EV News Daily - Technology and Business of EVs Mar 10, 2026

BRIEFLY: Scout, Rivian, Price Parity & more | 09 Mar 2026

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Car

Scout Traveler

The Scout Motors Traveller is an electric SUV, which means it runs on electricity instead of gasoline. It's one of the new electric cars people are reserving to buy.

Car

Scout Terra

The Scout Motors Terra is an electric pickup truck, which means it uses electricity to run instead of gas. It's one of the new electric vehicles people are signing up to buy.

Car

Traveler Travellers Suv

The Traveler is a new electric SUV made by a company called Scout Motors. Lots of people have already asked to buy it, showing that many are excited about this new electric car that can go off-road.

Term

extended range version

Some electric cars have a bigger battery or extra parts that let them drive farther before needing to be charged again. This is called an extended range version.

Car

Rivian R2

The Rivian R2 is a new electric car that Rivian is making. People are waiting to find out how much it will cost and what features it will have.

Term

ICE models

ICE cars are regular cars that run on gas or diesel fuel, not electricity. They have engines that burn fuel to make the car move.

Term

total cost of ownership

Total cost of ownership means all the money you spend to have and use a car, like buying it, paying for fuel or charging, fixing it, and insurance.

Term

BEV

A BEV is a car that only uses electricity to run, with no gas engine at all. It gets power from big batteries that you charge up.

Car

Bmw I4

The BMW i4 is a car that runs only on electricity, made by BMW. It's like their electric version of the regular 3-series car that uses gas.

Term

public EV charging infrastructure

Public EV charging infrastructure means the places you can go to plug in and charge your electric car when you're not at home.

Concept

electric vehicles

Electric vehicles run on batteries instead of gas. You charge them up with electricity, like charging your phone, and then drive without using petrol.

Term

electricity tariff

Electricity tariff means how much you pay for electricity. If you pay more for electricity, it costs more to charge your electric car.

Concept

energy prices impact on EV charging costs

When the price of gas goes up, it costs more to make electricity. Since electric cars use electricity, charging them gets more expensive too.

Concept

fixed energy prices

Fixed energy prices mean you pay the same amount for electricity for a set time, so you don't have to worry about prices going up suddenly.

Company

Nextstar Energy

Nextstar Energy is a company that makes batteries for electric cars and other uses. It's a team-up between two big companies, Stellantis and LG.

Brand

Stellantis

Stellantis is a big car company that owns many brands like Jeep and Vauxhall. They make lots of different cars and vans.

Car

Vivaro Opel Vivaro

The Vauxhall Vivaro is a van used by businesses to carry goods or tools. There's a new electric version that doesn't use petrol or diesel.

Car

Opel Vivaro

The Opel Vivaro is a van like the Vauxhall Vivaro, used for carrying things. It also has an electric version that doesn't use gas.

Concept

zero-emission commercial vehicles

Zero-emission vehicles don't put out dirty smoke or gases when they run. They help keep the air clean.

Term

all-electric output

All-electric output means making only electric cars or vans that run on batteries, not gas.

Term

electric bikes and mopeds

Electric bikes and mopeds are like bikes or small scooters that use electricity to move instead of pedaling or gas.

Term

battery technology

Battery technology means the kind of batteries used in electric cars. It decides how far the car can go and how fast it can charge.

Term

extended range EVs

Extended range EVs are electric cars that have a backup engine or generator to help them go farther when the battery runs low.

LIVE

It's EV News briefly for Monday 9th 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 to start the week.

Scout Motors has revealed they now have 160,000 reservations for the Traveller and the Terra.

Traveller's SUV, Terra is pick-up, here's the big number though.

87% of reservation holders have gone with the extended range version, the so-called Harvester.

Well above the CEO's original splits of 60-40 in favour of the Harvester.

However, he also confirmed that those media reports a couple of weeks ago, which they fiercely denied

that customer deliveries would slip back to 2028, well that's been confirmed.

Rivian has quietly removed the $45,000 starting price reference from their website.

We haven't got to wait long to get the actual number.

March the 12th at South by Southwest Festival, full pricing and specs will be revealed,

but how close to $45,000 will they get for the R2?

Avons, a leasing company, have put out their car cost index and they now find that BEVs

undercut comparable ICE models on total cost of ownership in a growing number of European markets,

with Western and Northern Europe leading the way.

Total cost advantage in 19 of the 30 markets they serve.

The BMW i4 beats something like the petrol 3-series in 20 of the 30 European markets they serve.

Global public EV charging infrastructure will reach 9 million plugs this year,

up from 7.1 million at the end of 2025.

China alone accounts for 67% of global, total and top eight countries

hosting 88% of all charges.

Growth is slowing a little in Europe and losing momentum a little in the United States compared

to China.

UK energy supplies are cutting down on the available fixed tariffs.

Now that's important because we're not a podcast about electricity tariffs,

but we are about electric vehicles and that for many people is how they charge their EV at home.

And so their at home electricity tariff is a direct link to what they pay to go driving.

Now this is because of the conflict in the Middle East pushing up gas prices,

not petrol gas, but the kind of gas that we generate electricity on,

and that is becoming more expensive.

We pay the global prices of energy, so even though we might not be completely reliant on

things like the Hummus Straits and getting gas and oil out of the Middle East,

although we are partly, it does push up the price that our energy providers charges for

electricity and that impacts the price we pay to go driving.

If you can fix your energy prices, maybe for a year or a similar term,

it decouples you from anything like that.

Imagine getting a guaranteed price that you'd pay on petrol for the next 12 months.

You'd bite the hand off, wouldn't you at the petrol station?

Now, Nextstar Energy, a Stellantis and LG joint venture has now opened Canada's first

commercial scale battery cell plant in Windsor Artario.

They've now just made over a million cells since initial production began last November.

Beyond supplying Stellantis brands, Nextstar will expand interstationary storage as well.

Staying with Stellantis, they've confirmed they'll invest £50 million in Ellesmere

ports here in the UK to add assembly lines for electric Vauxhall, Opel, Vivaro vans and

mid-sized zero-emission commercial vehicles from next year, building on the site's existing

all-electric output.

London Net Police seized 52 electric vehicles over the weekend,

illegal electric bikes and moped, so we have laws on how fast they can travel.

There's many imports though from China and marketplaces where these vehicles are basically

electric motorcycles.

And Ford CEO Jim Farley says its current battery technology, which is the limiting factor,

in utes and pickup trucks being good towers, which is why they've gone down the route of

extended range EVs.

That's briefly.

About this episode

Scout Motors has 160,000 reservations for its Traveller SUV and Terra pickup, with 87% opting for the extended range Harvester model. Rivian is set to reveal pricing and specs for the R2 at South by Southwest, removing the $45,000 starting price from its site. Leasing company Avons reports BEVs now have lower total ownership costs than ICE cars in many European markets. Global EV charging infrastructure is growing, led by China. UK energy tariffs are rising due to Middle East conflicts, impacting EV charging costs. Stellantis invests in UK electric van production and opens a battery plant in Canada. London police seized illegal high-speed electric bikes. Ford cites battery tech limits for extended range EVs in pickups.

all-electric output battery technology BEV electric bikes and mopeds electricity tariff energy prices impact on EV charging costs EV extended range EVs extended range version fixed energy prices

BMW i4 Opel Vivaro Rivian R2 Scout Terra Scout Traveler Vauxhall Vivaro

Original notes

It's EV News Briefly for Monday 09 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

SCOUT RESERVATIONS SWING TO RANGE-EXTENDED HYBRIDS
Scout Motors now holds over 160,000 reservations for its Traveler SUV and Terra pickup, with 87% of reservation holders choosing the gas-assisted extended-range hybrid over pure BEV — well above the 60/40 split CEO Scott Keogh originally expected. First customer deliveries have slipped to 2028, with delays attributed to technical challenges in developing a rugged ladder-frame platform with dual powertrains.

RIVIAN DROPS $45,000 R2 STARTING-PRICE LINE
Rivian has quietly removed the "$45,000 starting price" reference from its R2 product page, replacing it with a countdown clock ahead of a March 12 reveal at South by Southwest where full pricing and specs are expected. The R2 will launch first as a higher-priced dual-motor variant, with a more affordable single-motor base model to follow shortly after.

BEVS NOW BEAT ICE ON COST IN MORE MARKETS
Ayvens' 2026 Car Cost Index finds BEVs now undercut comparable ICE models on total cost of ownership in a growing number of European markets, with Western and Northern Europe leading the way. In the compact segment BEVs hold a TCO advantage in 19 of 30 markets, and the BMW i4 beats the petrol 3 Series on TCO in 20 of 30 European countries.

GLOBAL PUBLIC EV CHARGERS HEAD FOR 9.01M IN 2026
Global public EV charging infrastructure is forecast to reach 9.01 million plugs in 2026, up from 7.11 million in 2025, though China alone accounts for 67% of the global total and the top eight countries host 88% of all chargers. Growth is slowing in Europe and losing momentum in the US, while Germany is on track to overtake the Netherlands in installed chargers during 2026.

UK SUPPLIERS PULL FIXED DEALS AS GAS SPIKES
UK energy suppliers slashed available fixed tariffs from 38 to 17 in a matter of days as wholesale gas prices spiked roughly 75% following disruption to Middle Eastern gas infrastructure, with the cheapest typical annual dual-fuel fixed deal rising from £1,509 to £1,640. EV-specific tariffs were also affected, with EDF pausing some EV tariffs and E.ON briefly freezing one, threatening the cost advantage of off-peak home charging for EV drivers.

NEXTSTAR SWITCHES ON CANADA'S FIRST EV CELL PLANT
NextStar Energy, a Stellantis and LG Energy Solution joint venture, has opened Canada's first commercial-scale EV battery cell plant in Windsor, Ontario, having already produced over one million cells since production began in November 2025. Beyond supplying Stellantis brands, NextStar aims to expand into stationary energy storage for municipal and provincial grids.

STELLANTIS PLANS £50M ELLESMERE PORT VAN LINE
Stellantis will invest £50 million at Ellesmere Port to add an assembly line for electric Vauxhall Vivaro vans and other midsize zero-emission commercial vehicles from next year, building on the site's existing all-electric output. However, Stellantis warns the plant may not be commercially viable under the UK's ZEV mandate for vans, which carries an £18,000 fine per non-compliant vehicle at a 24% electric sales threshold that the industry is currently only half-meeting.

MET SEIZES 52 ILLEGAL E-BIKES AND MOPEDS
The Metropolitan Police seized 52 illegal electric bikes and mopeds across London over two days, using targeted checkpoints in high-pedestrian-risk areas including Harlesden and Cambridge Circus. Officers also made arrests for dangerous driving, weapons possession, and outstanding prison recall warrants, linking illegal e-bikes to phone snatches and broader street crime.

MEXICO AUTO PLANTS PIVOT TO HIGHER-VALUE EVS
Mexico's auto sector is shifting focus from volume to higher-value output between 2025 and 2027, with GM concentrating Cadillac OPTIQ production at Ramos Arizpe and BMW committing its San Luis Potosí plant to build the iX3 — its first Neue Klasse EV — from 2027. Both manufacturers have maintained their Mexican strategies despite ongoing uncertainty from US tariffs and trade policy under President Trump.

FARLEY POURS COLD WATER ON ELECTRIC UTES
Ford CEO Jim Farley says current BEV technology is poorly suited to mainstream ute and pickup buyers who tow heavy loads, calling a large-battery BEV "a really bad tow-er," and Ford has already shelved the F-150 Lightning following weak demand and a $19.5 billion EV writedown. Farley backs extended-range EVs as the near-term bridge solution for work-capable vehicles, while dismissing solid-state batteries and fuel cells as not yet on Ford's product horizon.

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Martyn Lee

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