It's EV News Briefly for Thursday 30 July 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 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 Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDaily BMW IX3 ORDERS NEAR 100,000 BMW has taken nearly 100,000 orders for the iX3 since launch and is raising output at its Debrecen plant in Hungary, which built its 50,000th unit just nine months after opening — the fastest ramp-up of any new BMW plant. The Neue Klasse flagship uses sixth-generation eDrive tech and a 108.7 kWh battery, charges at up to 400 kW to add 373 km (231 miles) in ten minutes, and starts at €73,925 ($85,200) in Germany for the iX3 50 xDrive with up to 805 km (500 miles) of WLTP range. BMW TO BUILD IX5 BATTERY PACKS IN SOUTH CAROLINA BMW will begin mass production of iX5 high-voltage battery packs in December at its new Plant Woodruff in South Carolina, near Plant Spartanburg where the iX5 is assembled, keeping pack assembly in-house to build a local supply chain, cut geopolitical risk and reduce logistics costs. AESC, now majority-owned by China's Envision Group, supplies the 120 mm cylindrical cells — which deliver 30% more usable energy than the iX3's 95 mm cells — giving the US iX5 a 144 kWh pack (141 kWh in Europe), an estimated 435 miles of range, 460 kW peak charging and a 10-80% charge in 22 minutes. ZEEKR 9X ARRIVES IN EUROPE Zeekr has launched the 9X Ultra 6-Seater in Europe as a luxury SUV and its first Super Hybrid, pairing a 900V dual-motor system with a 2.0-litre turbo engine used purely as a generator for 897 horsepower, 0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds, up to 737 km of range and a 10-80% DC charge in 9.5 minutes. Designed in Gothenburg with adaptive air suspension and CDC dampers, it offers reclining, massaging first and second rows, an onboard refrigerator, a ceiling-mounted 17-inch 3K OLED screen and a 32-speaker Naim system, and marks Zeekr's fifth European model in three years across 16 markets. SK ON AND FACTORIAL TARGET SOLID-STATE SCALE SK On and Factorial Energy have partnered to push solid-state batteries towards production, combining Factorial's FEST cell technology with SK On's manufacturing network to tackle the scaling problem that has held back a chemistry promising higher energy density, longer range and faster charging than lithium-ion. Factorial is already testing cells in North America and has integrated them into Stellantis' Dodge Charger Daytona prototype, claiming 375 Wh/kg energy density, while its work with Mercedes-Benz produced a modified EQS that covered over 745 miles on a single charge. TESLA SHIP LOAD SETS SHANGHAI RECORD The Chinese-built car carrier Glovis Nova loaded 7,738 electric vehicles — all Tesla Model 3 and Model Y cars — at Shanghai's South Port Terminal on Sunday, a domestic record for a single voyage, and set sail for Zeebrugge, Belgium, for distribution across Europe. The 10,800-car vessel and its sister ship Glovis Leader, which berthed the same day before heading to Busan, were built by Guangzhou Shipyard International, a China State Shipbuilding Corporation subsidiary, and rank among the largest of their kind in the world. NORWAY LEADS GLOBAL EV ADOPTION INDEX Norway tops the latest Global EV Adoption Index with 73.2 out of 100, ahead of Denmark on 64.7 and China on 64.5, backed by a 92% EV sales share in 2024, 32 public chargers per 1,000 battery vehicles and 41.9% fast-charger coverage. Denmark climbed 40 percentage points since 2020 to a 56% sales share with 73 chargers per 1,000 EVs, China recorded a 48% share and 103 chargers per 1,000 vehicles, and Tesla led brand interest across 75 countries with 71.6 million Google queries in the past year. MITSUBISHI RETURNS TO NORTH AMERICA WITH LEAF EV Mitsubishi will re-enter the North American EV market with the 2027 Eclipse Sportback EV, on sale in the US and Canada by late summer or early fall of 2026 through around 300 dealerships. Billed as all-new, it is in fact based on the next-generation Nissan Leaf via the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, sharing its 75 kWh liquid-cooled battery, native NACS port, Supercharger access and 150 kW charging (10-80% in about 35 minutes) beneath new fascias, lighting and alloys, with range and pricing still undisclosed. LEPAS L8 TARGETS EUROPE ON VALUE Chery has launched the Lepas L8, a D-segment family SUV priced from £34,900 to £37,900, using the upmarket Lepas brand to challenge BMW and Volkswagen on space, equipment and price alongside stablemates such as the Jaecoo 7, Omoda 7 and Chery Tiggo 8. Power comes from Chery's Super Hybrid system combining a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and 18.4 kWh battery, while the cabin offers an upmarket feel, generous tech, vast rear legroom and headroom despite the panoramic roof, and a 507-litre boot comparable to a Nissan Qashqai's. KERBSIDE CHARGING SEARCHES JUMP AS EV COST SCRUTINY GROWS Vertu reports that searches for "kerbside EV charging" rose 125% over the past three months while searches for "cheapest EV tariff" climbed 173%, suggesting buyers are weighing access and running costs together before switching. The trend matters because government figures published in 2024 found 40% of UK households have no access to off-street parking, leaving a large share of the market dependent on public charging and highly sensitive to the cost of every kilowatt-hour. PRINCE AL WALEED RAISES LUCID STAKE Prince Al Waleed bin Talal's investment office bought just over 19 million Lucid shares, lifting his stake to about 5% according to an SEC filing, with the prince saying he bought when Lucid's market cap was below $2 billion following speculation — since denied by Lucid — about bankruptcy or a take-private deal. The purchase, which Lucid welcomed as an independent vote of confidence, comes as the company restructures under new CEO Silvio Napoli after cutting 18% of staff in June on top of an earlier 12% lay-off, and adds to Saudi ownership alongside the Public Investment Fund's roughly 60% stake held since the 2021 SPAC merger.
