Today's Automotive Pulse
Volkswagen expands Rivian stake amid $1.75B fine risk
Volkswagen is increasing its investment in Rivian while facing potential fines of $1.75 billion over regulatory concerns. The move underscores the automaker's push into electric vehicles despite mounting compliance challenges.
Also developing:
By the numbers: LTM Ltd acquires Randstad’s Europe and Australia units for $186M
Bentley’s First EV Spied Looking Large And In Charge
Bentley’s first all‑electric SUV was photographed testing on the Nürburgring, confirming the brand’s move toward zero‑emission models. The prototype, roughly five metres long, sits below the Bentayga in size but retains Bentley’s flagship dimensions and will launch later in 2026 on the PPE architecture, which cannot accommodate a combustion engine. Industry insiders expect performance and charging capabilities comparable to the Porsche Cayenne Electric, with up to 400 kW fast‑charging and a four‑digit horsepower figure. Bentley plans to keep gasoline and plug‑in hybrids alongside the EV to broaden its customer base, especially in the United States.
Lucid Motors Launches Robotaxi Service with Uber and Nuro to Take on Tesla
Lucid Motors announced a robotaxi service built on its Gravity SUV, Uber's ride‑hailing platform and Nuro's Level 4 autonomous system. The partnership, showcased at CES, aims to rival Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions as Lucid ramps up production in Arizona.
Ouster's Rev8 Color Lidar Boosts Stock 3% as It Merges Vision and Depth
Ouster unveiled its Rev8 line of native‑color lidar sensors, a hybrid that captures 3‑D depth and full‑color imagery in a single data stream. The announcement lifted Ouster shares 3.19% to $27.30 and positions the company at the forefront of high‑volume...
How Many Cybertrucks Has Tesla Sold to the Public? Fewer than You Might Think
Tesla’s Cybertruck sales have sharply declined, with only 20,237 units sold in 2025—a 48.1% drop from the previous year and a 45% fall in Q1 2025. In the fourth quarter, 1,279 of the 7,071 U.S. registrations were transferred to SpaceX,...
Tovion Unveils Passenger Trailer with Integrated Electric Drive
German startup Tovion showcased its eTrailer, a passenger‑car trailer equipped with a dedicated electric drive, at the E‑Cannonball and Formula E events. The system uses Schaeffler hub‑motors delivering up to 120 kW and a modular battery pack ranging from 25 kWh to 100 kWh,...
As Costs Drop, Hydrogen Energy Options Are Being Grasped Globally
China is rapidly scaling its hydrogen ecosystem, targeting 100,000 fuel‑cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) by 2030 and driving end‑user hydrogen prices below $3.50 per kilogram. Lhyfe reported delivering 700 hydrogen trucks and buses in December 2025, with 1,400 additional orders, while expanding...
UK Car
UK new car volumes ~2.1M by 2026; EV share cut to 26.8% after weak Q1. Key: consumer demand, OEM transition. Risk: slower EV uptake. Trade: prefer diversified UK auto suppliers vs pure EVs. — Viktor Kopylov, PhD, CFA More insights: t.me/si14Kopylov
Colour Lidar Launch From Ouster
Ouster has introduced its Rev8 portfolio of OS digital LiDAR sensors, featuring the world’s first patented native colour LiDAR powered by the next‑generation L4 silicon architecture. The L4 chip delivers up to double the range and resolution of previous models,...
Strong UK New Car Market Growth Reported for April
UK new‑car registrations jumped 24% year‑on‑year in April to 149,247, the strongest April since 2019. The market hit the two‑million EV milestone, with electric models capturing 26.2% of registrations and posting 59.1% growth. Ford’s Puma reclaimed the top‑selling model slot...
Automotive Supply Chains Are Paying the Price of Freight Blind Spots
Automotive shippers are feeling the fallout from the 2026 Middle East conflict, which has spiked both ocean and air freight rates and strained capacity. Xeneta’s research shows 49% of the sector now cites market volatility as the primary driver of...
VW Group Risks $1.7 Billion Fine For Missing Emissions Target
Volkswagen Group warned it could incur up to €1.5 billion ($1.75 billion) in CO₂ fines across 2025‑2027 if it fails EU fleet‑wide emissions targets. The automaker projects annual penalties of €500 million (about $540 million) and faces stricter 2030 rules demanding a 55% emissions...
Nissan Cancels BEV Production Plans for Mississippi Plant in the US
Nissan Motor has abandoned plans to build two battery‑electric SUVs at its Canton, Mississippi plant, citing a slowdown in U.S. BEV demand after federal purchase incentives were withdrawn. The shift is part of the broader "Nissan Vision" strategy announced in...
Ford’s ‘Employee Pricing For All’ Is Back. Here’s How Much You Can Save On EVs
Ford has re‑launched its “Employee Pricing For All” incentive, cutting the list price of its electric models by as much as $4,000. The 2025 Mustang Mach‑E now starts at $38,000, roughly $2,000 below MSRP, while the discontinued 2025 F‑150 Lightning...
BYD April NEV Sales Fall 26% Year-on-Year
BYD reported a sharp decline in April 2026 NEV output, producing 322,298 units and selling 321,123, a 26% year‑on‑year drop. Year‑to‑date figures show NEV production at 1.03 million and sales at 1.02 million, both down roughly a quarter from the prior year....
EVs At 98.6% Share In Norway – Tesla Model Y Best-Seller
Plug‑in electric vehicles captured 98.6% of Norway’s passenger‑car registrations in Q1 2026, up from 95.2% a year earlier. Battery‑electric cars alone accounted for 97.9% of sales while plug‑in hybrids fell to 0.7%. Overall volume slipped 14% YoY to 27,175 units, but...
Rivian Expands Georgia EV Plant to 300,000 Capacity Ahead of R2 Launch
Rivian announced a 50% boost to its Georgia plant’s annual capacity, raising the target to 300,000 vehicles. The expansion is financed by an updated Department of Energy loan package worth up to $4.5 billion. Construction will begin in 2026 with production...
Middle East Weekly: Li Auto Expands UAE, Saudi Footprint; UAE Launches Industrial Fund; Qatar Rolls Out Business Measures; and More
Li Auto announced its entry into the UAE and Saudi Arabian markets, launching its L series through partnerships with Al Fahim Motors and Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors. Lenovo confirmed that its Riyadh factory will start commercial production this year, targeting two million devices annually...
Toyota and Hyroad Energy Launch Hydrogen Truck Deployment in California
Toyota Motor North America and Hyroad Energy have signed a definitive agreement to deploy 40 hydrogen fuel‑cell Class 8 trucks in Southern California. Hyroad will provide the vehicles, maintenance, data analytics and fleet‑management software, while Toyota will supply hydrogen from a...
Keysight and CATARC Open Joint EV Charging Test Lab
Keysight Technologies and China’s automotive testing authority CATARC have launched a Joint Innovation Laboratory for Charging Test Technology. The facility will evaluate electric‑vehicle charging systems against Chinese, European and North American standards, including China’s upcoming 2024 National Standard and the...
Geotab Integrates Polestar EVs Into MyGeotab Fleet Tool
Geotab has added Polestar electric vehicles to its OEM telematics network, allowing fleet operators to view factory‑connected Polestar data directly in the MyGeotab platform. The integration, available in North America, Europe and Asia‑Pacific, covers all Polestar models and eliminates the...
Paygasus and Enghouse Launch Joint Payment Platform
Paygasus and Enghouse Transportation and Public Safety have unveiled a unified payment platform that combines contactless fare collection, parking revenue management, and EV‑charging payment processing for North American transit agencies and municipalities. The cloud‑native solution consolidates all transactions into a...
Einride to Develop Swedish Dual-Use Tracked AV
Einride is co‑leading a three‑year initiative with Sweden’s National Road and Transport Research Institute and about 40 partners to build an autonomous tracked all‑terrain vehicle. The platform, powered by Einride Driver software, will move standard EU pallets of food and...
Chinese Supply Chain Key to $30K EV Mass Adoption
Back @MacroPoloChina we did a EV supply chain project on how you get to $30,000 EV by selecting different supply chain options (hint: you can only do it by selecting Chinese vendors). We thought that was the sweet spot for...
Inside Ford’s Efforts to Build an Affordable Electric Truck
Ford has set up an Electric Vehicle Development Center (EVDC) in Long Beach, California, operating as a skunkworks to fast‑track its universal electric vehicle (UEV) platform and an affordable midsize pickup slated for 2027. Around 350 engineers work alongside 480...
Boosting Made-in-EU EVs & Batteries with the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA)
The European Commission’s Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) seeks to embed Union‑preference rules and foreign‑direct‑investment (FDI) conditions into law to accelerate a Made‑in‑EU electric‑vehicle and battery ecosystem. Transport & Environment (T&E) welcomes the proposal but warns that loopholes—such as subsidies for...
Jaguar Land Rover Could Have Shifted Production From UK without £380m Battery Subsidy, Officials Warned
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said it would have considered moving vehicle production out of the UK if a £380 million ($483 million) battery subsidy for its sister firm Agratas had not been granted. The Department for Business and Trade warned that without...
Malaysia Needs a Coordinated National Strategy to Accelerate EV Adoption in the Tourism Sector – MATTA
Malaysia’s tourism sector is lagging in electric vehicle (EV) adoption, prompting the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) to call for a coordinated national strategy. MATTA president Nigel Wong argues that EV uptake requires more than swapping fuel...
Australia Electric Car Sales Surge to Record 16.46 Pct Share as BYD Takes Lead, Followed by Geely and Zeekr
Australian electric‑vehicle sales hit a record 16.46% of the market in April 2026, with 15,459 EVs sold out of 94,049 total vehicles. Chinese manufacturers BYD, Geely and Zeekr dominated the top‑five, led by BYD’s Sealion 7 SUV at 1,780 units, while...
BYD's Passenger EV Sales Drop for an Eighth Month as Competition Heats Up
BYD delivered 314,100 new‑energy passenger vehicles in April, a 15.7% year‑over‑year decline and the eighth consecutive month of falling sales. Export volumes surged to a record 135,098 units, up more than 70% from the same month in 2025. Domestic rivals...
2025 Truck Registrations Slip 16% as Fleets Turn to Mixed Powertrains
Class 8 tractor registrations dropped 16% in 2025, and registrations across diesel, natural‑gas, hydrogen and electric drivetrains all fell. Fleet managers responded by diversifying powertrains, mixing diesel, CNG, battery‑electric and emerging technologies to hedge against a freight recession, fuel price...
You Have No Idea How Much You Still Use BlackBerry
BlackBerry has reinvented itself by monetizing QNX, its real‑time operating system embedded in roughly 275 million cars worldwide. The software underpins critical driver‑assistance functions such as collision warnings, blind‑spot alerts and adaptive cruise control. Beyond automotive, QNX powers surgical robots, factory...
The Secret Team Blowing Up Ford’s Assembly Line to Make a $30,000 Electric Truck
Ford is developing a $30,000 electric pickup that promises a 300‑mile range and a 2027 launch. A covert team of engineers performed 3 a.m. tests at the Allen Park plant, sidestepping normal procedures to accelerate development. The project merges Silicon Valley talent...
Israel April 2026: Chinese at 47.3% Share, Omoda Jaecoo Hits Record 15.5% Share
In April 2026 Omoda Jaecoo surged to the top of Israel’s new‑car market with a 15.5% share, up 190.7% year‑over‑year, making it the leading brand. Chinese manufacturers collectively captured 47.3% of registrations, more than double their 21.7% share a year...
Rolls‑Royce Unveils Ultra‑Limited $3.5 Million Electric Convertible, Production Capped at 100
Rolls‑Royce announced an ultra‑luxury electric convertible limited to 100 hand‑crafted units, with deliveries set for 2028. The model, priced at several million pounds (about $3.5 million), will be allocated by invitation only, underscoring the brand’s push toward electrified exclusivity.
Hirschbach to Deploy 500 Aurora‑Powered Autonomous Trucks by 2027
Hirschbach Motor Lines announced a memorandum of understanding to acquire 500 Aurora‑equipped autonomous trucks, with deliveries slated for 2027. The deal promises up to 500 million driverless miles and a revenue stream for Aurora worth hundreds of millions of dollars, marking...
Tesla Already Has 10 Billion Miles of Human Driving Data for FSD.
I feel like the writers at The Verge get stupider every week. What Elon said, in response to a thread about Nvidia Alpamayo, was that safe unsupervised self-driving required a training set somewhere on the order of 10 billion miles....
Chinese Automakers Lead Africa’s Rapid EV Surge
Across Africa, EV adoption is now among the fastest-growing globally and Chinese automakers capturing the lion’s share of the market. On this week's Next Africa Podcast Jennifer Zabasajja looks at China’s growing grip on Africa’s EV fast lane. https://t.co/0eQfp5JrH4
Ouster Unveils Rev8 OS, First Native‑Color Lidar for Autonomous Systems
Ouster Inc. introduced the Rev8 OS sensor family, its first native‑color lidar that doubles the range and resolution of its prior generation. The launch follows a $38 million StereoLabs acquisition and promises to accelerate commercial autonomy across vehicles and robotics.
China Remains Top Car Supplier as ICE Dominates Sales
Australian vehicle sales Apr 2026 VFACTs + EV Council - 5May2026 BEV share 17% Hybrid (inc PHEV) 30.5% ICE only drive train share 52.5% Country of origin: China number one car supplier in Australia again April 2026 China 28% of sales Jan-Apr 2026, Japan 24% https://t.co/OQf2N5E3TL
Tesla Aims to Create Universal Mobility API
What Tesla is trying to build is an API for “go anywhere and do anything”
European Stocks Hold Steady as Auto Shares Slip on Looming U.S. Tariffs
European shares barely moved on Monday, with the pan‑European STOXX 600 ending at 611.98 points. The auto sector, however, tumbled as U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a tariff increase to 25% on European cars and trucks, pressuring German manufacturers.
Sweden Trials Electrified Road Charging EVs on the Move
Sweden Tests eRoadArlanda Electrified Road That Charges #EVs While Driving by @_fluxfeeds #EmergingTech #Technology #Innovation #Tech https://t.co/8FpE5jsjhp
NEV Charging Spikes 55.6% on May Day, Signaling Travel Shift
Xinhua: "China's highway NEV charging volume jumped 55.6% year on year on the first day of the five-day May Day holiday, underscoring a fundamental shift in travel patterns as electric vehicles have become a popular choice for long-distance journeys." https://t.co/ugj5Om5aIa
MicroVision Expands Lidar Portfolio After Two Acquisitions
MicroVision announced the expansion of its lidar portfolio after acquiring Luminar Technologies' Halo and Iris sensors for $33 million and Germany‑based Scantinel Photonics, which brings ultra‑long‑range FMCW technology. The company aims to cut sensor prices to about $200 and apply the...
Volvo and AUR Launch
$AUR and Volvo light up Dallas to Oklahoma City. 200 miles, customer endpoints, 5 days a week. Supervised for now. Volvo targeting hundreds of VNL Autonomous trucks in 2027. Great milestone for both companies.✅
First $300M Milestone Cleared in Uber‑Rivian Autonomy Deal
Milestone #1 in the $UBER / $RIVN deal is done. $300M paid. This was a regulatory milestone. The remaining 4 milestones, presumably operating ones tied to delivering autonomy, are worth another $950M. Looking forward to seeing them checked off. https://t.co/3iumf42sZK
Xiaomi Has Conquered China. It’s About To Put the Screws To Europe
Xiaomi, the Chinese phone and tech giant, has opened a Munich‑based R&D center staffed with former BMW, Porsche and Lamborghini engineers. In just two years the company sold more than 600,000 EVs in China and reached profitability, outpacing many rivals....
Mack Doubles Battery-Electric Infrastructure Program Size
At the 2026 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo, Mack Trucks announced it is doubling the size of its battery‑electric infrastructure program by adding ABM and Lane Valente Industries to the existing InCharge Energy and Heliox partners. The expanded turnkey network will...
AI Drives the Future of Autonomous Robotaxis
How #AI is powering the next generation of robotaxis by @tim @rafeuddin_ @ian_bott_artist @BobHaslett @ft Learn more: https://t.co/TU5D0fF0MF #ArtificialIntelligence #ML #MachineLearning https://t.co/Vgv9BebhYj
Tesla's Austin Robotaxi Fleet Begins Unsupervised Evening Service
Tesla announced that its Austin robotaxi fleet started operating without driver supervision during evening hours on May 4, 2026. The move lifts the previous daylight‑only restriction, aligning Austin with Dallas and Houston and extending the service’s operational design domain into low‑light...