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EV Battery Material Demand Set to Surge to 22.2 Million Tonnes by 2036
IDTechEx forecasts global electric‑vehicle battery material demand will reach 22.2 million tonnes by 2036, with more than 70% of that demand coming from cell components. Manufacturers are shifting toward low‑cost LFP chemistries while also pursuing higher‑nickel NMC to boost energy density, and anode formulations are moving to silicon‑rich blends. Pack enclosures are exploring aluminum, steel and other lightweight materials.
Volkswagen announced it will skip the 2026 model year for the ID. Buzz in the United States, moving directly to a 2027 launch. The decision stems from a demand‑supply analysis and aims to avoid a short production run after a delayed 2025 rollout. VW assures dealers inventory will remain steady, with deliveries slated for early fall 2027. The automaker is also exploring a camping‑oriented variant for the U.S. market, though other European‑style versions are ruled out.
The latest JD Power webinar predicts Europe’s new‑car market will grow modestly in 2026, with 40% of participants expecting a 0‑2% year‑on‑year increase and overall light‑vehicle sales rising just 0.1%. EV adoption remains uneven, but price gaps are narrowing as small...
Ljubljana has signed a 20‑year agreement with Avant Car to launch a public electric car‑sharing service. The municipality will contribute roughly $12.3 million to build 400 parking spaces, while Avant Car is investing about $20.2 million to provide 400 EVs and 160...
MAN Truck & Bus has begun series production of its fully electric Lion’s City E bus at the Ankara plant, adding a third global e‑bus manufacturing site after Poland and South Africa. The model, with about 3,300 units already delivered across...
Analog Devices’ high‑performance power team, led by Etienne Moulin, highlights the growing overlap between robotics and automotive power architectures, especially the shift to 48‑V systems. The company’s Silent Switcher technology delivers LDO‑level regulation with buck‑regulator efficiency, achieving up to 96%...
Rivian reported producing 10,236 electric vehicles and delivering 10,365 units in Q1 2026, slightly above its Q4 2025 output. The figures align with the company’s reaffirmed 2026 delivery guidance of 62,000‑67,000 vehicles. Rivian also highlighted a strategic partnership with Uber that could...
Uber and Chinese partner WeRide added a fully driverless route in Riyadh, linking Hayat Mall and Riyadh Gallery after more than 1,700 trial trips. The duo also launched completely autonomous services in Dubai’s Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim districts, operating without onboard...
The Fraunhofer IPA‑led ‘Difference’ project targets the low recyclability of Cell‑to‑Pack (CTP) battery designs, which replace traditional modules with directly integrated cells. By focusing on robot‑assisted, laser‑based disassembly, the consortium aims to separate adhesives, foams and metals efficiently. The initiative,...
General Motors reported a 9.7% year‑on‑year drop in U.S. sales for Q1 2026, moving to 626,429 units. Toyota’s U.S. sales slipped only 0.1% to 569,420 units, narrowly missing the chance to overtake GM as the top‑volume OEM. Analysts note that a...
Stellantis is in early talks with Chinese EV maker Leapmotor to revive its underused Brampton, Ontario plant, which has left about 3,000 union workers idle after U.S. tariffs forced a Jeep SUV shift to the United States. The discussions follow...
Uber has broadened its $4,000 "Go Electric" grant to every driver in the United States, extending a program that was previously limited to New York, California, Massachusetts and Colorado. The incentive applies to Platinum and Diamond drivers who switch to...
Osprey Charging has opened a new ultra‑rapid EV charging hub at Twyford Services near Evesham, featuring 16 Kempower chargers capable of 300 kW output. The site can potentially serve up to 32 vehicles at once and offers a range of payment...
PwC’s E‑Bus Radar 2026 shows Germany added 1,397 new electric city buses in 2025, a 79% jump over the previous two years, pushing the total zero‑emission fleet to 4,752 vehicles. Battery‑electric buses dominate with 4,034 units, while fuel‑cell buses surged...
General Motors announced a $150 million investment in its Saginaw Metal Casting Operations to equip the plant for sixth‑generation V‑8 engine block and head production. The upgrade will run alongside existing fifth‑generation V‑8 output, with the new engines slated for launch...
Autonomous‑vehicle firms are publishing safety data, but comparisons to human drivers lack a universal baseline. Waymo claims its driver has ten times fewer serious‑injury crashes and 88% fewer property‑damage claims than average motorists, yet the definition of an "average driver"...
Mercedes‑Benz will equip the refreshed EQS luxury electric sedan with steer‑by‑wire, making it the first German automaker to launch the technology in a production vehicle. The system replaces the mechanical link between steering wheel and front wheels with electronic signals...
VinFast has opened bookings for its seven‑seat VF MPV 7 in India, with a booking fee of INR 21,000 (about $250). Bookings begin on 2 April and the official launch with full pricing is set for 15 April 2026. The MPV features a 60.13 kWh battery...
Tesla’s Australian sales jumped to 3,485 units in March, a 22% year‑over‑year increase and the highest since September, driven by a sharp rise in Model Y demand. The company’s quarterly volume rose 40% to 7,260 vehicles despite supply bottlenecks that have...
Honda announced a $7,500 price reduction for the 2026 Prologue electric SUV, bringing the entry‑level EX FWD price down to $39,900. The move follows a steep 65% sales decline in the first quarter of 2026, after the federal EV tax...
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno announced plans to broaden the U.S. ban on Chinese electric vehicles, targeting not only the cars themselves but also associated software, components, and joint‑venture partnerships. The proposal would reinforce the existing 100% tariff regime and aim...
Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 recorded a second straight record month in March 2026, moving 4,425 units – a 13% increase over the same period last year. The model’s cumulative Q1 sales hit 9,790, up 14% year‑over‑year, helping Hyundai post its strongest first‑quarter...
A JD Power‑Autovista24 webinar revealed that Europe’s 2026 new‑car outlook has been trimmed to a modest 0.1% growth, down from a 1.7% rise projected months earlier. The downgrade reflects slower GDP growth in the EU, the US and China, and potential...
Xiaomi has hired Kong Yanshuang, former Tesla China general manager, to head its automotive sales division. The move aims to professionalize Xiaomi’s retail operations as it targets 550,000 EV deliveries in 2026. Xiaomi’s refreshed SU7 sedan starts at ¥229,900 (about...
Subaru unveiled its 2027 lineup in New York, introducing the Forester Wilderness Hybrid and the all‑new Getaway EV. The Forester Hybrid delivers a 25% fuel‑economy boost and 194 hp using an optimized 2.5‑liter Boxer engine paired with a lithium‑ion battery. The...
Subaru unveiled the Getaway, a 420‑horsepower three‑row electric SUV slated for an October launch. Built alongside Toyota’s Highlander EV at Toyota’s Kentucky plant, the Getaway features a 95.8 kWh usable battery delivering more than 300 miles of range and 150 kW fast‑charging via...
London is poised to become the next major robotaxi market as Waymo, Wayve and China’s Apollo Go plan trials this year, targeting over 146 million annual taxi and private‑hire trips. The UK’s Automated Vehicles Act 2024 fast‑tracks driverless licensing to spring 2026,...
At the New York Auto Show, Kia unveiled the 2027 Seltos, a larger, wider version of its compact SUV that shares design cues with the Telluride and Sorento. The model introduces a new hybrid powertrain exclusive to the X‑Line trim,...
Ford CEO Jim Farley announced that the automaker will launch an all‑electric, affordable vehicle to compete directly with Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y. The new models will sit on Ford’s Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, the same architecture slated for a...
Europe's battery supply chain is gaining momentum as several key projects move from planning to construction. In France, Orano and XTC New Energy broke ground on a cathode material plant in Dunkirk slated for 2028, while Germany's Vulcan Energy secured...
Energy In Motion (EIM) secured a contract to supply 66 electric 55‑tonne heavy‑duty trucks, branded as Ashwa, to Transvolt Mobility for operations at Kandla Port in Gujarat and Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra. The trucks feature a 282 kWh lithium‑iron‑phosphate battery...
A working group proposes replacing traditional laminated glass windshields with a large, curved video screen that can display forward‑view video, side‑mirror feeds, and dynamic data tiles. The screen would switch to a transparent mode or be manually shattered if electronics...
Urgency‑sensing circuits (USCs), once common in 1970s office equipment, are being revived for electric vehicles. A partnership between BOTCH and YoYo Dyne has produced programmable, single‑chip USCs with CAN‑bus and OTA capabilities, allowing automakers to modulate reliability on demand. BMW...
Norway registered 17,406 battery‑electric cars in March, representing 98.4% of all new passenger‑vehicle registrations – a new monthly record. The total market volume reached 17,685 units, a sharp rebound from the 7,272 registrations in February and the 2,218 in January....
The March 2026 Autovista24 market update shows a growing equilibrium between used‑car supply and demand across major European markets. Sales‑volume index (SVI) and active‑market volume index (AMVI) rose in most countries, with Germany, Spain and the UK posting double‑digit gains,...
The REDSEL research project, a collaboration between Silicon Austria Labs, Infineon Technologies Austria, and AVL List, has created a new vehicle electrical architecture that eliminates the conventional 12‑volt battery in electric cars. The design leverages two high‑voltage batteries with active...
JD Power reaffirmed its 2026 U.S. light‑vehicle sales outlook at 16.3 million units, despite geopolitical tension in the Middle East and rising fuel costs. Demand remains solid, reflected in March 2026 retail sales of 1.12 million vehicles, the year’s highest month. The...
Nissan Americas Chairman Christian Meunier told an industry forum that entry‑level cars cannot be built profitably in the United States without tariff relief, citing margins eroded by a $2,500‑$3,000 per‑vehicle duty. The automaker has already discontinued the Versa, leaving the...
The U.S. regulatory gap lets automakers market Level 2+ (or Level 2++) driver‑assistance systems without dedicated safety oversight, despite their robotaxi‑like capabilities. A proposed liability rule would presume any crash caused by non‑malicious driver inattention to be a product defect, shifting the...
ATM, Milan’s public transport operator, has issued a tender exceeding €100 million (≈$108 million) for 110 electric buses. The order comprises 80 low‑floor city buses with three doors and 30 intercity variants with two doors, plus a ten‑year full‑service maintenance agreement beginning...
Leapmotor, the Stellantis China joint venture, unveiled the A10 (global B03X) as the first model on its new A‑platform, targeting mainstream markets with premium features. The SUV boasts a 505 km CLTC range, dual Qualcomm 8295/8650 chips, LiDAR‑enabled ADAS and a...
Char.gy has secured a contract with the Isle of Wight Council to install more than 1,500 public electric‑vehicle chargepoints across the island. The rollout is funded by £1.625 million of public money—about $2.05 million—and private investment, with no direct cost to the...
Vauxhall has launched a plug‑in hybrid version of its Grandland SUV, priced between £36,615 and £39,740, roughly £915 more than the conventional hybrid. The PHEV uses the same 1.6‑litre turbo engine and 21 kWh battery as the Peugeot 3008 but delivers...
French President Emmanuel Macron is on a diplomatic tour of Japan and South Korea to persuade Asian battery makers to set up production in France. The effort already yielded a $1.75 billion subsidy for Taiwanese solid‑state battery leader ProLogium, which broke...
In this episode of Autonomy Insiders, Oliver Nahon, Director of Operations at the Swiss Association for Autonomous Mobility (SAM), explains why autonomous vehicles are a strategic priority for Switzerland’s saturated transport system and outlines the country’s pioneering regulatory framework that...
Rivian has migrated its proprietary digital‑key system to the Connected Car Consortium (CCC) standard, completing an 18‑month integration that culminated in a December 2025 rollout. Early user surveys show markedly higher satisfaction, positioning Rivian’s solution as a benchmark for reliability...
Märkische Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) has introduced 20 Mercedes‑eCitaro electric buses into its Lüdenscheid depot, with five more slated for delivery in 2026. The fleet will operate across roughly 131 routes and 2,300 stops, supported by 21 charging points at Lüdenscheid and...
Mercedes‑Benz Trucks announced a new assembly plant in Cheb, Czech Republic, slated to begin construction in 2027 with production starting by the end of the decade. The facility will add roughly 25,000 trucks per year, handling both conventional and electric...
Volvo Trucks has begun on‑road testing of heavy trucks powered by hydrogen combustion engines using High Pressure Direct Injection (HPDI) technology. The HPDI system injects a small amount of ignition fuel before hydrogen, delivering higher efficiency and power than conventional...
Renault Australia slashed the drive‑away price of its Megane E‑Tech hatch to $49,990 AUD (about $33,000 USD), a $10,000 AUD (≈$6,600 USD) discount from the previous $54,990 AUD list. This is the second price reduction since the model’s 2024 launch, which originally cost $64,990 AUD. The...
Volvo Cars and Geely Auto have signed a memorandum of understanding that would make Volvo the exclusive importer of Lynk & Co vehicles in Europe. The deal would see Lynk & Co sold and serviced through Volvo’s existing dealer network,...
