#ev

If you’ve travelled abroad and marveled at rigs like the factory-built luxury vans (that aren’t industrial-grade Sprinters) tasked with shuttling and chauffeuring, you may be interested to learn Mercedes-Benz is planning to sell such machines in America. In addition to setting its sights on that relatively untapped market in this neck of the woods, Stuttgart is readying the roll-out of its all-electric van architecture.

Score one for the vanishingly few people who still prefer a sedan over an SUV (read: just about everyone working here). BMW has introduced a new 5 Series sedan, one which will be available either as a gasser or an EV when it goes on sale later this year.

If you wondered how some of America’s speed houses were going to adjust to an all-electric future, today brings a partial answer. Shelby has introduced a Mach-E GT, a rig that adds carbon fiber body panels and a performance suspension – while leaving the powertrain untouched.

In a telling move, the first 100 copies are reserved for Europe.

Ask anyone who’s been behind the wheel of an electric vehicle lately about the state of public charging facilities and you’re likely to get an earful about broken facilities and wonky payment systems. Say what you like about Tesla (and we often do) but their original tack of building out a huge charging network ahead of dumping millions of EVs on America’s roads was the right call.

Remember that old Price is Right game in which the contestant would blindly reach into a bag and haul out numbers (or strikes) in an effort to guess the price of a car? It increasingly seems like that’s the tack for BMW’s naming system, particularly with some of their newer models – such as the just-announced i7 M70 xDrive.

If a plan from the nation’s largest retailer takes flight, the chargers one will find at Walmart won’t just be for small devices in the electronics department. The company hopes to install EV fast chargers at nearly all its stores across the country.

The design studios at Hyundai are firing on all cylinders these days, ironic since some of the eye-popping vehicles they’re churning out don’t have any cylinders at all. The upcoming IONIQ 6 is one of ‘em, set to be offered in a number of trims and powertrain options.

There’s little doubt that designers at Kia and Hyundai are currently hitting it out of the park in terms of styling, particularly with their EVs. Like ‘em or lump ‘em, at least rigs like the Ioniq5 and EV6 refuse to blend in at soccer practice.

Now, Kia has hauled the covers off its new EV9 – and its looks are bound to get a few jaws flapping.

Organizations like J.D. Power and their ilk seem to have been measuring customer satisfaction in the automotive segment ever since someone told Henry Ford he just might be onto something with his idea about assembly lines. It’s no different as we move into the EV age, with these types of surveys continuing to provide interesting insights into the minds of real-world people who have shelled out their own money for a new rig.

The brand from Korea is no stranger to applying massive styling changes during next-gen redesigns and even some mid-cycle refreshes. This tradition continues with its latest Kona, an entrant in the B-segment crossover class which retains some of the old car’s overall shape but puts on an entirely new (and slightly alarming) front and rear fascias.

Continuing the saga of hiccups with what is arguably Ford’s most important product in decades, Blue Oval suits are pulling the trigger on prolonging production downtime for one extra week in the wake of a battery fire earlier this year.

And they’re not related to the fire which we reported last week. This quality issue, reported by CNBC and other outlets within the last 24 hours, is related to “performance degradation”. In fact, about 100 owners were apparently asked a week before the fire to have their vehicles serviced for a separate issue.

Building on yesterday’s report from Chris about hiccups in VinFast delivery, we bring news that the fledgling automaker is laying off numerous employees whilst also folding Canadian operations into its American business. Its chief financial officer also apparently flew the coop.

Nissan has been trying to gain traction in the truck market around here for a few years, with varying degrees of success. Now, a new report from Automotive News suggests some folks at the brand would like an increased focus on a lightweight electric pickup.

Passengers seeking space for their electric vehicles on vessels operated by Havila Voyages out of Norway are about to find themselves left ashore. The company is taking the advice of a risk analysis firm and refusing to board any electric, hybrid, or hydrogen vehicles on its ships.