EV News Daily - Technology and Business of EVs Mar 3, 2026

BRIEFLY: BMW, Tesla, Škoda & more | 02 Mar 2026

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Car

BMW i3

The BMW i3 is a small electric car made by BMW. They are planning new versions of this car that will be fully electric and look like sedans.

Car

iX3 (G08)

The BMW iX3 is a fancy electric SUV, which means it runs on batteries instead of gas. It’s made to be comfortable and fast, and it uses new technology to help it charge quickly and drive well.

Car

BMW Neue Klasse

The Neue Klasse platform is the new design that BMW uses to build their electric cars. It helps make the cars work better and use less energy.

Car

BMW iX3

The BMW iX3 is an electric SUV made by BMW. It looks like a regular SUV but runs only on electricity.

Term

800V architecture

800V architecture means the car's electric system uses a higher voltage, which helps the car charge faster and work better.

Term

Gen6 batteries

Gen6 batteries are the newest type of batteries BMW is using for their electric cars. They can hold more power and charge faster.

Term

M versions

M versions are sportier and more powerful versions of BMW cars, made for better performance and driving fun.

Brand

Tesla

Tesla is a company that makes electric cars and is famous for making advanced electric vehicles.

Concept

Gigafactory Berlin

Gigafactory Berlin is a big factory in Germany where Tesla makes electric cars and batteries.

Term

VAT

VAT is a tax added to the price of things you buy, like a small extra fee that goes to the government. It makes things cost a bit more than their base price.

Car

Dodge Charger

The Dodge Charger is a big, fast car made in America that looks sporty and has a strong engine. People talk about it when they compare old-style gas cars to new electric cars and how you charge them.

Term

on-street charger

An on-street charger is a place on the street where you can plug in and charge your electric car, especially if you don't have a charger at home.

Term

AC slow charging

AC slow charging means charging your electric car slowly using regular electricity, usually overnight, which is easy but takes more time.

Brand

Skoda

Skoda is a car company from the Czech Republic that makes different types of cars, including electric ones. They are building a big factory to make batteries for these cars.

Term

BEV battery system

A BEV battery system is the big rechargeable battery in an electric car that stores the electricity to make it go. It's like the car's fuel tank but for electricity.

Term

LFP systems

LFP batteries are a kind of rechargeable battery used in electric cars. They are safe and last a long time before needing to be replaced.

Brand

MG

MG is a car brand that makes different types of cars, including electric ones. It started in Britain but is now owned by a Chinese company.

Term

all electric range

All electric range means how far a car can go using only electricity before it needs gas or another fuel.

Car

Citroën C5 Aircross plug-in hybrid

The Citroën C5 Aircross plug-in hybrid is a type of SUV that can run on both gas and electricity. It can drive some distance using only electricity, which saves fuel.

Term

plug-in hybrid

A plug-in hybrid is a car that can run on both gas and electricity. You can charge its battery by plugging it in, so it can drive some distance using only electricity before using gas.

Car

The Chevrolet Corvette is a famous fast car from America that many people like because it’s powerful but not too expensive. It’s talked about when people discuss new car technologies and how cars are becoming more eco-friendly.

Concept

electric semi-trucks

Electric semi-trucks are big trucks that run on electricity instead of gas or diesel. They can save money on fuel and help the environment.

Car

D9 Denzers

The Denzer D9 is an electric van that can carry people or cargo. It runs only on electricity and is sold in Australia.

Term

DC fast charging

DC fast charging means plugging the car into a special charger that fills up the battery really quickly, so you spend less time waiting.

Term

kilowatt hour

Kilowatt hour means how much electricity a battery can hold. More means the car can drive farther before needing to recharge.

Term

2 plus 2 plus 3 layout

This means the car has three rows of seats: two in front, two in the middle, and three in the back, so it can fit seven people.

Term

captain's chairs

Captain's chairs are separate seats in the middle row that are more comfortable and let you walk between them to get to the back.

Concept

Chinese automotive brands

These are car companies from China that are making cars people want to buy, even in the United States.

LIVE

It's EV News briefly for Monday, 2nd of March, everything EV in less than 5 minutes.

If you haven't got time for the full podcast, let's get you up to speed.

A leak on BMW USA's online shop revealed two fully electric i3 sedans coming.

The 40x drive and the 50x drive confirmed for 2027, sharing the Neue Klasse platform with the iX3,

Gen6 batteries, 800V architecture, the lineup also adds a first-ever iX4 coupe SUV,

an iX3 in three configurations, and an all-electric iX5 plus M versions.

The website has since been taken down.

Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin produced 211,000 vehicles in 2024,

but Tesla's 2025 statement of capacity of 375,000 means a 56% utilization rate.

An output has declined since then.

The factory reportedly running at 40% capacity.

Now they do ship to Canada, parts of the Middle East and Europe as well,

but labour tensions at the Berlin plant overshadowing the current undercapacity issue

with unions voting for collective bargaining agreements,

and more of a say in how the factory is run.

A new report by Transport and Environment argues the European Union

can shrink the cost of batteries by making them themselves

with higher automation and lower scrap rates cutting the gap to $14 per kilowatt hour

between Chinese and European cells,

and also arguing that with a little bit of European subsidies and incentives,

a slightly higher price of the vehicle won't work its way through to end consumers,

but will mean a more robust battery supply chain for European EV buyers.

A UK tax tribunal might sound like a bit of a dull subject,

but this was going through the courts and I never realised,

and the court has now ruled against HMRC.

That is our His Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

They are the tax collectors.

And what this was, was the charge point operator Charge My Street

took the issue of 5% VAT rate for home electricity users,

and yet if someone uses a charge point at the end of their driveway,

that's one of the on-street ones, they pay 20% VAT.

The court has agreed with them and ruled against HMRC.

The government say they're now considering their position.

It doesn't mean you'll now get cheaper on-street parking,

but it's the first really big move in making this much more fair,

and having people who charge publicly only pay 5% tax as you would at home.

It's very, very unfair that if you literally use the same electrons,

the other side of your driveway boundary with an on-street charger,

even AC slow charging overnight, you pay 20% VAT.

That could be a big move in the UK.

Skoda has opened up a 205 million euro battery production facility

in the Czech Republic, making in Volkswagen Group's largest

bev battery system sites they're making sell to pack LFP systems,

MG narrowing its search down to five different countries.

They haven't made a decision yet for European production to avoid any kind of EU tariffs.

Citroën is refreshing the C5 Aircross, the plug-in hybrid,

going to a 21.5 kilowatt hour battery and 96 kilometers or 60 miles of all electric range.

A real-world Canadian trial of electric semi-trucks show a 12-month saving

of $157,000 per truck and described as the most comprehensive dataset of its kind.

Denzer's launched the D9 electric MPV in Australia at $86,000,

104 kilowatt hour blade battery, 200 kilowatt DC fast charging.

It's a 2 plus 2 plus 3 layout with two big captain's chairs in the second row

and a Cox automotive survey of almost 1,000 US car buyers

found that almost 70% of Gen Z buyers who intend to purchase a vehicle

would strongly consider a Chinese brand, and that's briefly.

About this episode

A leaked BMW USA shop listing reveals new fully electric i3 sedans and an expanded Neue Klasse lineup for 2027, including the first iX4 coupe SUV and M versions. Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin is underutilized amid labor tensions, producing only 40-56% capacity. The EU could reduce battery costs through local production and automation, while a UK tax tribunal ruled against higher VAT on public EV charging, potentially lowering costs. Skoda opens a major battery plant, MG weighs European production sites, and Citroën updates its plug-in hybrid C5 Aircross. A Canadian trial highlights electric semi-truck savings, and Denzer launches an electric MPV in Australia. A US survey shows strong Gen Z interest in Chinese EV brands.

2 plus 2 plus 3 layout 800 V architecture AC slow charging all-electric range BEV battery system captain's chairs Chinese automotive brands DC fast charging electric semi-trucks Gen6 batteries

BMW i3 BMW iX3 (G08) BMW Neue Klasse Chevrolet Corvette Citroen C5 Aircross Denza D9 Dodge Charger

Original notes

It's EV News Briefly for Monday 02 March 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 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 Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDaily

BMW USA SHOP LEAK POINTS TO 2027 LINEUP
A leak on BMW USA's online shop revealed two fully electric i3 sedan variants — the i3 40 xDrive and i3 50 xDrive — confirmed for the US in 2027, sharing the Neue Klasse platform with the iX3 and featuring Gen6 batteries, 800-volt hardware, and an iDrive X interior. The 2027 lineup also adds a first-ever iX4 coupe-SUV in two variants, an iX3 in three configurations launching in North America this summer, an electric iX5, and an i3 M60 alongside a full electric M3 positioned as the spiritual successor to today's M3 Competition.
TESLA BERLIN RUNS HALF FULL AS UNION ROW SIMMERS
Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin produced 211,235 vehicles in 2024 against a stated annual capacity of 375,000 — a 56% utilisation rate — and output has since declined further, with the factory now reportedly running at around 40% capacity and BYD outselling Tesla in Europe in January 2026. Labour tensions are deepening ahead of works council elections, with IG Metall pursuing collective wage agreements similar to those at Volkswagen and BMW, while Tesla filed a criminal complaint against a union member and Elon Musk warned that "outside organisations" could hinder the site's ambition to become Europe's largest factory complex.
T&E: LOCAL BATTERIES COULD CUT COST GAP
A Transport & Environment report argues the EU can shrink the cost gap between domestically made and Chinese batteries from 90% to around 30% through scaled-up local production, with higher automation and lower scrap rates potentially cutting the gap to $14 per kWh by 2030 — equivalent to roughly €500 on an average EV. The findings align with the EU's forthcoming Industrial Accelerator Act, which targets ~70% local content thresholds for publicly supported EVs, though some carmakers warn this risks making batteries prohibitively expensive while T&E's Julia Poliscanova calls it "a sovereignty premium worth paying," particularly given China's export restrictions on critical minerals.
TRIBUNAL BACKS 5% VAT ON SOME PUBLIC CHARGING
A UK tax tribunal has ruled against HMRC in a case brought by community charging operator Charge My Street, finding that a de-minimis clause in the VAT Act 1994 — capping "domestic" supplies at 1,000 kWh per month per customer — can qualify most neighbourhood charge points for the 5% reduced VAT rate rather than the 20% rate currently applied to public charging. The ruling is significant for drivers without off-street parking, though it also raises commercial complications, as many charge point operators have multi-year contracts priced on 20% VAT, and it opens the door to networks gaming the threshold by splitting sites or charger banks into separate "premises".
ŠKODA OPENS €205M CTP BATTERY PLANT IN CZECHIA
Škoda has opened a €205 million (~$216M), 55,000 m² battery production facility at Mladá Boleslav, making it the Volkswagen Group's largest BEV battery system site and the first VW Group plant in Europe to manufacture cell-to-pack (CTP) systems at scale. The line produces over 1,100 battery systems per day — targeting up to 335,000 annually — and Škoda's switch to LFP cells has cut battery production costs by 30% compared to its previous MEB systems.
MG CLOSES IN ON EUROPEAN FACTORY PLAN
MG has narrowed its European factory search to five countries, aiming to begin production by 2027 to circumvent the EU's 45% tariff on Chinese-built BEVs — a levy that caused MG's European BEV sales to fall 33% to 48,479 units last year, even as overall European sales rose 26% to 307,282 units in 2025. MG Europe head William Wang declared "it's time to build local," positioning the brand as a European marque rather than a Chinese import, as rivals BYD, Chery, and Leapmotor also race to establish European manufacturing footholds.
CITROËN UPDATES C5 AIRCROSS PHEV FOR EURO 7
Citroën has refreshed the C5 Aircross plug-in hybrid with a new 21.5 kWh battery (17.8 kWh usable), delivering up to 96 km (60 miles) of WLTP combined electric range — a 33% improvement over the outgoing model and ahead of rivals like the Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4 (69 km) and Ford Kuga PHEV (64 km). Priced in the €40–50k range, Citroën positions the updated C5 Aircross as one of the most tax-efficient family SUVs in the mainstream segment across EU markets while still targeting Euro 7 compliance.
CANADIAN TRIAL PEGS ELECTRIC SEMI SAVINGS AT $157,126
A real-world Canadian trial by FPInnovations' PIT Group and Transport Canada tracked two commercial fleets over 12 months and more than 200,000 km of Montreal-area operations, projecting savings of $157,126 per truck over six years — described as the most comprehensive dataset of its kind outside controlled demonstrations. The study compared the Freightliner eCascadia (BEV) directly against the diesel Cascadia and found that despite the electric truck's higher purchase price, higher-than-expected maintenance costs, and lower residual value, a six-year saving still emerged and may prove conservative.
DENZA D9 ELECTRIC MPV ARRIVES IN AUSTRALIA
Denza has launched the D9 electric MPV in Australia from A$85,990, powered by a 103.3 kWh Blade Battery with 200 kW DC fast charging, 11 kW AC charging, and V2L capability across both variants, all built on BYD's e-Platform 3.0 with a cell-to-body battery structure. The seven-seat, three-row cabin targets the premium end of the people-mover segment with nappa leather, open-pore white ash wood trim, a 14-speaker Dynaudio sound system, adaptive suspension, and second-row captain's chairs offering over 900 mm of legroom, massage, and individual screens.
CHINESE CAR BRANDS SPLIT US BUYERS
A Cox Automotive survey of 802 prospective US car buyers found the country almost evenly divided — 38% would consider Chinese brands if available, 39% would not — with Gen Z showing notably higher openness at 69%. Chinese brands remain locked out of the US market by high tariffs and software regulations, but cost pressure is a key driver of interest, with 68% of open buyers expecting lower prices against an average new car price of $50,000, while BYD has already surpassed Tesla in European EV sales.

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