EV News Daily - Technology and Business of EVs Apr 17, 2026

BRIEFLY: Mercedes C-Class, Cybtertrucks, Mazda 6E & more | 17 Apr 2026

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Car

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Mercedes-Benz is showing off the inside of its next electric C-Class. The main focus is the dashboard screen setup and how it makes the cabin feel more high-tech.

Term

Hyperscreen

Hyperscreen is Mercedes-Benz’s big dashboard display. Instead of lots of separate screens, it’s one wide screen that stretches across the dash.

Term

heat pump

A heat pump is how the car warms the cabin more efficiently. In cold weather it can use less battery power than traditional heating.

Company

Burmeister

Burmeister is a premium car audio brand. If you choose the optional Burmeister system, you’re paying for better speakers and sound quality.

Term

4d sound system

A “4D” sound system is meant to make music feel more physical, not just something you hear. Here, the seats vibrate along with the audio to add an extra layer of immersion.

Concept

US registrations are basically the number of cars that get officially registered to be driven. Analysts use it as a sales proxy, and the episode suggests the numbers look better because certain companies bought trucks.

Car

6e

The Mazda 6e is a Mazda electric model being talked about for UK pricing. They mention the starting price and then a more expensive trim level.

Term

Takumi trim

“Takumi trim” is the name of a particular version of the car with a certain set of features. Higher trims usually cost more because they include extra equipment.

Term

LFP pack

LFP is a type of battery used in some EVs. It’s generally designed to last a long time and handle heat well. “78 kilowatt hour” is how much energy the battery can store.

Term

WLTP range

WLTP range is an official test estimate of how far an EV can go on a full charge. Real-world range can be lower depending on weather, speed, and driving style.

Term

10 to 80

This is a charging-time comparison from a low battery level (10%) to a fairly full one (80%). It’s useful because charging tends to slow down as the battery gets fuller.

Term

195 kilowatt charger

This is about the power of a fast charger. Higher kilowatts generally mean faster charging—up to the limits of the car and the station.

Term

peak charge rate

Peak charge rate is the fastest charging power the car can take. Even if a charger is powerful, the car can only charge as fast as it’s designed to.

Term

350 kilowatt DC fast charger

This is a very fast charging station. The idea is that to get the quickest charging results, you may need a charger that can deliver around 350 kW.

Concept

rebadged version of the Chinese car

A “rebadged” car is basically the same vehicle sold under a different brand name. The host is saying this Mazda isn’t just that kind of simple re-labeling.

Concept

right-hand drive

Right-hand drive means the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. That’s important for countries like the UK, where most cars are built this way.

Company

plug-and-charge service

Plug-and-charge lets you plug in and start charging with less hassle. Instead of tapping apps or choosing a payment option, the car handles the login automatically.

Brand

BYD

BYD is a big EV company that also makes batteries. In this segment, they’re talking about expanding their electric ute lineup in Australia.

Car

Byd Shark 6

BYD’s Shark 6 is an electric pickup-style vehicle (“ute”). The podcast says BYD is offering more versions in Australia, including a configuration that looks more like a traditional ute.

Concept

Ute

A ute is like a pickup truck. It has a front cab for passengers and an open cargo area in the back for hauling.

Term

plug-in hybrid off-road system

This is a system meant to help a hybrid vehicle handle dirt or rough terrain better. It combines off-road driving features with the ability to run on electric power from charging.

Term

towing up to three and a half thousand kilograms

Towing capacity is how much weight the vehicle is rated to pull behind it. “Three and a half thousand kilograms” means it can tow quite heavy loads.

Company

Lego

The host mentions a company launching “smart charging,” but the name sounds like it could be mis-transcribed. The important part is that a charging service is being introduced to encourage better charging times.

Concept

smart charging overnight

Smart charging means the car charges at a planned time instead of immediately. Overnight and off-peak charging can be cheaper and helps the power grid run more smoothly.

Term

off-peak

Off-peak refers to electricity pricing periods when demand is lower, which often makes charging cheaper. The segment connects smart charging with encouraging drivers to charge during these lower-cost hours.

Company

Rivian Adventure Network (RIN)

RIN is Rivian’s charging network for its vehicles. The segment says Rivian is changing the California charging sites, likely affecting how people use them.

Term

K car

A “K car” is a small car category from Japan. Because it’s small and meets certain rules, it usually costs less to own there than bigger cars.

LIVE

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Mercedes-Benz has revealed the interior of its new all-electric C-Class very important vehicle

Full reveal is happening next week

The headline has to be the interior dominated by a massive screen the super screen is just the standard option the optional 40-inch

Hyperscreen means the entire width of the dash is a big old slab of glass loads of matrix backlighting and 10 million pixels

They say there's also more interior space than any other C-Class

There's a new heat pump for more efficiency

Vegan society satisfied upholstery and if you get the optional Burmeister 4d sound system

It comes with inbuilt seat

Exciters to vibrate you in time with the music you're listening to

Sounds interesting Elon Musk has been selling cyber trucks to himself

There's nothing wrong with that inherently SpaceX bought nearly a fifth of all cyber trucks sold in Q4

2025 according to data which was revealed today

Also Musk owned entities or affiliated entities like XAI the boring company and Neuralink have also been taking deliveries

Out of the total 7,000 US registrations in Q4

Some experts say would have fallen more than 50% year over year if he hadn't been selling cars

To himself, but if you have lots of companies and you need company cars, why would you buy?

Anything else. However, it's clear

There's not many regular people that do want to buy a cyber truck

Mazda's 6e is priced in the UK from 38995

Got more clarity on this now. I'd mentioned the previous headline pricing

So entries entry spec 38995 Takumi trim Takumi trim plus is 40k

More details and what I've said before 78 kilowatt hour LFP pack so WLTP range

348 miles

Got the charging speed as well. The 10 to 80 is 24 minutes now

They said if connected to a 195 kilowatt charger, there aren't any of those

But I know what they mean by that. Just tell us what the peak charge rate is if it's 195 just say that

So you'll probably need to find a

350 kilowatt DC fast charger, but 24 minutes on a big boy pack

That's really good for Mazda. This isn't just a rebadged version of the Chinese car either

Delivery start later this year in the UK right-hand drive

BMW group has launched a contract free plug-and-charge service in Germany allowing drivers of BMWs and minis

To use plug-and-charge if you are in your BMW or mini account with your credit card in there

You can now use plug-and-charge useful if you are using perhaps a pool car or your fleet user

BYD expanding its shark six Ute range in Australia from one model to three. There is now now a

Cab chassis a proper Ute look

I always think of a Ute as a cab at the front and a kind of a big metal tray if you like in the back

And that's what it's got now. There's also a shark six performance, which is much more

High-end and a shark six premium as well or using their plug-in hybrid off-road system

But now towing up to three and a half thousand kilograms a Lego is launching smart charging

overnight in the Netherlands

Offering drivers the choice between from 6 p.m. in the evening to do some smart charging and

encourage people to charge off-peak and

Rewarding you with lower costs a survey by electrifying comm of over a thousand visitors to their website found 70% of non-EV drivers

So the rising fuel prices because of the Middle East conflict is driving interest in EV's Rivian is

converting for California based

Rivian Adventure Network RIN charging sites to be only

Nax and Honda has put the Super N on sale in Japan and bringing it right-hand drive to the UK later this year

That's the little K car

About this episode

Mercedes drops details on its next all-electric C-Class, spotlighting a massive optional 40-inch Hyperscreen, added interior space, a new heat pump, vegan upholstery, and a Burmester 4D system with seat exciters. Cybertruck chatter follows: SpaceX reportedly bought nearly a fifth of Q4 2025 sales, with Musk-linked entities taking deliveries, raising questions about who’s actually buying. Mazda 6e pricing lands in the UK, plus fast-charging and range figures. Other updates include BMW plug-and-charge in Germany, BYD Shark ute expansion in Australia, and smarter overnight charging in the Netherlands.

10 to 80 195 kilowatt charger 350 kilowatt DC fast charger 4d sound system Burmeister BYD heat pump hyper screen K-car Lego

Byd Shark 6 Mazda 6e Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Original notes

It's EV News Briefly for Friday 17 April 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

MERCEDES PREVIEWS ELECTRIC C-CLASS CABIN
Mercedes-Benz has revealed the interior of its first all-electric C-Class ahead of a full reveal on 20 April, showcasing a screen-dominated cabin featuring either a standard Superscreen or an optional 39.1-inch Hyperscreen spanning nearly the full dashboard width, with 10 colour schemes and matrix backlighting using nearly 10 million pixels. The EV platform frees up more interior space than any previous C-Class, and the car adds a new multi-source heat pump that heats the cabin twice as fast as combustion models while using roughly half the energy, alongside Vegan Society-certified upholstery, electropneumatic lumbar seats with massage and ventilation, an optional Burmester 4D system with seat exciters, and an optional Sky Control roof with 162 illuminated stars.
MUSK COMPANIES PROPPED UP CYBERTRUCK Q4
SpaceX purchased 1,279 Cybertrucks in Q4 2025, accounting for nearly 20% of all US Cybertruck registrations in the period, with Musk-owned entities including xAI, The Boring Company, and Neuralink collectively taking 1,339 units out of 7,071 total US registrations. Analysts estimated that without these affiliated-company purchases, Cybertruck registrations would have fallen more than 50% year-over-year, and Musk-linked companies continued buying in early 2026 with 158 units in January and 67 in February.
MAZDA6E UK PRICED FROM £38,995
Mazda will launch the all-electric Mazda6e in the UK this summer with orders open now, priced from £38,995 for the Takumi trim and £39,995 for the Takumi Plus, featuring a 78kWh LFP battery with up to 348 miles of WLTP range and a 10–80% DC fast charge time of just 24 minutes. Unlike mainland European versions, the UK model gets a single-battery setup, paired with a rear-mounted motor doing 0–62mph in 7.9 seconds, a five-door hatchback body, a 14.6-inch touchscreen, and an augmented reality head-up display.
BMW ADDS CONTRACT-FREE PLUG & CHARGE IN GERMANY
BMW Group has launched a contract-free Plug & Charge service in Germany, allowing drivers of compatible BMW and MINI EVs to authenticate at public DC charging points simply by plugging in, with billing going directly to the credit card stored on their BMW or MINI account. The first rollout covers over 1,400 charging points across Germany and Austria via partner Mer Germany using Hubject's system, and is the first time Plug & Charge has been extended to drivers without an existing charging contract, including tourists and fleet users.
BYD ADDS TWO SHARK 6 VARIANTS
BYD has expanded its Shark 6 ute range in Australia from one model to three, adding the Shark 6 Dynamic Cab-Chassis (from A$55,900) and the Shark 6 Performance (from A$62,900) alongside the existing Shark 6 Premium. All variants use BYD's Dual Mode Off-Road plug-in hybrid system combining a turbocharged petrol engine with front and rear electric motors and a Blade battery, with the Performance variant boosting towing capacity to 3,500kg and adding a dedicated Crawl Mode for off-road use.
ALLEGO ADDS SMART OVERNIGHT CHARGING IN DUTCH MARKET
Allego has launched a smart overnight charging scheme in the Netherlands using Deftpower technology, offering drivers a choice from 6 PM between immediate and smart charging, with the latter shifting sessions to off-peak hours to reduce grid strain during evening peaks. Drivers who opt in receive cashback rewards of up to 5% of charging costs, and Allego plans to expand the model from its initial rollout to around 9,000 charging points in the Netherlands before extending it to Belgium.
FUEL SPIKE PUSHES DRIVERS TOWARDS EVS
A survey by Electrifying.com of over 1,000 visitors found that more than 70% of non-EV drivers said rising fuel prices — spiked by US-Israel air attacks on Iran and disruption to oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz — are making them more actively consider switching to electric. Electrifying.com founder Ginny Buckley reported a near-50% week-on-week surge in site traffic since the start of the US-Iran conflict, while analyst Tom Barnard noted some used EVs priced under £5,000 can pay for themselves within a few years through fuel savings alone.
RIVIAN MAKES FOUR RAN SITES NACS-ONLY
Rivian has converted four California-based Rivian Adventure Network charging sites to NACS-only, removing CCS1 connectors entirely in a first for the network, a move likely driven by the ramp-up of the R2 and the 2026 R1S and R1T, all of which ship with NACS as standard. Owners of older CCS1 Rivians and other non-NACS EVs will need a NACS-to-CCS1 adapter to use these four sites, with the switch also simplifying site logistics as NACS-equipped Rivians grow in number.
HONDA SUPER-N SET FOR UK JULY LAUNCH
Honda has revealed the Super-N, an all-electric kei-inspired hatchback measuring 3.4 metres in length, due on sale in the UK from July at under £20,000, directly rivalling the Dacia Spring and Hyundai Inster. Power comes from a compact e-axle producing 47 kW (rising to 70 kW in BOOST Mode), with Honda quoting a UK urban range of 199 miles and a combined range of 128 miles, though battery and charging specifications have not yet been disclosed.
MAV SYSTEMS LAUNCHES BAYIQ FOR EV BAYS
UK-based MAV Systems has launched BayiQ, an ANPR camera system designed to help parking operators, councils, and transport authorities tackle overstaying, ICEing, and poor turnover at EV charging bays. A single BayiQ unit can monitor multiple adjacent bays simultaneously, unlike conventional ANPR systems that require one camera per bay, reducing installation costs and civil works for operators managing busy charging locations.

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