Category: General

The 2025 Volvo EX90 electric SUV is now undergoing its first recall, but it’s one that won’t require a dealership visit.

Volvo is recalling a relatively small number of 2025 EX90 SUVs–just 2,061—because a software issue could impair headlight operation, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.

2025 Volvo EX90

The EX90 has shutters that open to reveal the headlights. The lighting elements seen when the headlights are not in use are actually daytime running lights. Incorrect software could send a signal to the headlights to perform a “reference run” while driving, causing the shutters to close over the low beam or high beam elements, according to the NHTSA.

If this erroneous signal, which originates in the onboard low power control (LPC) unit, is sent, drivers may see a message on the dashboard in addition to experiencing reduced illumination of the road ahead.

2025 Volvo EX90

For the most part, these vehicles are already fixed. Volvo has determined that this software error is limited to vehicles made from the start of production until Jan. 31, 2025. Newer vehicles received updated software, which also was already pushed to the recalled vehicles in an over-the-air (OTA) update beginning Feb. 11, according to filed recall documents. Customers can still have the update performed at a dealership if they want, though, and it will be free of charge in either case.

Owners will be notified by mail after the fact, starting Apr. 3, and can also call Volvo’s customer service department at 800-458-1552 for more information. Volvo’s reference number for this recall is R10298.

Such issues—and resolutions—are part and parcel with the EX90, the first Volvo truly designed as a software-defined vehicle. While we generally liked the way the finished product drove, that future got off to a rocky start thanks to a delay and some issues at launch. The EX90 arrived without certain software-based features, as well as a battery-drain issue Volvo promised to fix with an OTA update.

• The 2026 CLA-Class will be offered as a full battery electric vehicle and a mild-hybrid
• New electric models differ from the EQ series due to platforms that can accommodate a range of powertrains
• AMG performance division will also debut its first series of electric vehicles

Mercedes-Benz will launch all-electric versions of three of its most popular models within the next two years.

During a presentation of its 2024 financial results Thursday, the automaker said the C-Class and E-Class sedans, as well as the GLC-Class crossover, would get all-electric derivatives as part of a new-product push that will see “dozens” of new or refreshed models launch globally by 2027.

That rollout starts later this year with the 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class compact, which will be offered with all-electric and 48-volt mild-hybrid powertrains. The CLA EV is slated to debut numerous improvements over current-generation Mercedes EVs, including an 800-volt electrical architecture and a more clever regenerative braking system.

2025 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Those improvements will be shared with other compact models based on the new CLA’s Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA). They’ll likely be among the other models debuting over the next couple years, adding different body styles alongside the CLA, which is expected to remain a coupe-like sedan similar to the current generation.

While Mercedes’ current strategy centers on dedicated electric models (the EQB compact crossover being a notable exception), the CLA EV marks a shift toward offering the same vehicle with multiple powertrains—one that appears to be accelerating with the forthcoming C-Class, E-Class, and GLC-Class EVs.

Mercedes also promised “a string of launches” for its AMG performance division that will include the first EVs based on the new AMG.EA dedicated architecture. The first of these performance EVs, a fastback sedan that could replace the current AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, is scheduled to arrive this year, with an AMG electric SUV following sometime after that.

2025 Mercedes-Benz GLC Class

And the first of Mercedes’ next-generation electric vans is scheduled to launch in 2026. They’ll be based on yet another new platform, dubbed Van.EA. Mercedes recently reversed course and said it would also develop new combustion vans based on a companion platform as well.

Not all of Mercedes’ new and refreshed models will be electric, though. The automaker also confirmed a substantial update for its flagship S-Class sedan for next year, but didn’t mention an electric version. And last year the automaker delayed an EV sales target that would have seen it go all-electric (in at least some markets) by 2030, saying internal-combustion engines would stick around well into the next decade.

Kia on Wednesday previewed the exterior design of its PV5 electric van that’s expected to start production later this year.

The automaker showed basic passenger and cargo versions of the PV5, with other versions as well as conversion possibilities to be detailed at the 2025 Kia EV Day event in Tarragona, Spain, on Feb. 24. Kia also plans the full reveal of its EV4 sedan and hatchback at that event.

Kia PV5

The midsize PV5 is one of several flexible electric vans designed for various commercial applications that Kia calls its Platform Beyond Vehicles (PBV). They were previewed by concepts at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and much of the styling of those concepts seems to have carried over to the production PV5 variants.

Both the passenger and cargo versions of the PV5 feature the same distinctive headlights and cab-forward profile as the concepts, plus angular wheel arches with a bit of SUV-like cladding. Kia is saving the interiors for next week’s EV Day, where it will also discuss other potential versions, perhaps including a production version of the PV5 WKNDR camper van concept shown at the 2024 SEMA show.

Kia PV5

If the engineering hews as closely to the concepts as the design, the PV5 will differ significantly from current EVs. There was no mention of a skateboard platform when the concepts were revealed, but instead interchangeable upper bodies, secured to the chassis via magnetic couplings, that allow the same vehicle to serve different roles.

Kia has set up a dedicated factory for its PBV business that’s due to start production in South Korea later this year, and has confirmed a market launch for that country and Europe. Last November, Kia America vice president for marketing Russell Wager told Green Car Reports that the automaker was still evaluating the PV5 for the U.S.

Mercedes-Benz has said up until now that its future vans would be based on a dedicated electric architecture, but on Thursday it confirmed plans for a new internal-combustion van architecture as well.

Electric vans based on the new Van.EA platform will still debut in 2026, as previously discussed. They’ll now be joined by other fuel-burning models based on a “second variant of the architecture” called Van.CA, for Combustion Architecture, Mercedes said in a press release.

Mercedes-Benz van architectures

Combustion and electric vans will share 70% of parts, according to Mercedes, and will be produced on the same assembly lines. That commonality will help the automaker achieve economies of scale and allow more flexibility as demand for a given powertrain type ebbs and flows. Currently, Mercedes offers both gasoline and diesel vans in the U.S., as well as in Europe and other markets.

Just a few months ago, Mercedes was saying that all of its future medium and large vans would be based on the Van.EA basis. That leaves out smaller vans, but there was no mention in the release of the Van.CA being specific to a given vehicle size. And the emphasis on parts commonality implies similar vans, with only the powertrains being different.

Teaser for Mercedes-Benz Van.EA concept

This wouldn’t be the first time that Mercedes has made has changed course on electric vans. It once had a deal with Rivian to make electric vans for Europe, but is now relying solely on the in-house Van.EA platform. A concept vehicle based on that platform will debut this spring, heralding production models that will arrive next year.

Meanwhile, the current Mercedes-Benz eSprinter is built on the same chassis as combustion vans. And looking ahead Mercedes appears to be committing to lots of tailpipes and fuel tanks rather than a future of all-electric vans.

• ES90 electric sedan will debut the most powerful computing capacity ever in a Volvo
• EX90 electric SUV will gain the same processing upgrade, be upgraded to it as a retrofit
• Will support AI-based features, more efficient battery management

Volvo’s next electric vehicle will build on the automaker’s recently-introduced tech stack with even more powerful computing hardware, the company revealed Wednesday.

The Volvo ES90 sedan was first teased last fall and will be fully revealed Mar. 5. Ahead of that reveal, it’s provided some detail on the ES90’s underlying tech, which the automaker promises will be a step up from what’s already installed in current models.

The ES90 will feature Nvidia’s Drive AGX Orin computing platform, with a capability of around 508 trillion TOPS that will give the sedan the most powerful core computing capacity of any Volvo to date. Volvo claims this computing power is needed to support AI-based features, more sophisticated safety tech, onboard sensors, and a more efficient battery management system.

This new computing hardware will augment Volvo’s Superset tech stack, which was introduced on the EX90 electric SUV—although, as Volvo confirmed to Green Car Reports, the EX90 will also be retrofitted with it, under a timeline and details yet to be confirmed. This streamlined collection of hardware and software is Volvo’s attempt to realize the future of the software-defined vehicle, enabling more software-based features pushed through quicker over-the-air (OTA) updates.

2025 Volvo EX90

The ES90 will also share Volvo’s SPA2 platform with the EX90 and Polestar 3, rather than the next-generation SPA3 scalable architecture arriving in 2026 on an electric alternative to the current Volvo XC60. But the automaker claims to be more interested in software, which it said “now replaces hardware as the primary driver of innovation and value creation for our customers.”

In keeping with Volvo’s traditional emphasis on safety, the ES90 will feature a sensor array consisting of one lidar unit, five radar units, eight cameras, and 12 ultrasonic sensors looking out, as well as “an advanced driver understanding system” looking inward. These will enable driver-assist and safety features to be detailed later.

Volvo’s pivot to software-defined vehicles did not start strongly. After delays due to that all-important software, the EX90 entered production last June, but the first customer cars arrived with a battery drain issue and without some promised features. Volvo also didn’t have a ready use for the EX90’s lidar unit, but perhaps it will find one by the time the ES90 arrives sporting the same sensor.

Rivian on Wednesday unveiled new limited editions of its R1T electric pickup truck and R1S electric SUV inspired by California’s desert dunes.

Available on Tri-motor versions of the 2025 R1T and R1S, the California Dune Edition treatment cloaks the updated electric vehicles in a Desert Storm color palette and adds off-road accessories. Production will be capped at a certain number of each model, but Rivian didn’t have specific numbers available at press time.

2025 Rivian R1S California Dune Edition

2025 Rivian R1S California Dune Edition

A new paint color, also called California Dune, is contrasted with the darkened badging from the Darkout Package that’s standard on Tri-motor models. The interior features a two-tone arrangement of Sandstone and Black Mountain, with floor material that Rivian promises is easy to clean after a day in the dunes.

California Dune Editions also include the All-Terrain Package, which encompasses reinforced underbody shielding and 20-inch wheels that can either be painted in the same California Dune finish as the rest of the exterior or a dark finish. Off-road recovery boards with mounts, dark-finished cross bars, and a power bed tonneau for the R1T are included as well.

2025 Rivian R1S California Dune Edition

As before, Rivian’s Tri-motor powertrain consists of a single front motor and two rear motors, which together generate 850 hp and 1,103 lb-ft of torque. That will get either the R1T or the R1S from 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds, according to Rivian.

While the California Dune Edition can only be had with the Tri-motor powertrain, Rivian also offers two- and four-motor configurations—all using the automaker’s in-house designed motor systems and inverter tech for 2025. This headlined a number of changes for the 2025 model year—significant enough that Rivian considers these to be second-generation models—that helped the R1S earn a spot as a Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2025 Finalist.

The 2025 Rivian R1T and R1S California Dune Editions are available to order now. Pricing starts at $101,700 for the R1T and $107,700 for the R1S, in both cases with the mandatory $1,800 destination charge included.

• More than 50% of U.S. sales in 2025 are likely to be “electrified” (hybrids, PHEVs, and EVs)
• Same exec previously suggested 2025 sales topping 50% from hybrids alone
• North Caroline battery sourcing may help in the electrified push

While it’s still struggling with sales of all-electric vehicles, Toyota has seen substantial growth in hybrids and plug-in hybrids that’s further displacing sales of pure internal-combustion models.

Sales of what Toyota calls “electrified vehicles”—including EVs, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles—accounted for 43% of the automaker’s U.S. sales volume in 2024, according to Toyota’s annual sales roundup released last month.That’s up from 29% in 2023, according to Toyota sales figures.

That gets even closer to what Toyota’s been expecting: more than 50% hybrid sales in its U.S. lineup. Toyota is expected to top 50% electrified sales (including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, EVs, and hydrogen fuel-cell models) in 2025, as David Crist, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager for North America, recently pointed out to Automotive News.

Crist has made an even more impressive claim in previous interviews from recent months—including to Reuters last August: that hybrids alone will top 50% of its sales. 

Toyota Greensboro-Randolph Megasite (North Carolina) – under construction

And as Toyota has emphasized for a couple of years, the ratio of hybrids will keep climbing as a new North Carolina battery plant comes online, easing the supply chain.

Toyota announced the North Carolina plant in 2021, saying at the time that it would be ready to build battery cells for hybrids and EVs starting this year. In 2022, still during early days of work on the factory, Toyota announced a $2.5 billion expansion to add EV battery manufacturing capacity. That will help pave the way for more U.S.-market EVs from Toyota, which currently sells only the bZ4X and its luxury-branded Lexus RZ sibling in this market.

2025 Toyota bZ4X

The North Carolina factory is also expected to supply batteries for a Kentucky-made three-row electric SUV starting in 2026, and Toyota has even debated ending sales of pure internal-combustion cars in the U.S., but hybrids and plug-in hybrids will likely continue to make up the bulk of its “electrified vehicle” sales for the time being.

Nearly every model in Toyota’s U.S. lineup now offers a hybrid powertrain option, and the bread and butter Camry midsize sedan is now sold exclusively as a hybrid. Toyota also sells plug-in hybrid versions of the Prius and RAV4, as well as the Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. But sales of that sedan are limited to California, and slow sales forced Toyota to slash its price to around $17,000 in January.

• California sees EV fast-charger creation continuing in 2025 and beyond
• Program offers funding now for “ready-to-build” charging projects at retailers
• Current $1.4B program is part of $10B EV-and-infrastructure plan

While the Trump DOT has frozen funds related to the federal EV charging buildout, that hasn’t stopped the creation of more publicly supported chargers in California—and plans for many more in the near future.  

Last week California announced a $55 million project, overseen by the California Energy Commission (CEC), supporting the installation of DC fast-charging stations at retail sites throughout the state, for locations that include convenience stores, gas stations, and hotels. 

While it’s a relatively small piece of the state’s latest $1.4 billion EV charging and hydrogen plan—all state funding—that it announced in December, its timing served to underscore a point: Much of California’s EV charger expansion is state-funded and will, simply, keep rolling with or without the rest of the country behind it. 

7-Eleven 7Charge EV fast-charging station

The latest $1.4 billion program covers 100% of the costs of approved, “ready-to-build” DC fast-charging projects, with up to $55,000 or $100,000 per charging port, depending on the power level. As the state emphasizes, disadvantaged communities and tribal land applications will be prioritized but aren’t required. 

“The CEC is reviewing the recent memo and coordinating with federal and state counterparts,” said spokesperson Harrison Reilly to Green Car Reports, regarding how the Trump move might affect future California charging funding. “We remain confident in our ability to continue serving Californians and leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future for all.”

California’s own program, which will include new incentives for manufacturing, job training, and electric trucks and school buses, is part of the $10 billion it plans to spend on EVs and infrastructure as part of its $48 billion climate commitment by 2045. California says it’s already spent $2.3 billion since 2007 on EV infrastructure plus alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies. Looking forward, it’s even considered adding its own $7,500 EV rebate that might exclude Tesla if the federal government nixes the tax credit.

While the state isn’t dependent on federal funds for building out public charging, it wouldn’t be completely unaffected. As the state noted in December’s program announcement, it has “also received billions from the Biden-Harris Administration for clean transportation.” 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in November 2021 included $7.5 billion toward EV charging, in two big bins of funding. Firstly, $5 billion for the deployment of a national EV charging infrastructure, focused around designated travel corridors, and the formation of “an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability” of charging.

EV fast-charging at Taco Bell

The second big bin of funding under the infrastructure law is sending $2.5 billion toward rural charging and underserved/disadvantaged communities. California, following its own funding distribution, has already emphasized EV affordability for low-income and disadvantaged communities—and with it, remedying corresponding EV fast-charging deserts. 

According to a report from the CEC itself, the state will need 1.2 million EV chargers by 2030 in order to meet the charging demands of the 7.5 million plug-in vehicles it sees in use by then. 

Nissan Leaf and Fermata Energy FE-15 bidirectional charger – Photo by Fermata Energy

Adding those chargers isn’t simply a matter of installing cabinets and connectors, but of grid upgrades in some cases. That same report also emphasized the importance of “vehicle-to-grid” (V2G) tech, part of bidirectional charging. It underscored that without the more widespread deployment of such tech, overall electricity consumption by electric passenger cars could boost electricity demand by 20% to 25% at peak times. 

While California will push ahead with its EV charger buildout almost unfazed, one of the biggest questions ahead may be viability of its market scenario, including higher levels of EV adoption. With weak EV sales growth expected nationally in 2025, it may be building farther ahead than it’s intended to.

Kia on Monday partially revealed production-ready sedan and hatchback versions of its EV4 compact electric vehicle.

First previewed in 2023 by a concept car, the production Kia EV4 sedan retains the concept’s sleek profile and bold, multi-faceted surfacing. The hatchback replaces the sedan’s tapered tail with a squared-off shape that also looks fairly distinctive.

New Kia EV4 sedan

Kia is only showing the exteriors of the EV4 sedan and hatch for now. A more thorough reveal will take place Feb. 24 during a Kia EV Day presentation in Tarragona, Spain, at which the automaker also says it will provide an update on its electrification strategy. Full details on the EV4 will follow on Feb. 27.

The EV4 is one of three smaller electric models Kia unveiled at its October 2023 Kia EV Day event, all of which are expected to reach production for at least some markets. The other two models were crossovers, including the EV3, which is close to the same size as the Volvo EX30, and the EV5, which is sized like the Kia Sportage, Honda CR-V, and Toyota RAV4.

New Kia EV4 hatchback

Kia was quick at the time to say that the EV5 was not U.S.-bound, but it left the door open for the EV4 and EV3. A production-ready version of the EV3 was shown in May in of last year, and at the 2024 Los Angeles auto show last November, Kia America chief operating officer and executive vice president Steven Center told Green Car Reports that “we may see both” the EV4 and EV3 in the U.S.

A few months prior to that, a report said Kia was “developing a distinct North American model” of the EV3 targeting a $30,000 base price, to be built at the automaker’s factory in Monterey, Mexico, starting this year. The report didn’t mention the EV4, and Mexican production of any new EVs could be jeopardized by the Trump administration, which has threatened to levy tariffs against imports from that country.

• U.S. EV market share might be flat vs. 2024, but market expansion means 3% EV sales growth
• EV sales gained 58% looking past direct sales from Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, others
• California EV sales were close to flat for 2024, but non-Tesla EV sales gained 21%
• Policy wildcards include EV tax credit, tariffs, emissions policy, and charging infrastructure

Are U.S. EV sales still on the way up? 

The answer is yes, but there’s a complex set of factors at play, including the continued decline of Tesla sales, a rise in popularity of mainstream EV models, and all that’s potentially set to happen under a Trump administration. 

At the surface, it’s going to look like the EV market is just treading water. The analysts at the market research firm J.D. Power last week revised their EV retail market share forecast to be flat this year, with EVs at 9.1% of the U.S. retail market.

Behind that, J.D. Power cited a confluence of recent headwinds including vehicle-related tariffs, emissions policy softening, the potential removal of the EV tax credit, and the potential removal of federal charging-infrastructure funding (already in the obstructionism stage with a DOT freeze of funds). 

Looking ahead, it adjusted the entire trajectory for EV adoption in the coming years downward versus where it had been, but still on a climb after this year—to 26% of the market by 2030, with quite a wide range for variation. 

J.D. Power U.S. EV market share forecast – February 2025

An expanding market, more mass-market EVs

While there’s all that uncertainty at the surface, and might not seem like EVs are gaining traction, there’s a lot happening from underneath. As J.D. Power noted, there was a 58% rise in 2024 in what it called “franchise EV sales.” Not including direct-sales EV brands like Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, Polestar, and others, these sales at traditional dealerships amounted to 376,000 units during the year. 

There’s also the reality that the tide is rising and the vehicle market as a whole is in expansion. In 2025, J.D. Power forecasts 16.3 million total sales—up 3% from 2024’s total of 15.8 million sales. And a flat market share of EVs means that they’ll gain by that same percentage in the market. 

“We expect a flat retail share for EVs,” said Tyson Jominy, J.D. Power’s VP of data and analytics, to Green Car Reports. “With total sales expected to grow 3%, so will EV sales.”

EV sales by volume rose by about 7% in 2024, up from a total share of about 8% of the market in 2023. 

2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV

EV sales growth nowhere close to previous forecasts

So while growth is still happening for the EV market in 2025, it is far below what analysts had anticipated at the start of 2024. Bloomberg analysts in January 2024 anticipated that EVs would reach a 13% U.S. market share in 2024, at 1.9 million vehicles, and the International Energy Agency, in April 2024, still anticipated that EVs would rise to 11% of the market in 2024. 

Further, pent-up demand for affordable models and the pending arrival of some of them, like the Chevrolet Equinox EV and Ford’s pivot to EV affordability, led some, including S&P Global Mobility, to point to more aggressive EV growth for future years versus previous forecasts. 

But that all changed with November’s election, when U.S. voters made a strong statement against a Biden administration vision that had included a longer-lens green-energy focus, a modernization of the auto industry and supply chain around it, and incentives that rewarded U.S. manufacturing. 

And there may be some surges and stumbles yet to the market in 2025, as policy changes. For instance, fourth-quarter 2024 EV sales were up—by more than 15% year over year—as dealerships saw a run on purchases due to concern that the EV tax credit might soon be going away. 

2025 Tesla Model Y

The California factor—or Tesla factor, or Musk factor

It’s impossible to assess EV sales and not include a look at Tesla and its pronounced downward trend in sales. After many years of gains, Tesla sales and deliveries fell in 2024—both internationally and within the U.S. 

And Tesla’s California sales downturn was a key piece of that. Take Tesla out of the totals, and the California data tells a wildly different story. According to it, California sales of non-Tesla EVs rose 21% in 2024, versus 2023. So especially for California, 2024’s EV sales dip might have been a very Tesla-specific problem while EV shoppers flocked to other brands and models that weren’t 

In California, EV sales have amounted to about 30% of the sales total, according to the California New Car Dealers Association, and more than a third of all EVs sold in the U.S. are sold in the Golden State. Less than three years ago California comprised an eighth of Tesla’s global deliveries. 

While in 2022, Tesla cracked 10% of the market share in what used to be its home state, it’s now on a steep fall from favor—and considering how sharply sales of other EVs rose, it’s hard to point fingers to a sagging EV market. 

Tesla’s 2024 sales totals in California (based on registration data from Experian Automotive) dropped by 11.6% versus 2023, while its actual market share of the entire California light-vehicle market dropped from 13.0% in 2023 to 11.6% in 2024. The Toyota Camry edged out the Tesla Model 3 for the top-selling passenger car in California during 2023, while the Tesla Model Y held on to its spot as the top-selling light truck.

Does Tesla’s California burnout extend to other states? It appears so. Tesla sold 611,755 vehicles in the U.S. in 2024, down nearly 5% from the 2023 total of 642,504, according to Automotive News, based on registrations. So despite an expansion of the EV market across the U.S., Tesla’s EV sales are in contraction elsewhere too, and it didn’t manage to produce sales gains. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk at Cybercab event (screenshot) – Oct. 2024

While there wasn’t significant EV sales growth in California in 2024, as J.D. Power pointed out there was indeed new growth in the EV sector coming from mass-market EV models, as well as in New York, Florida, and Colorado, which have emerged as new EV sales hotspots.

To tease out the takeaway from another angle, Tesla isn’t making up for its California sunset in those new states. Its California sales drop of nearly 27,000 lands below its national-total sales drop of 31,000. 

As several polls and market analyses concluded in 2024, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was getting in the way of Tesla sales as he became overtly political and then a participant on the campaign trail—and now a “special government employee” in the executive branch and, some have called it, an unofficial member of President Trump’s cabinet.

Based on those trends, and the quantitative trends emerging from sales data in 2024, it’s hard to imagine J.D. Power’s 3% EV market growth in 2025 happening through Tesla gains. 

As 2025 unfolds, it isn’t just Musk and his memes, but the policy he’s backing from the White House itself, that will affect how EV sales play out.