of most new vehicles with combustion engines by 2035. But this electric-motorcycle mandate is also predicted to lead to a gradual increase in overall sales.

Under the proposed rules, more than 280,000 new electric or hydrogen motorcycles are expected to be sold in California by 2045.

Motorcycles make up less than 1% of all vehicle miles traveled in California, but contribute an “outsized portion of smog-forming pollutants,” CARB officials told CalMatters. Indeed, internal-combustion motorcycles have long been noted as potentially more polluting than cars, as they can more easily be missing emissions gear completely.

Honda EV Fun concept

Harley-Davidson got in trouble for emissions-gear cheating a decade ago, directly selling its customers “defeat devices.” But it has seen the light on electric, and established motorcycle makers like Honda and BMW will join upstarts in convincing a new generation to ride electric.

Should this plan pass, one question mark is whether so-called “autocycles” with three wheels—like the one from California-based Aptera—will be included in the sales targets.

• Kia unveiled an electric camper van at SEMA
• Based on the PV5, the WKNDR previews the potential for a recreational EV
• Production of the PV5 and its variants is slated for 2025

The annual SEMA show in Las Vegas is typically a showcase for modified production vehicles and aftermarket parts, but this year Kia brought an adventure-ready electric concept vehicle.

The Kia PV5 WKNDR concept is an electric van derived from the Kia PV5, one of a series of Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) concepts Kia unveiled at CES earlier this year. These concepts previewed a line of flexible electric vans for commercial use, but the PV5 WKNDR is aimed at recreation.

Kia PV5 WKNDR concept

A winch-equipped front bumper, chunky tires under flared fenders, and a pop-up camper attachment ready this van for off-grid trips, while built-in solar panels help ensure a level of self-sufficiency once there. An onboard air compressor can also be used to both deflate the tires for off-roading, or inflate an air mattress.

When parked, a modular storage system allows supplies and equipment to be securely stored outside, freeing up more interior space, while still offering easy access, according to Kia. This also includes a mobile kitchen assembly for cooking at a campsite.

Kia PV5 WKNDR concept

As detailed by Kia at CES earlier this year, the PV5 and other PBV concepts differ significantly from current EVs. There’s been no mention of skateboard platform, but instead interchangeable upper bodies, secured to the chassis via magnetic couplings, that allow the same vehicle to serve different roles. One van could switch from a taxi during the day, to a delivery van at night, to a recreation vehicle like the WKNDR on, well, weekends.

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Honda is looking to expand a battery-swapping service from Asia to Europe, but the focus will remain on two-wheeled vehicles like mopeds and scooters.

The automaker currently offers battery-swapping in Japan, India, Indonesia, and Thailand, but in a Tuesday press release said it’s now working with Swedish scooter rental startup GoCimo on testing of the concept in Malmö, Sweden, for one year beginning in February 2025.

Honda battery swapping

The test program, which will utilize Honda EM1 scooters already sold in Europe, will look at the suitability of battery swapping for the European urban environment, as well as business feasibility, the release said.

Instead of entire battery packs for cars and trucks, as with other battery-swapping services, Honda focuses on smaller modules. The Honda Mobile Power Pack modules are about 1.5 kwh each, which should be adequate for scooters or perhaps for very small urban EVs if used in multiple. That makes each unit much more powerful than what’s used by the trendy Motocompacto the automaker aimed to ship out with some 2024 Honda Prologue EVs in the U.S.

Honda battery swapping

These modules are charged on a rack, and users simply check them out as needed. This allows urban residents to get by without home charging, may also be a particularly good solution in European cities, where parking and space constraints limit streetside charging options. To find out, Honda will supply 30 EM1 scooters, 60 Mobile Power Pack batteries, and three Power Pack Exchanger swap stations to GoCimo for the test program in Sweden’s third-largest city.

Honda has shown swappable-battery systems, essentially the same as this system, since CES 2018, and suggested it may be headed to some motorcycles, as part of a swappable-battery consortium with Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha. It’s since said—last year, most recently—that the Mobile Power Pack format will be used in “various electric products.”