DAILY: Big Range Model 3, Colorado Steps In With Rebates and Audi Q6 e-tron Stars | 05 Oct 2025

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Well, say hello to Ghostbed. Ghostbed is family run, consumer loving, with over 20 years of mattress making mastery. They've engineered the perfect sleep weapon, durable, insanely comfortable, and cool enough to keep you chill all night long.

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Welcome back to the podcast today, a big range model three Colorado steps in with rebates and the Audi Q6 eTron stars. Plus, stay tuned.

Later in the show, I'll tell you why the Dodge Banshee stalled before it ever got going. No EV news China is the weekend.

Back with our China series tomorrow Monday morning, now we'll start with news of Tesla's model three range increasing to a big number.

It's 446 sorry 466 miles WLTP Tesla has raised the range of the model three long range rear wheel drive. Now we know that they were to make some changes to the vehicle, but now we know that that car is now the range superstar of the lineup.

466 miles is WLTPs and not always real well, but they have updated the battery pack with more higher density cells. Now Tesla famously no longer publishes the capacities of their battery packs gone are labeling the cars of the Model S P80 or 100 D for instance, but these days we do know what the battery pack sizes are.

Just don't get talked about too much. Tesla doesn't publish them, but pre facelift packs were 78.1 kilowatt hours on the single motor and 82 on the dual motor. Now since the launch in 2019, the Model 3 has been a range monster setting the benchmark at the time for affordable electric vehicles.

But new EVs have really taken its crown, of course, it's taken them a while to do, but it is being done. Vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz CLA EQ is a fantastic vehicle with big range. BMW IX3 got released just before the IWA Munich show last month.

500 miles of range now the updated WLTP ranges in Europe are as follows the long range rear wheel drive which I would have every day of the week because I always say to people if you can get the range then get the range.

And I don't need all wheel drive in my climate and it might you might might be an essential for where you live, but here honestly rear wheel drive is absolutely fine. They've added 36 miles of WLTP range to that vehicle.

466, all right, so it's not setting a record, but for that battery size, for that class of vehicle, it's incredible. Entry level rear wheel drive goes up from 318 to 344.

In itself, just the standard range, 344, there's nothing standard about that. It's brilliant. The long range all wheel drive does take a bit of a hit. It's 445, so 20 miles short of the big number.

And the performance again takes a hit 355 miles on that this new facelift also restores the that's the facelift we've talked about recently with the indicator stock that's back the front facing camera that will be making its way to all of the Tesla lineup at some point.

And the same higher density packs will also raise the model Y long range all wheel drive from 364 to 390.

So if you want a model Y and you want all wheel drive 390 still a big number, but I always I've always leans towards the rear wheel drive model three as well. That would be my car.

We do have a family to consider, but in an ideal that's why I've got the poll star two because I like I like my car and I love it and it's brilliant.

And it's a hatchback and it works just about we could do with the van these days, but it just about works. But yeah, model three rear wheel drive 466 miles.

It's just deeply, deeply impressive. A lot of Tesla headlines get made naturally are there about robots or autonomy or the CEO's political shenanigans are now.

I just think the big under reported story is the depth of engineering talent a Tesla. That's what I just think the strength of the businesses is how good they are at making electric vehicles.

Now innovation is a different topic because the anything they've come with new has been the cyber truck.

And that's a massive failure. You can't argue even the hardcore Tesla fans can't put an argument argument for that.

There are bits on it, which are very impressive. The vehicle to home integration on the cyber truck the 48 volt system.

A lot of very impressive things as well, but as a seller, no one wants one. And so what was the last new thing they did with the model wise a bigger model three.

So yeah, there's arguments you can make around innovation at Tesla, but I don't you can't question the engineering talent.

Even the iterative improvements, the gradual gains so, so good. Now let's talk about what the federal tax credit went five days ago.

States are stepping in though. Now Colorado is raising their rebates. The vehicle exchange program the VXC starts November 3rd and offsets the federal tax credit lost.

Well, partly new EV purchases and leases get $9,000 up from $6,000. Use DVs get $6,000 rebate up from four.

But the program targets middle and low income residents who trade in a gasoline or diesel powered vehicle that is at least 12 years old for a plug in electric vehicle.

To qualify, you must either participate in a government assistance program or have income below 80% of the county median, for example, a single person in Denver qualifies if they are less than 78 480.

Still a good wage if you ask me, but still at a family of four in someone like makes a county qualifies under 81 6 per year.

High rebates aimed to make EVs more affordable for targeted households and speed the replacement of old dirty inefficient combustion vehicles.

I know you can argue with Colorado's way of doing it, which is more money for people who need it.

There's no doubt that in the early days of electric vehicles, both here and the US, I think, were never grants available.

There's only really tester model S available, a couple of others, maybe an early e-tron back in the day, Zoe's and Leafs.

A lot of people got money off EVs, but they took it because it was there and that's fine, nothing wrong with that.

But they didn't need it. They would have bought the car either way.

I love programs like this. You've often got to have owned your 12-year-old plus dirty diesel or petrol for a period of time as well.

You can't get a knackered one from the scrap yard and say, oh, I own one.

There's rules and regs around it. I really like it when states or even countries do stuff like this because it gets old combustion cars off the road.

Audi is having a bit of a moment this year in a really good way.

And the Audi Q6 e-tron, I think, is a sleeper here.

And now we know it overtakes the Q5 in US sales. Audi's all electric Q6 e-tron, a beast of a vehicle, incredible.

Has now become the brand's top selling vehicle in the United States.

And it's not just because September was a really big month for EVs.

A lot of people were getting in before the federal tax credit when these are quarterly figures.

And so the best selling car for a long time has been the Q5.

Audi reported selling 10,059 Q6 e-trons in the third quarter of the year and it edged out the Q5.

Okay, only by a few hundred units. Still a big deal, though, isn't it?

Audi's number one seller in the United States over the whole quarter was an electric car.

The shift is uncommon for an EV in an entire lineup of a car maker and it does reflect the incentive.

The way around it, the federal EV tax credit, definitely.

And the lease loophole definitely juiced the numbers.

Additional dealer and manufacturer discounts have been applying.

As of writing today, there is a national $6,000 customer bonus from Audi themselves

releasing a new Q6 e-tron before November.

In the United States, the Q6 and the SQ6, the sporty one,

share the 100 kilowatt hour battery pack.

The base one starts at $63,000 USD before destination.

321 miles of EPA range, single motor, rear wheel drive form,

there's a dual motor all-wheel drive version which goes 456 horsepower as well.

Now, another day, another story about price parity.

Transaction prices and finance show that EVs are close to cost parity with petrol and diesel.

This time, it's United Kingdom data that we're looking at.

I've done a couple of stories like this from the US, but let's get close to home for me.

At least the RRP is the recommended retail price.

Now, the numbers shift according to whereabouts in the world you are.

It's about 90% of vehicles get financed.

It might be a little less, sometimes it's more than 90%.

Sometimes people are taking five, six-year loans out.

But nearly all, I'll be painting broad brushstrokes.

Sweeping statements, new cars are financed.

So RRP is nice, MSRP is nice, but no one's paying it.

So that's kind of a misleading number.

And the recommended retail price is what all the newspaper articles go on.

When they say, well, EVs are more expensive than petrol cars.

Look, no one's paying the list price.

Transactions and the funded purchase data coming out today from the United Kingdom

show that the real picture, EVs offer typically very high specifications.

EVs often have more interior space.

They definitely have better performance, better connectivity, better ADAS,

better over-the-air updates, just nicer to drive while the combustion versions of the same car,

where they exist in the lineup, often hit headline prices because they strip a base trim

like the Renault scenic, great electric car.

Combustion first of that is the Renault Austral or the Volkswagen Tiguan.

Great little car, always gets compared to the VW ID4.

And it's cheaper.

Well, the ID4 may be called the ID Tiguan very soon in months to come.

But we'll see the Golf and the ID3, naturally compared.

The Nissan Kashkai and the Aria, naturally compared.

A Kia Sportage, a Kia Rev.5.

Absolutely.

And when you look at the prices, the RRP, the headline price.

The RRP combustion often looks cheaper, but reporting today,

saying that discounts are already over 10% for petrol and diesel cars,

but 12% for EVs.

And if you look at what we call PCP, so that is often personal contract purchase,

or personal contract plan, it's not a version of leasing, although it's sort of this.

For my US listeners, they go, oh yeah, that's leasing.

Well, no, it's not quite, we also have leases over here as well.

It's all done with balloon payments and things like that.

Yeah, you can purchase the vehicle at the end as well, like an option to buy.

But the monthly gap on average of comparable models is 32 pounds.

On average, the PCP ice models end up about 5% above RRP.

And EVs are almost 5% below.

And so battery packs are getting cheaper.

The parts coming out of China are getting cheaper.

We know 2026 is going to get cheaper.

We know that the emissions controls, not just in Europe,

but in many places around the world, are increasing,

which makes those vehicles more expensive to develop,

and petrol and diesel will become more expensive in time.

We know that.

And EV finance itself is improving.

A typical EV PCP cost fell 55 pounds a month.

And last month, and the EV PCP APR is 3.5.

So look at interest rates.

The average interest rate on an EV finance contract, 3.5%,

the average interest rate on a combustion car, 6.6%,

so all of these things undercut the claims that EVs are more expensive,

pretty much price parity when you look at monthly cost and interest rates,

factored as well.

It's a really important point.

We'll take a break.

We'll come back.

Got a lot to talk about.

I review them.

And South Korea's EV registrations are recovering.

I'll tell you more.

Stick around.

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Rivian will begin our two deliveries

in the first half of 2026.

They are reiterating the news.

They will launch with the higher end variant.

And then add the $45,000 version in time.

CJ, CJ, CEO, RJ Scarrange

said that the company will keep building

production intent units through the rest of this year,

as they're now validating the vehicles.

Camouflaged and road tested

while the plant runs production equipment and processes.

Early next year, Rivian will transition

from non-sailable units for internal use

to sailable units and begin customer deliveries.

But they're giving a six month window,

which is plenty of flexibility for them,

the first half of the year.

They say, speaking to CNBC,

the CEO called the R2,

a global product with world-class technology.

Made in the US, spots exported around the world.

South Korea is bouncing back in terms of EV registrations.

170,000 EVs registered in the first nine months of the year.

Up 57% from a year earlier, actually.

Electric passenger cars, well, up 67% from a year earlier.

And EVs, 13.4% of the market.

If the chair remains the same,

it's going to be more than last year.

New model introductions have been what have grown.

EV sales in South Korea might be surprised,

obviously, because of the South Koreans.

So, which is not only the battery companies and LGs,

SKs of the world,

but also Hyundai, Kia, Genesis,

get so many great headlines

because they're doing so well around the world

that we can't forget in South Korea.

That little EV wobble last year.

But new model introductions have already grown

the market there.

Tesla's model Y Juniper has done really well.

Kia's EV 3.

And those aren't like five is doing well.

Kia's new update, EV 6.

And they have the Ray EV there as well.

That's also done well.

The compact SUV, the EV 5,

isn't on sale yet, but they got 5,000 contracts

in the books as of last week.

And the predecessor, the EV 4,

also selling well since it went on sale in March as well.

BYD Korea began customer deliveries

of the urban electric BYD.

Sealine 7 last month adding to the numbers.

Now Toyota's September EV deliveries have plummeted,

which is really weird, isn't it?

Because September's been a stellar month in the US

because of the federal tax credit going.

There's only one company that people didn't rush out and buy.

And for some reason, that's Toyota.

Their US EV deliveries didn't just fall.

They fell off a cliff.

61 units was hold.

In the United States of the BZ4X,

that's 90% decline.

Lexus was down as well.

Industry reports chalk it down to Toyota intentionally

not selling the vehicles they've cut production of their lineup

because they say, well, we have better ones coming

so we're going to stop making the current ones.

Plus it's been a recall of 590,000 Toyota's.

That includes their EVs as well, like the BZ4X.

And their domestic EV volume was minimal.

If you think, well, Toyota removed themselves

from the US market in September.

I didn't want to sell anything because they have new stuff

coming next year, which is an odd argument, but okay.

They sold 18 EVs in Japan.

There's their home market.

Toyota says, don't worry about it.

We have a new wave of EVs coming.

And we'll have solid state batteries as well.

And it'll be substantially better than anything else.

And that this production pullback is a strategic short term move.

Sure, no worries.

Now, Volvo's EX30 single motor has been priced in the US.

I think this is a new addition actually,

according to the Volvo US website.

This is the lower cost single motor extended range version,

which I gather hasn't been on sale yet.

So single motor but big battery EX30 is $40,245,

including destination.

So you're saving $6,000 over the twin motor performance.

I think that's the only one that the US buyers could get.

Until now, single motor rear wheel drive is a 268 horsepower motor,

69 kilowatt hour pack, same as the dual motor.

And it still does an EPA range of 261 miles,

maximum DC charging to 175 kilowatts.

So you're way under half an hour due to do 10 to 80 on that battery.

And a more reasonable 5.1 seconds north to 60

because that'll EX30 and it's all wheel drive performance trim,

was an absolute beast off the line.

3.4 seconds.

Every time I remind myself of that stat, 3.4.

I know it's a 60.

Yeah, this single motor one, a mere 5.1.

It'll still tow 2,000 pounds.

It's got to be roof load as well.

A more affordable entry level to the EX30,

which I think now they've got the bugs sorted.

That vehicle wasn't ready for sale when it arrived.

The software was, you know, work in progress.

Those early buyers put up with a lot, but they've stuck with it.

And I think from what I gather, it's all been sorted now.

I read the forums.

I see some niggles still from people saying,

you know, it's starting to add up a little bit for me,

but on the whole, you know, I think that's been done.

I think more of their hands for I think with the EX90 of having to sort that.

Now, let's finish off with the Dodge Banshee.

Getting cancelled before it even got the starting line.

Suppliers telling Mo, Mo Power Insiders

that the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee has been cancelled.

The program was shelved before it even got into its final stages.

The Banshee was going to be an 800 volt halo vehicle for Dodge.

Two ounce of skeptics of EV muscle cars

and continue the SRT Hellcat legacy.

But on electrons, the cancellation follows weaker than expected sales

of the 400 volt charger Daytona EV.

And a broader cooling of the consumer demand market for they say EVs in the US,

which is the line trotted out whenever an EV car company or a car company

with their EVs has any bad news.

They go, well, lower, lower demand and expected.

Like what?

The post pandemic predictions that were being made by all the car companies.

So, you know, 100% EV in the next five minutes.

Some of these forecasts were ridiculous.

And now they're not hitting it.

They go, well, you know, we couldn't, you know,

we could demand than was predicted.

Yeah, the new predicted with silly predictions.

And so, that's how they spin it.

Anyway, the move is part of a wider Stellantis pullback in the United States.

Halting development of the RAM 1500 rev

and scrapping the gladiator 4 by plug in hybrid a shift towards

combustion for Stellantis where they make some money in the US over here.

It's honorably V's, by the way.

And that's your podcast for today.

Thanks to our premium partners, Porsche of the village.

Ian Cincinnati Audi of Cincinnati East and Volvo cars.

Of Cincinnati East National car charging on the US mainland

and the low-hot charging Hawaii.

An Octopus Electroverse Global Public Charging made simple.

With one happen one map, have a good incident tomorrow.

And remember, there's no such thing as a self-charging hybrid.

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Like discounts up to 90% off major carriers.

See how ship station can make shipping for your Shopify store better.

Go to shipstation.com and access all features free for 30 days.

No credit card or contract required.

Cancel anytime.

That's shipstation.com.

Stop blaming it on holiday stress.

We all know it's a time of year when everything feels drained,

both your wallet and you.

Well, the real problem is right under you.

It's that saggy, old, unsupportive mattress.

Well, say hello to Ghostbed.

Ghostbed is family run, consumer loving,

with over 20 years of mattress making mastery.

They've engineered the perfect sleep weapon.

Durable, insanely comfortable,

and cool enough to keep you chill all night long.

Every Ghostbed packs are exclusive Pro Core technology,

a powerhouse support system that cradles your pack,

supports and aligns your spine.

Translation.

You wake up feeling like a human again.

Hot sleeper.

Ghostbeds cooling materials fight heat 24-7.

So you don't wake up sweaty.

Even when the thermostat's cranked up.

And here's the kicker.

Fast free shipping in just two to five days.

A 101 night sleep trial.

And up to a 25 year warranty.

That's confidence.

Right now, Ghostbed is slashing prices.

Up to 50% off compared to other brands.

And because you're listening,

you score an extra 10% off site wide.

Just use promo code podcast at checkout.

That's podcast for 10% off on top of already in same deals.

Upgrade your sleep, upgrade your life.

Ghostbed, the coolest beds in the world.

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DAILY: Big Range Model 3, Colorado Steps In With Rebates and Audi Q6 e-tron Stars | 05 Oct 2025

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