It's ev.news Briefly for Saturday 15 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 FORD SETS OUT UEV MODEL PLANSFord's Universal Electric Vehicle platform will underpin five models, beginning with the Fathom mid-size pickup in 2027 and an expected Escape revival in 2029, with the remaining launch dates undisclosed. The architecture supports up to eight body styles spanning B-segment cars, two- and three-row SUVs, sedans, a pickup and cargo and passenger vans, and launches with LFP cells while able to accept other chemistries. WEAKER EV TARGETS COULD RAISE OIL IMPORTSCarbon Brief analysis finds that weakening the UK's ZEV mandate — currently 33% BEV share in 2026, effectively 25% after flexibilities, rising to 80% by 2030 — could cost consumers up to £3bn ($4bn) a year, with a cut to 50% leaving 3m fewer BEVs on the road, adding 17m barrels of oil imports and lifting national emissions 2.5%. BEVs already cost around £1,100 ($1,485) a year less to run than petrol and beat rivals on total ownership cost by over £1,000 ($1,350), and while Energy UK and ChargeUK defend the mandate as the biggest single driver of emissions cuts, the SMMT argues natural demand falls short and reports suggest dilution is coming regardless. BYD RACCO TAKES OVER 1,000 JAPAN ORDERSBYD has logged more than 1,000 orders in two weeks for the Racco, its kei-class EV for Japan, and is targeting 10,000 sales by the end of 2026 in a market historically hostile to imports. Priced from £9,600 with a 22.4kWh battery and 130-mile range, most buyers are opting for the £11,500 35.8kWh version at 199 miles, comfortably ahead of the segment-leading Nissan Sakura's 112 miles. AVORE EX2S TARGETS INDIA'S COMMUTERSIndian startup Avore has launched the EX2S commuter motorcycle at ₹169,999 (about $1,800 / £1,330), using a 5kWh split-pack battery and a 10.5kW motor claiming 161 miles on the optimistic IDC cycle, 0-25mph in 2.8 seconds and a 70mph top speed. Onboard 1.5kW charging takes roughly two hours for 20-80% from a household socket, and features include a 7-inch TFT display, geo-fencing and a simulated four-speed SYFT mode, with no export plans announced. HUNGARY CURBS EV CHARGING IN HEATWAVEHeatwave and drought have cut Danube cooling water and left Hungary's only nuclear plant at Paks running at a fraction of capacity, forcing charging networks to curb evening peak demand. MOL has capped fast chargers at 100kW from 17:00-22:00, E.ON Drive Infrastructure has halved output at 300kW-plus sites to free up 10MW of grid capacity, Shell Recharge has limited stations to 150kW, Tesco and Metro have switched chargers off, and EV.app is instead pricing peak sessions at 420 forints (about €1.16) per kWh. BCP PLANS 1,128 ON-STREET EV SOCKETSBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council will install 564 on-street chargers providing 1,128 public sockets by March 2029, delivered by Connected Kerb and aimed mainly at residents without off-street parking. The mostly lower-speed AC units form part of a £16.5m Dorset-wide programme funded by the Department for Transport's LEVI fund and private investment. PORTER'S 10,000TH ELECTRIC TRUCKIndian intra-city freight marketplace Porter has flagged off its 10,000th electric truck in Delhi, running over 50,000 EVs monthly across 50 cities via 600,000 driver-partners and claiming 1.85bn km of empty running eliminated, worth ₹10bn ($105m) in avoided fuel imports. Utilisation rather than fleet size is the pitch — Porter wants daily trips up from 1.5 to 2.5 — with owner-drivers funding vehicles themselves at ₹400,000-500,000 and Omega Seiki Mobility supplying 5,000 three-wheelers for last-mile work. COSTANOA TO HOST PEBBLE FLOW STAYSCostanoa in Pescadero, California, becomes the first hospitality destination where guests can book an overnight stay in a Pebble Flow, the all-electric, software-defined travel trailer developed by Apple, Tesla, Rivian and Zoox alumni. Sleeping two adults and two children with rooftop solar, off-grid power, Starlink and climate control, rates start at $450 (£332 / €389) a night plus tax and a $10 conservation fee, with a two-night weekend minimum.
