It's ev.news Briefly for Wednesday 19 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show. Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnews U.S. EV SALES STABILISE AS USED DEMAND GROWSU.S. new EV sales hit an estimated 77,266 units in July, up 3.2% from June but 41.5% below July 2025, a drop distorted by last year's rush to beat the expiring federal tax credit, with EVs taking 5.6% of new-vehicle sales and Tesla holding roughly 55% on 42,435 sales. Used EV sales rose to 36,810 units, up 7.9% month over month and 10.1% year over year, while new EV inventory fell to 80 days, average new EV transaction prices reached $56,126 and used EV listings averaged $37,832. BMW CLAIMS ELECTRIC RANGE RECORDA BMW engineer drove a Neue Klasse iX3 1,030.2 km (640 miles) from Shenyang to Beijing on a single charge with five percent battery left, which BMW calls a record for its battery-electric models while stressing the extreme-range test does not reflect everyday driving. The car uses BMW's sixth-generation 800V battery system with high-nickel large cylindrical cells in a module-free cell-to-pack design, and reservations open at the Chengdu Auto Show on Aug. 21 as BMW's Chinese sales fall 20.4% year over year to 262,000 vehicles in the first half of 2026. CANADIAN ZEV SALES REBOUND IN JUNECanadian zero-emission vehicle sales reached 21,876 in June 2026, up 56.1 per cent year over year and taking 11.5 per cent of the market, the best month since December 2024 and part of a 7.3 per cent rise in overall sales that ended eight months of decline. The rebound followed the federal government's resumption of rebates in February 2026, offering up to $5,000 off a battery-electric vehicle and $2,500 off a plug-in hybrid, suggesting incentives still drive adoption. OCTOPUS LAUNCHES NORTH AMERICAN CHARGING APPOctopus Energy has launched Octopus Charge, a free iOS and Android app that lets drivers find, start and pay for public charging at 211,221 chargers across North America via 24 partner networks including ChargePoint, EVgo, Blink, bp pulse and Shell Recharge. The app offers filtering by speed, connector and network, live availability, pricing, an EV route planner and no markup on per-kWh costs, serving as the North American sibling to Octopus Electroverse. CHANGAN PREPARES AUSTRALIAN LAUNCH WITH AVATRChangan is recruiting for a factory-backed Australian operation covering both its mainstream Changan brand and its Huawei- and CATL-backed luxury brand Avatr, with a job advert referencing an "Avatr/Changan sales and service network" but no confirmed models, pricing or launch dates. The group, which sold 2.913 million vehicles globally in 2025, already has an Australian presence through Deepal and the Changan Mazda joint venture, and a right-hand-drive Avatr 07 was photographed testing in Melbourne earlier in 2026. BYD BUILDS MILAN DESIGN STUDIOBYD is building a Milan design studio led by Wolfgang Egger, formerly of Alfa Romeo, Audi and Lamborghini, to conduct European design research and tailor Denza and BYD models to local tastes, materials and fashion-house connections rather than imposing one global design. The move comes as BYD's share of the EU, EFTA and UK market more than doubled to 2.4% in the first half of 2026, matching Tesla's, while its Hungarian Szeged plant has slipped to full vehicle assembly in the fourth quarter of 2026. EINRIDE PLANS 500-TRUCK TESLA SEMI FLEETEinride will buy and deploy 500 Tesla Semis across California, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois and Georgia over 24 months from September, the largest publicly announced Semi order and 35% bigger than WattEV's 370-truck deal, fully financed by third parties and serving Amazon and other customers on its Saga AI platform. The order roughly triples Einride's deployed electric fleet and supports a target of converting about $800 million in potential annual recurring revenue, though the company has not disclosed pricing, charging plans or phasing, and Tesla has yet to publish Semi production or delivery figures. HEART FLIES X1 ELECTRIC DEMONSTRATORHeart Aerospace flew its X1 demonstrator on August 12, 2026 at Plattsburgh International Airport, a 27-minute piloted flight to 1,100 feet in what it calls the largest battery-electric aircraft flown to date, weighing over 25,000 pounds, delivering more than one megawatt and using roughly $5 of electricity. X1 is a full-scale representative of the 30-seat hybrid-electric ES-30, targeted for FAA Part 25 certification and service entry in 2031 with flight testing from 2028, and backed by commitments from United Airlines, Air Canada and JSX. ETRUCKER ADDS HGV ROUTE AND FLEET TOOLSThe eTrucker app, founded by Tobias Wagner after driving over 200,000 km in electric HGVs, has added route-break planning using TomTom Truck Routes, fleet pairing via a simple code, charging-card recommendations, pricing categories and time buffers for trailer detachment. As of 1 July 2026 it listed nearly 700 HGV-compatible locations in Germany, split between 154 drive-through sites, 158 where detachment is recommended and 387 requiring it, with Aral Pulse, EnBW, Ionity and Shell Recharge the leading operators.
