EV News Daily - Technology and Business of EVs Oct 18, 2025

BRIEFLY: Euro Optiq, ID.4/5 Discounts, Electrify America & more | 18 Oct 2025

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Car

Cadillac Optic

The Cadillac Optic is a new electric car from Cadillac. It's designed to be more affordable, but the version for Europe has some features that aren't as good as the version sold in the US.

Term

kilowatt hours

Kilowatt hours are a way to measure how much energy a battery can store. More kilowatt hours usually mean the car can drive further on a single charge.

Term

charging speed

Charging speed is how fast you can recharge an electric car's battery. Faster charging means you can get back on the road more quickly.

Car

Cadillac Lyric

The Cadillac Lyric is an electric SUV from Cadillac. It's part of their new line of electric cars and has a lot of modern features.

Car

Cadillac Vistik

The Cadillac Vistik is an electric car from Cadillac. It's part of their new series of electric vehicles, designed to offer different options for buyers.

Car

Volkswagen Id4

Car

Volkswagen Id5

The Volkswagen ID.5 is a sportier-looking electric SUV from Volkswagen. It's part of their electric car family and has a design that appeals to people who want something stylish.

Car

Mercedes-Benz CLA 200

The CLA 200 is a small luxury car made by Mercedes-Benz. It's known for looking good and having modern features, including options for electric driving.

Term

LFP technology

LFP technology refers to a kind of battery used in electric cars. It's safe and lasts a long time, which is why many car makers like to use it.

Company

Fastnet

Fastnet is a company that helps charge electric cars quickly. They are building new places where people can charge their cars indoors.

Term

DC fast chargers

DC fast chargers are special chargers for electric cars that can charge them much faster than regular chargers. This helps drivers get back on the road quickly.

Brand

Toyota

Toyota is a well-known car company that makes many types of vehicles, including hybrids and electric cars. They are working on new projects to make their cars better for the environment.

Concept

K-Car system

The K-Car system in Japan allows for smaller cars that are easier to drive and park. These cars can get special benefits like lower taxes because they are smaller and lighter.

Term

Mad Max mode

Mad Max mode is a setting in Tesla cars that makes them drive more aggressively, like a person who is trying to get through busy traffic quickly.

Term

EV

An EV, or Electric Vehicle, is a car that runs on electricity instead of gas. They are better for the environment because they don't produce exhaust fumes.

Car

Subaru STI

The Subaru STI is a sporty version of a Subaru car that is designed for high performance. They're known for being fast and fun to drive, especially in racing.

Term

thermal management

Thermal management is about keeping a car's parts at the right temperature so they work well and last longer. It's especially important for electric cars to keep their batteries from overheating.

LIVE

It's EV News briefly for Saturday October 18th, everything EV in less than 5 minutes.

If you're busy this weekend, let's get you up to speed.

The Cadillac Optic is coming to Europe, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, but it's really bad compared to the US version.

I'm not sure why they've bolted a whole new battery pack into this thing that's 10 kilowatt hours smaller,

or why they've reduced the charging speed down to 110 kilowatts peak, or many of the other things,

like the range is so much lower, the power is so much lower as well.

They've given it Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, if that helps.

Cadillac Optic is the most affordable car in the range, along with Lyric and Vistik,

and it starts in Germany at about 65,000 euros.

Now, Volkswagen is next in the news, and they've been added to the Grant scheme ID4 and ID5.

That's starting out at 35,500 pounds for the pure essential trim.

Electrify America is adding real-time charger data to Google Maps to help those that use the system

to get data on Electrify America, availability, connector type and charge speed, etc.

A new study from Auto Pacific says the US familiarity with Chinese brands is rising,

and the willingness to buy a Chinese EV is also climbing from 41% to over 52% now this year.

The most well-known brands, Huawei, is leading the way.

Mercedes-Benz rolling out a new lower-cost version of the CLA, which itself is one of the best electric vehicles

you can buy at the moment. Incredible, 5 miles per kilowatt hour, crazy efficiency, awesome vehicle too.

Mercedes-Benz rolling out the CLA 200, that is going to start with some offers, discounts,

46,000, 47,000 euros, and so, smaller pack, 58 kilowatt hours, LFP technology, still charges really well,

200 kilowatts, and it's still really, really efficient, awesome news.

Fastnet, the charging operator, is going to open a really gorgeous new indoor charging station.

In Scotland, Aberdeen actually, where I've only been to Aberdeen once, worked up there for a period of time,

beautiful city, one of the most beautiful cities I've been to, but it does have the Scottish weather,

what with it being in Scotland, and a long way up as well, and so, an indoor charging station

with Fastnet, 400 kilowatt DC fastchargers, 12 of them as well, plus a shop and toilets and facilities

because this is indoors and a beautiful old building, Council have given it the thumbs up.

I mean, you won't be there for very long, but you'll be out of the elements, and that's a good thing.

Now, Toyota are leading a feasibility study, along with the University of Derby in the UK,

being given a bunch of government money, part of their 2.5 billion pound program,

to look at the feasibility of small vehicles, like quadrocycles, similar to creating a class of vehicle

like Japan's K-Car system, which has limits on size and weight to get some benefits,

and some tax incentives, things like that could come with driving small vehicles.

Tesla is reintroducing Mad Max mode. We first saw Mad Max mode back in 2018,

when Elon Musk said the car will drive like an aggressive human in Los Angeles traffic.

However, this is now being reintroduced at a time when Tesla is under unprecedented scrutiny

from regulators, from, well, through the courts as well, they keep settling cases out of court as well,

to make things go away, unlawful death lawsuits, things like that.

Reintroducing it at a time, like Mad Max will intentionally break the speed limit.

Videos on YouTube in the last 24 hours show it rolling through stop signs without stopping,

doing 15 miles an hour over speed limit.

That's what the system is coded and intentionally designed to do, but, well,

an interesting time to launch that under so much scrutiny.

Norway will start to wind down their VAT exemptions and things like that.

Now, there are 100% EV or 98.2% purebev over the next couple of years.

Subaru will reveal an STI electric performance car at the Tokyo Motor Show soon,

and Slate saying they've now wrapped up their hot weather validation program in Nevada,

with their little Slate truck passing with flying colors for thermal management, stuff like that, briefly.

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BRIEFLY: Euro Optiq, ID.4/5 Discounts, Electrify America & more | 18 Oct 2025

Cadillac Optic

kilowatt hours

charging speed

Cadillac Lyric

Cadillac Vistik

Volkswagen Id4

Volkswagen Id5

Mercedes-Benz CLA 200

LFP technology

Fastnet

DC fast chargers

Toyota

K-Car system

Mad Max mode

EV

Subaru STI

thermal management

About this episode

Original notes