Electric Vehicles Cars: News & Models

A second-generation BMW X7 has been filmed testing at the Nurburgring with four exhaust tips, which points to a V8 surviving into the new car. The bigger change is the electric iX7 that joins it, reported to run next-generation Neue Klasse batteries and motors on the existing CLAR architecture rather than on a dedicated electric platform.

The Times reports that JLR has paused work on the next-generation Defender, pushing the full electric version into the 2030s. Staff were told the reason is that the current car keeps selling, at around 110,000 units a year. What JLR has confirmed itself is separate: a smaller Defender-family model on the EMA platform, now offered as a hybrid as well as an EV.

Stellantis and Dongfeng have registered Dongfeng Stellantis Automotive Technology, a company with 8.2 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) of capital that will develop two electrified Jeeps and two Peugeots. They are built at DPCA's Wuhan plant from 2027, and the Jeeps are meant for export.

Jetour has opened refundable blind orders in China for the Tourer, the first battery-electric car from Chery's SUV and MPV brand. A certification filing lists a 200 kW rear-drive version and a 275 kW dual-motor version; the battery capacity, the range and the prices are all still unpublished. Sales start in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Lynk & Co has updated its compact electric SUV for China, dropped the Z from the name and moved the car to an 800-volt architecture with 6C charging, which the company rates at 10 to 80% in 12 minutes. Lidar and the Qianli Haohan H5 assisted-driving system are standard on every version. Prices have not been announced.

Mitsubishi has updated its Momentum 2030 plan for North America. The four-model US lineup gains the electric Eclipse Sportback this autumn and an off-road version of the Outlander in the first quarter of 2027, and the company has confirmed it intends to return to the mid-size pickup segment with Nissan, without naming a platform or a date.

An independent importer is buying AUDI E5 Sportbacks and E7Xs in China, shipping them to Germany and homologating them there. The E5 lists at €59,980 (about $70,200) against a Chinese guide price of ¥235,900 ($34,900), and the cars carry no factory support in Europe.

Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Hyundai have all restored physical controls after customer complaints. BMW Group Australia chief Vikram Pawah says the company reads the same evidence differently, and the new iX3 carries no climate switches on its dashboard at all.

Fuyao has solar cells laminated inside panoramic roof glass and says it can mass-produce it. What the roof actually delivers is harder to pin down: the company has published no specification sheet, and the 720 W figure attached to it by Chinese media has been confirmed by nobody.

IM Motors opened pre-sales of the new L6 with a limited edition designed with Jimmy Choo, priced at ¥244,900 to ¥259,900 ($36,300 to $38,500) and capped at 1,000 cars. The blue is taken from a pair of satin shoes Choo made for Princess Diana in 1997. Nothing under the skin changes.

Suzuki has published advance details of the e SKY, its first kei-class passenger EV. A 26 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery is quoted at 310 km on Japan's WLTC cycle in a car weighing 1,030 kg. Prices and the full specification follow in autumn 2026.

Volkswagen is running a feasibility study into selling models developed by its Chinese operations in Europe, and building them at underused European plants rather than importing them. Zwickau has been named as a possible site. Six candidate models have been reported, none of them confirmed.

China's market regulator has ordered nearly 4.3 million vehicles from 11 manufacturers back for a fix, the largest recall in the country's history. The fault is the emergency door release inside the cabin, which occupants and rescuers may not find after a crash cuts the power. Tesla accounts for about 2.98 million cars.

Hyundai has opened UK order books for the Ioniq 3 with five versions between £22,245 ($28,200) and £31,945 ($40,400) on the road. The entry price buys the 42.2 kWh Advance and about 213 miles (343 km); the 308-mile figure Hyundai quotes for the car belongs to the 61 kWh Advance at £25,745 ($32,600). Range numbers are still pending final homologation.

Beijing Hyundai opened Chinese pre-orders on the Ioniq V in three trims, from 119,900 to 139,900 yuan ($17,700 to $20,600), with CLTC range of 540 or 650 km from CATL LFP packs on an 800-volt E-GMP platform. Sales start in September. The driver-assistance system was developed with Momenta, and the infotainment runs AI models from Baidu and ByteDance.

MG set official prices for the 07 at ¥108,900 to ¥159,900 ($16,100 to $23,600), and every electric trim came in below the pre-sale figure quoted in July - ¥9,000 off the 67 kWh cars and ¥6,000 off the 91 kWh cars. Two plug-in hybrids join below them, with 245 km of electric range rather than the 185 km shown earlier.

BMW has run a prototype of the i3 Touring at the Nurburgring, confirming an all-electric wagon for the Neue Klasse i3 family. The test car is believed to carry i3 50 xDrive running gear: dual-motor all-wheel drive, a 108.7 kWh battery and 400 kW DC charging. It is built alongside the sedan in Munich, with sales due in 2027.

GAC Aion has unveiled the Ray 7, the first car in its new Ray line and the first to wear the brand's redesigned logo. The rear-drive electric fastback runs a 180 kW Huawei DriveONE motor, quotes 700 km of CLTC range, and takes its lidar, its brakes and much of its driver assistance stack from Huawei and WeRide. Prices have not been announced.

JPMorgan analysts visited Tesla's Fremont factory and came away with the company's clearest statement yet on hardware: the HW4 computer already fitted to cars on the road is sufficient for Full Self-Driving without driver supervision. The note also covers FSD v15, a faster AI4.5 chip, Cybercab scaling from late 2026 and an Optimus line going into the old Model S and X space.

Genesis has revealed the GV90, its first full-size SUV and its new flagship, with what it says is the first airbag fitted above a car's panoramic roof. The electric SUV makes 490 kW (657 hp) from two motors, carries a 123.5 kWh battery and charges at up to 350 kW. The top GV90 Neolun drops the B-pillar for coach doors that open independently.