JAECOO 7 TOPS UK SALES AS CHINESE BRANDS NEAR 25% SHARE The Jaecoo 7 became the UK’s best-selling new car in September, while Chinese brands reached 23% market share and BYD became the country’s second-largest bran. BEVs rose and are now 28% of the new cars. Despite the headline 33% ZEV mandate target, scheme flexibilities put the effective 2026 requirement at about 24.6%, meaning the industry is collectively ahead. Jaecoo’s rapid growth brings the challenge of after-sales challenge after nearly two-thirds of owners reporting problems waited more than a week for repairs. HYUNDAI MAY FILL TWO BIG GAPS IN ITS IONIQ RANGE Hyundai is reportedly preparing IONIQ 4 and IONIQ 7 electric SUVs, with the compact IONIQ 4 expected to offer 42 or 61 kWh batteries, up to 308 miles of WLTP range and pricing from about £25,000, while the larger IONIQ 7 could offer 800V architecture, at least 400 miles and cost around £45,000–£50,000. Neither model is confirmed, but together they would fill major gaps between Hyundai’s existing EVs and create a much more complete SUV range comparable with Kia’s EV3, EV5 and EV9 line-up. HYUNDAI SELLS 800V IONIQ V AT $15,000 BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE IT Hyundai has launched the China-only IONIQ V from a limited-time $14,900, offering 53.5 or 66.8 kWh LFP batteries, up to 650 km CLTC range and an 800V E-GMP architecture, although Hyundai has not disclosed its peak DC charging power. The aggressively priced model is an early test of Hyundai’s planned 20-model Chinese EV push, but in a market rapidly moving towards megawatt-class charging, the unanswered charging-rate figure will help determine whether its technology is as competitive as its price. GM’S LIMITED-RUN BOLT MEANS 35,000 CARS GM’s revived Chevrolet Bolt could finish with only around 35,000 vehicles built before production ends in the first quarter of 2027, based on the current output rate at its Fairfax, Kansas plant, although GM itself has not confirmed that figure. The $28,995 Bolt uses a 65 kWh LFP battery, delivers 262 miles of EPA range and raises DC charging to 150 kW, but the projected production scale suggests this comeback is intended as a relatively short-lived programme rather than a new high-volume cornerstone. BMW WANTS GENERIC PARTS TO DOMINATE €80BN BUDGET BMW wants standardised, industry-generic components to become the largest part of its €80 billion annual purchasing budget by 2032, while cutting the share spent on bespoke components by more than half. The aim is to reduce costs and lift automotive margins from 2.3% towards 3–5% by 2028, reserving BMW-specific engineering for components that genuinely affect performance, quality or brand character. AMPOL BUYS SCALE IN EV CHARGING WITH EVIE DEAL Australian fuel retailer Ampol will buy Evie Networks for $225 million, adding more than 1,030 charging bays across 400 sites to its existing 300-plus bays, although around 80% of Evie locations are already situated at Ampol sites. The deal comes as battery-electric vehicles reached 25% of Australian new-car sales in August and, for the first time, outsold petrol, diesel, hybrids and plug-in hybrids individually, making the acquisition look increasingly like preparation for a structural shift in transport. FEDEX ORDERS 2,000 HARBINGER ELECTRIC TRUCKS FedEx has placed an order worth $300 million for 2,000 Harbinger electric trucks for US and Canadian pickup-and-delivery routes, with deliveries due by the end of 2027. Harbinger estimates each truck could save roughly $20,000 a year in fuel and the fleet could avoid more than 1.7 million tonnes of CO2, but the larger significance is that this deployment will test their medium-duty electric-truck economics at commercial scale. STELLANTIS STOPS PLANTS AS BIG EV BATTERIES RUN SHORT Stellantis will temporarily halt production at two factories in October because ACC cannot supply enough 97 kWh batteries for long-range STLA Medium EVs such as the Peugeot E-3008, E-5008 and Opel Grandland Electric. Demand for those larger-battery versions, particularly from fleets, is exceeding supply from ACC’s struggling Douvrin cell plant, making this a production-mix problem caused by strong demand for long-range EVs rather than weak EV sales. RIVIAN SPIN-OFF ALSO TESTS WHAT EUROPE WANTS FROM ITS E-BIKE Rivian spin-off Also is surveying European consumers to determine whether its 45 km/h TM-B should arrive as a regulated speed pedelec, a conventional 25 km/h e-bike or potentially in multiple versions, while also examining which car journeys and employer-leasing opportunities it could replace. Also has yet to announce European launch markets, pricing, dealers, homologation timing or final specifications, so the survey is effectively helping decide what the European product needs to become rather than simply preparing to import the existing US model.
