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Audi has published the full specification of its entry-level electric hatchback: four rear-wheel-drive versions from 125 to 240 kW, batteries of 52, 61 and 84 kWh, up to 646 km WLTP and German prices from €38,200 to €51,200 (about $41,600 to $55,800). Orders open on 10 September, deliveries start in December.
Cadillac has launched a plug-in hybrid version of the China-market XT5. A 1.5-litre turbo engine and two electric motors make a combined 517 hp and 740 Nm, enough for 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds, with a 35.5 kWh battery good for 215 km of electric range and 1,360 km in total on the CLTC cycle. It lists at ¥279,900 to ¥299,900, well under the petrol XT5's ¥379,900 guided price.
Dacia has revealed the second-generation Spring and opened orders in France. The cheapest electric car in its range is no longer assembled in China: it moves to Renault Group's Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia, onto the new RG-EV small platform, with a 60 kW motor, a 27.5 kWh LFP battery and up to 250 km WLTP. Prices start at €17,990 (about $19,600) before incentives.
Li Auto has revealed an updated MEGA, its seven-seat electric MPV. The range narrows to a single Home trim at ¥509,800 (about $75,840), ¥50,000 (about $7,400) below what the previous MEGA Home listed at, while the sensor count goes from one lidar to four and combined output rises from 400 kW to 413 kW. A 108 kWh CATL battery is rated at 710 km CLTC.
Taiwan's ProLogium has begun mass production of a large-format solid-state battery cell rated at 381 Wh/kg by TÜV, verified against a new Chinese solid-state standard by UL Solutions. Output is currently about 0.5 GWh a year, roughly enough for 6,250 packs the size of an 80 kWh EV battery, with a much larger plant planned in France.
Volkswagen has confirmed more than 30,000 European orders for the ID. Polo, with dealers quoting a minimum ten-month wait on individually configured cars - order now and delivery falls in May-June 2027. The company points to demand and to planned capacity at its Martorell plant. Sibling MEB+ models show the same pattern: Skoda has over 35,000 orders for the Epiq, and the Cupra Raval is booked out for months.
Volkswagen Group and India's JSW have signed a non-binding memorandum on a joint venture to widen the model range, deepen local component sourcing and raise in-country production and R&D. Nikkei and the Economic Times report a 51:49 split favouring JSW, unconfirmed by either party, with a final agreement targeted before the end of 2026.
Jaguar Land Rover will cut around 4,000 jobs over two years, close to 10% of its global workforce, and lower the volume it needs to break even to 300,000 cars a year. Pre-tax profit before exceptional items fell from £2.5 billion to £14 million in FY2026.
Volkswagen Group's supervisory board has signed off Future Plan 2030, which cuts the model range by up to 50% and configuration options by up to 75%, and sizes the production system for around 9 million cars a year. SEAT says no final decision has been taken on its future.
BYD has put the Sealion 08 on sale in China in eight versions between 229,900 and 279,900 yuan ($33,900 and $41,300). Every version uses the second-generation Blade Battery, which brings flash charging to the Ocean flagship: 10 to 70 percent in five minutes on the electric cars, which carry a 115.072 kWh pack and up to 900 km CLTC.
MIIT has launched a year-long quality campaign aimed at the trade-off behind China's 18 to 24 month development cycles, saying aggressive new technology is reaching production cars without enough testing. Inspectors have already visited XPeng, GAC Aion, NIO, Chery and JAC plants and pulled vehicles and battery packs for independent testing.
On the redesigned Avante in Korea and the new Ioniq 3, the screen behind the steering wheel is no longer standard equipment. Avante buyers can add the 9.9-inch driver's display for 350,000 won ($255). On the entry UK Ioniq 3 it cannot be added at any price. Without it, the speedometer lives on the central touchscreen.
Polestar has added a second body to the Polestar 4 range, and it reverses the car's most argued-about feature: the SUV has a conventional rear window and mirror. It also has 530 litres of boot space, standard roof rails and up to 630 km WLTP, and it undercuts the coupe in Germany, the UK and Australia.
Audi and SAIC have opened the AUDI Innovation & Technology Center in Shanghai, a roughly 300-person R&D operation for the China-only AUDI brand covering chassis, software, AI cockpits and driver assistance. The two companies will jointly develop four models on the new ADP 2.0 platform, the first arriving in 2028.
Tesla has published an online form inviting companies to register interest in buying Cybercab fleets and building Robotaxi infrastructure. It is the first public sign that the two-seat robotaxi may be operated by outside owners rather than only by Tesla itself. Nothing about prices, delivery timing or operator requirements has been confirmed.
Jim Farley calls the troubled 2023 F-Series Super Duty launch a catalyst for change at Ford. About two thirds of the leaders across manufacturing, supply chain and engineering have been replaced since, and the company now says it will slow a line or delay a launch rather than ship a known defect and fix it by recall.
One owner's filing has put the 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid in front of federal safety regulators. NHTSA has opened defect petition DP26007 over a reported intermittent loss of anti-lock and regenerative braking, which the petitioner says survived four repair attempts and led to a crash. No defect has been found, no recall has been issued, and the agency is still deciding whether to investigate at all.
Lexus revealed a mid-cycle facelift of the NX on 1 September 2026, with a stiffened body, variable-ratio steering and a chassis tuned at the Nürburgring for European roads. The plug-in NX 450h+ gets a 23 kWh battery, 307 hp, and DC fast charging for the first time, while the NX 350h hybrid carries on at 199 hp. European pre-sales open this autumn ahead of an early 2027 launch; the wider rollout across 90-plus countries begins in late 2026.
Mitsubishi revealed an all-new Pajero on 2 September 2026, a body-on-frame diesel SUV that ends a five-year gap since the outgoing generation left production. It launches in Thailand first, then Japan and Australia within this fiscal year, before reaching roughly 100 countries from fiscal 2027 - some of them under the Montero name. Mitsubishi has not confirmed a US launch.
Land Rover has opened orders for the first battery-electric Range Rover, built at Solihull on the same line as the petrol and plug-in hybrid cars. Two motors give 542 hp and 850 Nm, the usable 118.5 kWh pack is rated at 372 miles WLTP in the UK and 333 miles EPA in the US, and the off-road figures carry over: 900 mm wading, traction control that reacts in 50 milliseconds, and one-pedal descent on 45-degree slopes. Prices start at $138,000 in the US and £154,070 (about $208,200) in the UK.