Author: Sofia

Ford CEO Jim Farley, speaking to Top Gear, said the automaker wants to “democratize the rally car.” Farley explained that Ford wants to offer an affordable rally car option, but it’s unclear if he means just for Europe or for all markets. Ford has a strong motorsport program right now, and a rally car would slot neatly into that portfolio. The motorsport division at Ford wants to conquer seemingly every form of racing. There’s a hypercar in development, Raptor trophy trucks in Baja, and the wild T1 that takes on the Dakar Rally. You even have GT3 and GT4 Versions…

German company Mahle has unveiled an all-in-one solution that can be easily integrated into existing electric trucks. The unit includes a compact diesel engine, a generator, a fuel tank, an AdBlue tank, and all of the thermal and fluid management systems. Mahle says its solution can replace about a third of the battery capacity of an existing electric truck. Electric trucking is slowly becoming more mainstream, but battery-powered big rigs are probably not for everybody, at least not yet. Tesla and Mercedes-Benz have proved that you can squeeze over 400 miles of range out of an electric truck, but some…

Photo: CATL The world’s largest EV battery maker says all 20 of its operating battery plants are now carbon neutral – but most of its batteries’ emissions still occur outside its factories. CATL announced today that it has met the carbon-neutrality target it set for its core operations in 2025. All 20 plants have been ISO 14068-1 certified, and the Chinese battery giant is now turning its attention to the much harder job of decarbonizing its entire value chain by 2035. It’s a huge commitment because CATL supplies nearly 4 in every 10 EV batteries worldwide. The company held a…

Image: Octopus Energy Octopus Energy is taking a swing at one of the most irritating parts of public EV charging: needing a phone full of apps just to plug in. The company today launched Octopus Charge, a free iOS and Android app that lets drivers find, start, and pay for charging at 211,221 EV chargers across North America. Its participating networks include some of the biggest names in US and Canadian charging, including ChargePoint, AppleGreen Electric, EVgo, Blink, bp pulse, Shell Recharge, FLO, EV Connect, Circle K, Circuit Électrique, and FPL EVolution. Octopus Charge currently lists 24 partner networks on…

Image: Nissan California could turn parked EVs into one of its largest sources of energy storage – but utilities need to make it a lot easier for EV owners to participate. A new report from GridLab, Kevala, and Energy and Environmental Economics estimates that enrolling just 10% of California’s projected EVs in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) programs by 2036 could supply around 9 gigawatts (GW) of power for 12 hours. That’s 108 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of storage, or more than one-third of the state’s long-duration energy storage target for that year, according to the report. V2G technology allows a compatible EV to send…

British folding e-bike maker FLIT has just unveiled its latest lightweight folding e-bike, the FLIT M2i. And at just 13.3 kg (29.3 lb), this thing is getting impressively light for a fully equipped electric bike. In fact, FLIT is rather proudly pointing out that the M2i weighs 500 grams (1.1 lb) less than Brompton’s Electric T Line, while carrying a £2,999 price tag that is nearly half Brompton’s £5,799 price. In the past, the company has poked fun at its local competitor, once offering its own premium folding e-bike for the same price as Brompton’s, but doing so by packaging…

Tesla is recalling 2,740,642 vehicles in China to strengthen driver monitoring on its assisted-driving system, after regulators found that checking for a hand on the wheel isn’t enough to keep drivers watching the road. The fix forces Tesla to use the car’s cabin camera to track the driver’s eyes — the same kind of monitoring Chinese drivers were recently caught defeating with $20 plastic doll heads. What the recall covers The recall covers 2,740,642 domestically built Model 3 and Model Y vehicles produced between March 4, 2019, and December 7, 2025, according to a filing with China’s State Administration for…

BMW has ruled out a direct replacement for the flagship 8 Series. An executive has revealed that adapting the low-volume model’s platform to the brand’s next-generation Neue Klasse EV architecture is not financially or technically feasible. However, fans of high-speed luxury coupes still have reason for hope. Rather than abandoning the segment entirely, BMW may pass the grand-touring torch over to its newly acquired sub-brand, BMW ALPINA. Hinting at this future direction, BMW recently unveiled the Vision BMW ALPINA design study at Villa d’Este. The striking 5.2-meter-long, V8-powered concept heavily mirrors the sleek, low-slung proportions of the 8 Series Gran…

Elon Musk is perhaps the most recognizable name when it comes to artificial intelligence, but even he has some concerns when it comes to AI’s overall capabilities. Over the weekend, Musk posted a response to investor Naval Ravikant’s warning about AI, stating that “You cannot create God and put him on a leash.” Musk’s response was simple: “I hope AI is nice to us.” I hope AI is nice to us https://t.co/NefIRrrg96 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 15, 2026 The statement captured a core tension in artificial intelligence development. As systems grow more capable, the challenge of keeping them aligned…

Image: Anthro Energy Anthro Energy has broken ground on a first-of-its-kind US battery materials factory in Louisville, Kentucky, with enough planned annual output to support up to 25 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of lithium-ion batteries. The California battery startup says the facility will be the first large-scale, US-owned and operated plant producing advanced electrolytes. It’s expected to make around 12,000 metric tons of polymer electrolyte a year when it opens in late 2027. That 25 GWh figure is substantial. If all of the plant’s output went into stationary storage – but it won’t, because Anthro is targeting several markets – it could…