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FORD SETS OUT UEV MODEL PLANS https://evne.ws/cnrcy

WEAKER EV TARGETS COULD RAISE OIL IMPORTS https://evne.ws/o4guz

BYD RACCO TAKES OVER 1,000 JAPAN ORDERS https://evne.ws/4oxe1

WEAKER EV TARGET COULD COST £3BN https://evne.ws/s5pje

CHECK BEFORE RECORDING https://evne.ws/ysit3

EV MANDATE FACES PRESSURE AS USED EV SALES RISE https://evne.ws/ysit3

CHECK BEFORE RECORDING https://evne.ws/ksboz

AVORE EX2S TARGETS INDIA’S COMMUTERS https://evne.ws/ksboz

HUNGARY CURBS EV CHARGING IN HEATWAVE https://evne.ws/salu6

BCP PLANS 1,128 ON-STREET EV SOCKETS https://evne.ws/1gz9g

PORTER FLAGS OFF 10,000TH ELECTRIC TRUCK https://evne.ws/farfh

COSTANOA TO HOST PEBBLE FLOW STAYS https://evne.ws/5y545

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 PLANS
Ford'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 IMPORTS
Carbon 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 ORDERS
BYD 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 COMMUTERS
Indian 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 HEATWAVE
Heatwave 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 SOCKETS
Bournemouth, 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 TRUCK
Indian 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 STAYS
Costanoa 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.

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GLOBAL EV SALES RISE, BUT CHINA RETREATS https://evne.ws/6pnct

CHECK BEFORE RECORDING https://evne.ws/faukr

ULTIUM CELLS TO RESTART OHIO OUTPUT https://evne.ws/faukr

VOLKSWAGEN OPENS ID.3 NEO UK ORDERS https://evne.ws/d2xlk

TESLA PLANS 124-STALL SUPERCHARGER IN SOUTHERN SAN FRANCISCO https://evne.ws/7aced

JD POWER RATES DC CHARGING 666, IONNA DEBUTS AT 803 https://evne.ws/cccw3

CHARGING FAILURES HIT SIX-YEAR LOW https://evne.ws/p4qow

CHINESE CAR MAKERS BUILD IN AFRICA https://evne.ws/15fpn

GAC ADDS 44KWH AION UT WITH 320KM (199 MILES) WLTP RANGE IN LATE 2026 https://evne.ws/rf0si

HONGQI TO ENTER AUSTRALIA IN 2027 https://evne.ws/kaakh

XCHARGE POWERS ELECTRIC AIRPORT FIRE ENGINE https://evne.ws/pj2hu

It's ev.news Briefly for Friday 14 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

GLOBAL EV SALES RISE, BUT CHINA RETREATS
Global EV sales hit 1.85 million in July 2026, up 9% year on year but down 10% on June, with China falling 5% to around 980,000 even as NEVs took a record 60.4% of its new vehicle sales and NEV passenger exports jumped 147.8% to 540,000. Europe rose 33% to 450,000 and other markets 97% to 280,000, while North America fell 27% to 140,000 as the US decline widened beyond 30%.

ULTIUM CELLS TO RESTART OHIO OUTPUT
Ultium Cells restarts battery-cell production next week at its Warren, Ohio plant after a seven-month shutdown blamed on falling EV demand and the cancelled $7,500 federal tax credit. The GM–LG joint venture site makes large-format NCMA pouch cells with over 45GWh annual capacity for nearly all GM EVs, and expects headcount to reach 1,400 after cutting roughly 1,330 jobs at closure.

VOLKSWAGEN OPENS ID.3 NEO UK ORDERS
Volkswagen opened UK orders for the ID.3 Neo on 13 August 2026 from £33,080, or £31,580 after the Government's £1,500 Electric Car Grant, with 50, 58 and 79 kWh batteries giving up to 390 miles and DC charging from 100 kW to 183 kW. The revised hatchback gains new LED headlights, an illuminated badge, the return of physical buttons and rotary controls, a new Innovision system with an in-car app shop, and a 3.6 kW V2L adapter.

TESLA PLANS 124-STALL SUPERCHARGER IN SOUTHERN SAN FRANCISCO
Tesla filed plans on 26 May 2026 for a 124-stall Supercharger at 75 Waterloo Street in southern San Francisco, one of the largest globally and unusual for sitting inside a city rather than beside a highway. The site draws entirely from the grid with no solar canopies or Megapack storage, and includes a 416-square-foot building with two restrooms, vending machines and water fountains open 24 hours.

CHARGING FAILURES HIT SIX-YEAR LOW
Public charging failures fell to 12% in the second quarter from 14% a year earlier and 19% in 2023 and 2024, the lowest in the six-year history of JD Power's study, which credited faster chargers and larger destination-style sites. Ionna led DC fast-charger satisfaction on 807 out of 1,000, ahead of Mercedes-Benz on 797, Rivian on 755 and Tesla on 701, against a segment average of 666.

CHINESE CAR MAKERS BUILD IN AFRICA
Chinese car makers are opening African factories to absorb domestic overcapacity and sidestep European and North American trade barriers, with Chery buying Nissan's Rosslyn plant near Pretoria in July and BAIC and Great Wall already operating on the continent. South Africa, Morocco, Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana are drawing investment through rebates, tax breaks and import bans on fossil-fuel cars, though weak grids, thin charging infrastructure and policy uncertainty still deter long-term commitment.

GAC ADDS 44KWH AION UT WITH 320KM (199 MILES) WLTP RANGE IN LATE 2026
GAC will add a 44kWh lithium iron phosphate entry version of the Aion UT with an estimated 320km (199 miles) WLTP range, priced under AUD$30,000 before on-road costs. It sits below the 60kWh Premium and Luxury at AUD$31,990 and AUD$35,990, answering cheaper rivals such as BYD's AUD$23,990 Atto 1 Essential and Geely's AUD$26,490 EX2 Complete.

HONGQI TO ENTER AUSTRALIA IN 2027
Hongqi will launch in Australia under the HQ name in January 2027 via Sydney distributor Greentech, starting with the E-HS9 large three-row electric SUV. Entry cars use a 99kWh NMC battery for 465km (289 miles) WLTP and higher trims a 120kWh pack for 515km (320 miles), with six- or seven-seat layouts and twin 16.2-inch displays, but no announced pricing.

XCHARGE POWERS ELECTRIC AIRPORT FIRE ENGINE
XCharge North America has deployed a 400-kW ultra-fast charger at Dallas Love Field Airport to serve Dallas Fire-Rescue's Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 Electric, billed as the world's first fully electric aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle. The airport handles almost 18 million passengers a year, and XCharge argues electrification reduces the logistical and environmental risks of moving and storing liquid fuel around aircraft operations.

One flag: the GAC headline says late 2026, but the copy says "late next year" — from an August 2026 dateline those are a year apart. Worth resolving before publication.

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CHINA'S CHEAP EREVS LOSE GROUND https://evne.ws/mntgf

CHECK BEFORE RECORDING https://evne.ws/svo1f

GEELY GALAXY TT PRE-SALES OPEN IN CHINA https://evne.ws/svo1f

DENZA N8 CLAIMS 1,003KM MAXIMUM RANGE https://evne.ws/o0nt9

LUXEED RX ORDERS OPEN ON AUGUST 20 https://evne.ws/gppiu

CHECK BEFORE RECORDING https://evne.ws/gppiu

LUXEED SHOWS RX FIVE-SCREEN CABIN https://evne.ws/gppiu

STELATO G9 DRAWS EARLY PRE-ORDERS https://evne.ws/sokcz

BYD OPENS SEALION 08 PRE-ORDERS IN CHINA https://evne.ws/me4jc

TESLA DROPS FROM CHINA'S JULY TOP 10 NEV RANKING https://evne.ws/dwybk

FUZHOU SWAPS DIESEL CRUISES FOR ELECTRIC BOATS https://evne.ws/dvqaf