The BMW M Coupe is a small sporty car made in the 1990s that many people like because it drives well and looks cool. It's part of BMW's history before they started making electric sports cars.
The BMW M3 is a fast and sporty car made by BMW. In 2027, they will make a new version that runs only on electricity, which is a big change for this type of car.
Skeuomorphism means making digital things look like real, physical things so people find them easier to use. In cars, this might be a screen that looks like old-fashioned dials or buttons.
The Dodge Charger is a big car that can go really fast and is popular for its strong engines. People sometimes add special parts to make it work better or do new things.
A Power Bank is like a big battery for your home that saves electricity from the grid or solar panels so you can use it later, especially when electricity is more expensive.
The Audi RS5 Sportback is a fast and sporty car that has four doors and a hatchback. The newest version uses both gas and electric power to make it go.
A plug-in hybrid car uses both gas and electricity. You can charge it by plugging it in, so it can drive some distance just on electricity, which saves gas.
The 8-speed transmission is a part that helps the car change how fast the engine spins to make the car go faster or slower smoothly. The electric motor is built into this part to work better with the gas engine.
The Audi Q6 e-tron is a fancy electric SUV that is powerful and has lots of new technology. People compare it to other electric SUVs to see which one is better.
The Rivian R1S is an electric SUV that can drive on rough roads and has smart technology. Owners get updates and new features through an app on their phone.
A self charging hybrid is a type of car that uses both gas and electricity, but it can't make its own electricity forever without gas; it charges its battery while you drive.
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Welcome back to EV News Daily.
BMW's M electric cars in the news today.
Cooper's Reval to start production and GM Energy wants to lease you a home battery.
Plus, stay tuned.
Later in the show, I'll tell you about how Rivian has now launched
their new dedicated Watch app to control your vehicles.
No EV News China today as it's the weekend back on Monday morning.
This year will mark BMW M's last year without a full performance EV.
In 2027, it will change that with an electric M3 and an X3M.
The electric M3 currently codenamed internally ZA0
will serve as BMW M's first full red-blooded performance EV model.
It will not arrive alone.
An electric X3 codenamed ZA5 also comes next year.
Sharing the M3's quad-motor setup.
BMW M plans to make both cars sound like something else.
It will play engine sounds through the speakers and pair them with emulated gear shifts.
BMW has recorded some engine pops and bangs and burbles from their historic range of M cars
to play you through the speakers as long as you can turn those things off.
I have no problem with them.
I kind of like in hardcore engineering to hear the electrical engineering,
but I'm just a weirdo.
BMW M CEO Frank Van Meel says acoustic feedback helps drivers
feel bonded with the road and connect with something familiar.
Oh, I get that. I get that.
Remember when iPhones first launched a hundred years ago
and then the note sap on your smart phone
when you trade it up from a BlackBerry or a dumb phone.
The early notes app would kind of be sepia yellow in color
and have almost a leather binder.
Look, I believe they call it skeuomorphism to help people understand.
Oh, this is the notes app.
And now I'm meant to take a note like I would with a pen and paper.
Similar, I think for cars.
We're in a weird hand-holding period
where some performance car drivers need to hear engine sounds to feel connected.
Not everyone does and it's not a problem if they do.
Now, Seat and Cupra plans to launch series production of their small urban car.
The Cupra Reval this year.
It will be the first 100% electric model built at the Martirelle plant
and the first car expected to reach the roads from the Volkswagen Group's
core urban EV family coming out of Spanish factories.
Seat and its performance bit Cupra, which now stands alone,
calls the program the biggest industrial transformation in its 75 year history.
The company's invested 10 billion euros, 11.8 billion dollars in Spain
through their future fast forward project,
which involves the Volkswagen Group, Power Co, their battery bit
and other partners, the aim to position Spain as an electric EV hub.
Martirelle has set aside nearly 160,000 square meters for EV production
and rebuilt its production line for the Reval.
The rebuilds added a thousand new robots in the bodywork phase
and 60 component stamping dies.
Battery logistics now run on an automated bridge that feeds battery systems
from the assembly plant to line one.
The bridge opened up last December,
is about five meters above the factory floor
and it keeps the battery systems flowing to where they need to go
with no interruption.
More than 90 suppliers and 110 production plants across Spain
support the project and account for 70% of material costs.
Seat and Cupra says teams have completed more than 560,000 hours of training
in total.
It now sits in the final series zero phase validating process
is validating production before customer cars start getting made.
We're really close and I'm excited about the small urban cars
like the VW ID Polo, Cooper Reval, etc.
The wider plan covers four urban electric models
also including the Škoda Epic and the VW ID Cross
as well as the previous two that I just mentioned.
They'll be made of Volkswagen Navarra.
Seat and Cupra lead the brand group EV kind of urban EV cluster
and four new body colors developed specifically for these small cars.
Can't wait to see the pricing.
They bring the map out.
It's going to be obviously then this monthly offers and things like that
but it's going to be really interesting to see how hard they really want to compete
with those cheaper Chinese cars.
Now GM Energy plans to launch a monthly leasing program
for vehicle-to-home hardware.
The units wants to borrow the financing model
that they use for car sales and apply it to vehicle-to-home
and all the home battery hardware that you might want to add.
Vehicle-to-home can supply backup power during grid failures
but it starts with a very large hardware bill.
The popular home battery systems that store around 13.5 kilowatt hours
are tiny compared to what most modern EVs can carry.
Yet GM's bi-directional capable EVs
still need dedicated equipment before they can run your house.
GM sold more than 246,000 capable vehicles last year
technically they're bi-directional capable.
Now for those quarter of a million EV drivers on America's roads
the current shopping list starts at $2,000 for a power shift bi-directional charger
over $6,000 for an enabler kit that houses the DCAC power inverter.
GM also sells the bundled package for $8,100
a handy $200 discount. What a bargain.
And that's for the hardware. Now you have to install it
and that could be thousands more. They also like to lease you a battery.
They call it Power Bank for on-site storage
capturing power from the grid or your solar panels.
Bundling Power Bank with V2H will run you anywhere between $15,000 and $27,000
depending on how big the battery is.
My battery is 10 kilowatt hours. I got the solar edge one.
Maybe it's nine and a half usable.
And that is a buffer I would say in terms of a home.
We charge it up overnight peak rate, off peak rate.
And then in the summer obviously we try and absorb as much solar as possible
but we always have the cars plugged in and it's a bit weird.
We always have way more sunshine than we need for about four months of the year
and then over the other winter months
we're always importing overnight.
And we normally run out early afternoon and then we're back on to the grid.
So I mean a bigger battery would be useful
but that's the biggest investment we could make
and that's going to be a 20 year investment
along with our solar panels as well.
So you don't need the biggest home battery
but I would say the bigger the better.
Now Wade Sheffer, vice president of GM Energy said
the leasing model aims to remove the upfront cost barrier
and pulling in more customers towards EV ownership possibly as well
framing the mission as focusing on affordability
by lowering the total cost of ownership.
GM can't provide that monthly lease price yet.
They said it depends on each home's electrical setup
and local incentives from your local utility company.
So I'd like to get some pricing on that
but anything that helps people get an innovative finance solution
I've been banging on about this for years
is that the kind of people who least need it
are the people who can afford it.
We're not well off by any means.
We are a pretty boring average middle class family
maybe we didn't take a couple of expensive holidays
that our friends would have taken
that kids have never been to Disneyland or Disneyland Paris
but we do have solar panels and a battery
so my lucky children, you know, it's different investments
we drive old used cars
and so that's just the investment that we made in this house
because we just bought it and we're going to be here
for a long time with between two good schools
and our kids are growing up, we don't want to move
we're going to be invested in the house
and so it's, but we don't need it
we could have got by without it
and yet the people who do need this technology
are those that can least afford it
and I do suspect that those going for the least deal
with GM Energy probably are those that can afford it
even if it's a monthly lease
but anything, anything that's a little bit of innovation
in financing, in deployment of capital
in anything like that
it has to be a good thing in this sector
because we need to get more people onto renewables
and a bit of stored energy as well as always good
right, let's talk about a wild car
the Audi RS5 is going plug-in hybrid
the new RS5 Sportback is going fully plug-in hybrid
replacing the outgoing Pure Combustion
the reveal counts as a global debut
Audi of America says the US launch is some time away
and expects few meaningful changes for the US version
compared to what's been announced today
the motor gets integrated into an 8-speed transmission
adding 174 extra horsepower
combined system output is 630 horsepower
Audi claims 62 miles an hour is hit in 3.6 seconds
the new RS5 from Audi
this rather wild plug-in hybrid
is over 5,000 pounds
that's over 2,300 kilograms
and that is more than the outgoing RS5 Sportback
they're about to integrate a 26 kilowatt-hour battery pack
under the boot floor
European rated WLTP range
52 miles or 84 kilometers
Audi expects EPA to land lower obviously
but still be competitive
braking mixes software and hardware
Audi's break-by-wire system called IBRS
prioritizes regen braking where possible
Audi also debuted the RS5 Avant
alongside the Sportback
though its US prospects look
somewhat more thin
the RS5 Sportback is confirmed
for the US though
timing is not yet determined
and because I have a thing
for wagons and estate cars
that RS5 Avant
is a very good looking car
yes it's widened
and it's got silly flared wheel arches
and lots of holes cut in the bodywork
and a fake diffuser at the back
and obviously it's got exhausts
because it's only a plug-in hybrid
very very good looking car
I'll print that one out and look at it later
IONITY is next in the news
opening Europe's first 600 kilowatt charger
actually they're 1000 kilowatt units
they're the Alpetronic HYC 1000s
IONITY opening Europe's first commercial
600 kilowatt charging station in France
on the A7 motorway
one of Europe's busiest travel corridors
the site runs as a
fully operational commercial station
this isn't a test site or anything
Alpetronics HYC 1000s pair
a 1000 kilowatt central module
with six charging points or dispensers
and it can split the power dynamically
based on live demand
this is very common now
has been for a long time
and it's very very sensible use
of power modules
if one car plugs in alone
that's the 600 kilowatts peak
that it can deliver down a single cable
to a single car
at that peak IONITY says that you would add
186 miles or 300 kilometers of range
in under eight minutes
if you can find a car that can take it
for now Lotus EMEA
charges quickly
X-Pung's G9
the new G6
Porsche Macan
Audi Q6 e-tron
would all give it a workout
but not exactly hit that 600 kilowatt limit
the new BMW iX3
Mercedes GLC electric
they'll peak at 400 kilowatts
and you know, they'll give it a workout
but they wouldn't max out the station
the launch lands as IONITY
enriches 6000 high power
charges in Europe
Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler and Ford founded it
Hyundai and Kia joined later
X-Pung plans to deploy its own
1000 kilowatts charging network
by the end of this year
in Europe a move it says will push
power capabilities higher
and costs lower
across the market will take a break
deal and more stick around
what did I just say? Mercedes and BYD Seal
and more
brain, mouth, malfunction
back in a mow
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welcome back to the podcast now
these bends still keeps their VLE
specs under wraps
but it has confirmed one key number
the battery size that'll be
115 kilowatt hours
that sits above the current packs in
other vans the 75
kilowatt hour packs in things like the
Citroen e-space Torah and it's
sister cousin vehicles if you like
like the Vauxhall Opel Vivaro
Electric Life those vans
will do around 220 miles
official on WLTP
tops the current Mercedes EQV
which
used below 30 grand
now that's a 90 grand van
been hit by depreciation
96 kilowatt hour pack
for claiming 213 miles
of official range
Mercedes hasn't published an official range number
for the new VLE van
the VLE did drive from
Stuttgart to Rome
that's almost 700 miles
1100 kilometers they admitted
they stopped for two quick stops
it shows the van
can do distance
but it still leaves the key question unanswered
what's going to be the headline range number
of the VLE which will seat up to
8 mirroring probably the
EQV's flexible seating
configurations pricing is also
unconfirmed Mercedes pegging
the VLE to EQV
so starting at maybe 80,000 pounds
110,000 US dollars equivalent
which puts it above the rival
7 and 8 seat vans but you are
driving a luxury Mercedes
albeit a van
like I say these used EQV's
if you would like to have a look at one of those
and yes we have
we don't
have the budget for a nice one
at the moment that may be the car after
the next one we buy
but the prices are coming down
on those and they're very nice
places to be
BYDCL is being updated this year
details now that I've mentioned previously
this vehicle is coming we now know
that the 2026 BYDCL
gets more power more space
and a cleaner look nudging
it's more competitively with the
BMW i4 the latest
Polestar 2 as well they keep updating
that vehicle but
some of the underlying
technology is sadly not
improved the lineup keeps the two trims
entry level design
trim single motor rear wheel
drive 308 horsepower all
very respectable and
the 5.9 seconds 0-62
miles an hour then there's the flagship
excellence trim
that's all wheel drive twin motor
and it's a peak power
rising to 523
horsepower that
is 0-62 in
3.8 seconds
and so
the specs are good
on this model 3 performance
territory I would say
the battery seems to be the same
82.5 kilowatt hours
I can't tell if they've changed any chemistry
or anything inside it depending on spec
the trim will do
354 miles max
that's 570 kilometers
charging though I did double check
this because it felt wrong when I was
reading this but according to EV database
yes the charging
peaks at 150 kilowatts
I thought the BYDCL
BYDCL
went quicker than that
really surprised because that's
BYDCLion territory
it's better than Dolphin
or ATO the little tiny cars
but well I could have sworn
the seal was a faster charging car
150 kilowatts
10-80 in 37 minutes
I found four or five sources
and they all say the same thing
I could have sworn it was quicker
BYD did find some more room
in the vehicle boot space grows
from 400 to 485 litres
and the front expands
from 53 to 72 litres
the update brings new exterior colours
ruby red, obsidian black
and lavender grey plus new 19 inch
wheels
the BYD badge moves to the centre
above the full width LED light bar
at the rear the seal
logo shifts to the lower right corner
of the boot lid and BYD
removes its logos from the
leather headrests
standard equipment
well it's one of these Chinese cars that's just full of everything
so drive a monitoring system
to make sure you're paying attention
you can use your phone as a key
via Bluetooth
all cars get LED headlights
12 speaker audio system
and wireless
phone heaters
and the non-rotating
15.6 inch high-def touch screen
I say that because BYD's
rotate which is a nice party trick
but I'm not sure how much you use it day to day
but you do get a nice head-up display
as well a nice little quality
of life improvement on that BYD seal
for the new one that's out
which you can now order here in the UK
at least
and finally Rivian has launched
the new dedicated Apple Watch app
they told us what was coming
for R1-S R1-T Gen 2 owners
so the app covers the basics
you can lock and unlock the doors
you can vent the windows
with the digital key configured
you can also get entry
with the vehicle detecting the watch
as the driver approaches without having to interact
Rivian also turned the Apple Watch hardware
into a control surface
the app uses the digital crown
as a dial to set things like cabin temperature
and state of charge target
drivers can pin four controls
to the home screen
and add a live battery status
complication to the watch face
and the new move builds on Rivian's early
digital key work in December
last year they first added digital key
to Apple Google Pixel
and Samsung devices
joining the group of automakers using Apple's
car key platform
which they launched a few years ago now
Rivian says it will roll out more Apple Watch features
over time
and that's your podcast for today
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About this episode
BMW M is gearing up to launch its first full electric performance models, including an electric M3 and X3M with unique engine sound emulation. Seat and Cupra are set to start production of the all-electric Cupra Raval, marking a major industrial shift in Spain with significant investment and automation. GM Energy plans to offer a leasing program for home battery and vehicle-to-home hardware to lower upfront costs and promote EV adoption. Audi reveals a powerful new plug-in hybrid RS5 Sportback with impressive performance and a sizable battery pack, highlighting the evolving landscape of electrified performance vehicles.
