Plug-in hybrids are cars that can use both electricity and gas. You can charge them up at home, and they can drive a bit on just electricity before needing gas.
EREVs are cars that mainly use electricity but have a gas engine to help them drive further when the battery runs out. This way, you don't get stuck without power.
Rivian is a company that makes electric cars, especially trucks and SUVs. They aim to create vehicles that are good for the environment and great for outdoor adventures.
The Rivian R2 is a new electric vehicle that Rivian is planning to produce. It's meant to be more affordable and attract more customers looking for electric cars.
Electric vehicles are cars that run on electricity instead of gasoline. They are considered better for the environment because they produce fewer emissions.
The Porsche Cayenne is a luxury SUV made by Porsche, known for its powerful engines and comfortable interior. It's popular among those who want a sporty vehicle with more space.
Term
EQ
EQ is the name Mercedes uses for its electric cars. They focus on making luxury electric vehicles that are good for the environment.
Kia is working on a new electric car to make their brand look more modern and exciting. They want to show that electric cars can be high-tech and desirable.
The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is a very fancy SUV that is known for being super comfortable and stylish. It's like a really high-end car that people buy to show off their wealth, and now they're talking about making an electric version to be more environmentally friendly.
Car
Volvo EX60
The Volvo EX60 is a new SUV model from Volvo that will include smart technology to help drivers and passengers communicate with the car more easily.
Natural language processing is a technology that helps computers understand and talk back to people in a way that makes sense, like how you would talk to a friend.
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It's EV news briefly for Monday 19th of January.
Everything EV in less than five minutes,
if you're stuffed for the full show,
which is over half an hour, I'm sorry about today.
Let's get you up to speed nice and quickly.
Germany are bringing back subsidies
and today we got all of the details.
What was interesting, it's up to 6,000 euros per car.
They're going to fund it with 3 billion euros,
that's three and a half billion US dollars equivalent.
They're going to include plug-in hybrids and EREVs
if they go 50 miles or 80 kilometers on battery power alone.
Everything should qualify for that.
And lower and middle income families are being prioritized,
but there is no limit on what the car can cost
in terms of a cap on MSRP.
And so the base grant for BEVS is three grand,
but it can go up to six grand.
Huge, huge news from Germany today
that they're not going to keep the Chinese out.
Like the grants we have here in Britain
effectively keep the Chinese out because it's based on CO2,
where the car is made and they all fail.
Whereas Germany has gone, yeah, the more the merrier.
So bring your Chinese cars in,
you can have some subsidies off of those as well.
Huge news.
Also massive news.
Rivian is now making R2 validation vehicles
on the actual production line at Normal Illinois
from prototypes to main production.
This stage sits in between.
They'll use it to squash the bugs
in terms of the production lines and the factories.
And to make sure that the R2 is ready for prime time
because this vehicle has to work
and sell the Rivian to be around.
Porsche is hitting the brakes in terms of its sales numbers.
It's down everywhere.
North America is not doing too badly.
Europe badly.
China awfully.
And they don't quite know what to blame.
They think they're going to blame electric vehicles
because Porsche said,
well, we're going to go back and do combustion.
And yet at that time,
they're about to hopefully sell a lot of.
One of the best electric vehicles of 2026.
The Porsche Cayenne is next level engineering,
not just outside of China, but globally.
That car is incredible.
Porsche are about to make one of the best EVs
in the world.
And they're talking them down.
And the sales numbers are really bad at Porsche.
Again, worst in a very long time.
Mercedes has quietly restarted EQ sales in the U.S.
after pausing them six months ago,
which was everyone was about to buy an EV
because the tax credit was ending.
But Mercedes-Benz said,
well, our high end buyers are less price sensitive
and the leasing loophole thing, we can write that off.
So they stopped sales.
The order books are now open again.
The most popular car in China
is no longer the Huangong Mini EV.
It's actually something from Geely.
It sells as the Xingwan for £7,000 equivalent there.
But it's going to come to the UK.
That's massive news.
Now, they won't play at £7,000.
It's going to play up to £20,000.
But this is an EV that has loads of space.
Class leading space in the boot, actually.
Right up against your Citroen E3s, your Renault 5s.
BYD's Turkish plant is falling further
and further behind schedule.
Production should have started by now.
Should have started six months ago.
BYD say it's just paperwork.
We will be building cars in Turkey
by the end of the year,
but they have to get a move on.
Fastnet is shifting from rapid expansion
of growing the charging network
to making their sites work harder.
And that's starting to pay off
with each site at Fastnet,
the average revenue per site
going up 25% year on year.
Kia is that they'll make a halo EV
to have the brand seem a little bit edgy
so that EVs never get seen as commodities
and also as a test bed for technology.
Rolls-Royce will make an electric version
of the Cullinan,
but it won't be the electric Cullinan.
It looks a little bit different.
It's in camouflage shots right now.
And Volvo will be the first ones
to roll out Gemini,
the Google AI system on board.
In a couple of days time,
we get the full launch of their SUV,
the EX60,
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About this episode
Germany is reintroducing substantial EV subsidies, offering up to €6,000 per vehicle, including for plug-in hybrids, with a focus on lower and middle-income families. Rivian is advancing its R2 production with validation vehicles, while Porsche faces declining sales amid a shift back to combustion engines. Mercedes has resumed EQ sales in the U.S., and a new popular EV from Geely is set to enter the UK market. Additionally, BYD's Turkish plant faces delays, and Kia plans a new halo EV to enhance brand image.
It's EV News Briefly for Monday 19 January 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
