DAILY: BMW Upgrades iX1 & iX2, Norway’s Cold Weather Test and America Adds Plugs | 30 Jan 2026

Welcome back to EV news daily today, BMW upgrades the IX1 and IX2, Norway's cold weather test and

America ad plugs plus stay tuned later in the show. I'll tell you about the latest from the

tiny truck company Slate who gave us an update this week on EV news China today our spin off

podcast that's analyzing what happens in the east and how it affects the global EV industry.

BYD rolls out Godseye 5 to millions of vehicles. Battery makers turn to sodium

and China scrubs online attacks. Let's get into it. BMW smallest electric SUVs now go further.

The IX1 and IX2 now get silicon carbide inverters. The same efficiency upgrade I told you about

recently with the Mini Countryman EV. The new inverters cut losses when they turn DC from the

battery into AC for the motors so more energy actually arrives at the wheels. BMW puts the

gain at 40km of extra range using the same battery pack. The change looks modest next to the

Mini Countryman update. Mini paired its own silicon carbide inverters with friction optimized

wheel bearings they say. Aero tweaks and a rise in usable battery capacity on the Mini. So that

does go a little bit further than the outgoing one. Attention now turns to the IX3 though.

Those vehicles have just started to be delivered either to staff or certainly long time maybe

buyers in Munich. So home territory for BMW. March the 7th is the official European launch

date with all the dealers on Neue Classe. That's the big hardware story that's being updated.

108kWh battery, high voltage architecture, vehicle to load, 3.7kW to pull out of it as well to power

your devices. So that's the big one coming from BMW. Now Lucid's air grand touring again went

furthest in Norway's cold weather test, the LPRI. In the winter 2026 test run by the Norwegian

Automobile Federation and Motor.no the sedan managed 520km at minus 30 degrees Celsius.

They tested 24 electric vehicles. The figure is a long way from the official 960km WLTP,

not 520km which they got. That's a deviation of 45.8% in extreme cold weather. Rivals didn't fare

a huge amount better. So Lucid came top with the real world range of 323 miles

followed by the Mercedes-Benz CLA. That was only a 41% difference between its claimed WLTP

in perfect conditions which is 440 miles and 261 miles in extreme cold. So you might be wondering

which one did the best in terms of the smallest difference or deviation,

which is the least deviant car. So in terms of what the promised mileage is

at extreme cold weathers and I'm never going to drive in minus 30 degrees. I need to worry

about battery loss but which one did the best? It was an MG. Actually it was a Chinese car.

The MG S6 did best. It promises 301 miles. It asked you drove 214. Only 29% deviation. But

driving at the speed limit at minus 30 degrees, counts as punishment for any car. Let's face it.

At that point the question is not about electric vehicles. Many observers treat

cold weather tests as one of the verdicts on electric vehicles. Well yes, it's important

work to be done and we're very appreciative of everybody who did in Norway that does these amazing

cold weather tests. And I think they probably get it more right than wrong in terms of their

testing procedures. But remember that dense freezing air affects all cars. Freezing stiff

tyres, thickened lubricants in petrol and diesel cars, make things more sticky. Cabin heating

applies regardless of powertrain. The laws of physics don't grant exemptions just because you're

not driving an EV. Aerodrag at motorway speeds rises. The air thickens. Rolling resistance

climbs as your tyres are harder. Oil in gearboxes and bearings flow more slowly.

Everything, engines, motors and inverters can all run below ideal temperatures and needing

more energy to deliver. In an EV, the energy cost is just much more measurable because every EV

has a range, whether that's WLTP, EPA, China Cycle, whatever, a number on a page that it's

meant to go. And you're looking at a digital readout and you're seeing it drop in real time.

Yet the narrative pins the blame on batteries in cold weather. And people maybe use it as a stick

to hit EVs with. I don't know. I don't know. But remember, it affects not only kilowatt hours,

but internal combustion cars as well. But the fuel gauge doesn't move like a digital readout.

Now, Electrify America will add its J3400 plugs, that is the NACS standard,

now to its fast charging network. Its stations offer the standard alongside CCS, turning one of

America's biggest non-Tesla networks into a dual standard operations. So the shift matters more

for the future car sales than it probably does for drivers today. Although it's all, it's very

welcome if it means that you can use more charging stations. Big car makers selling in North America

are all going NACS and putting fitting NACS ports on their new cars. Without matching plugs in the

ground, those cars fall into what I've often called adapter hell. And I think my American

listeners, you're going to be an adapter hell for a period of time. So you've either got a NACS car

or a CCS car, and you're going to be turning up to charges and plugging in sometimes with an adapter

and sometimes not. More and more charges are adding dual cables, dual heads, and you can choose,

or even four. So if it's a charger that can serve two vehicles at once, some networks are putting

in two cables one side, two cables the other. And so two CCS and two J3400. Expensive, but they're

doing it for drivers. It supports the current owners, but also backing the new standard.

Technical details on Electrify America's rollout are thin. They've not published exactly the rollout,

all the rated powers of their future connectors either, nor has it committed to adopting

Tesla's software stack, ease of integration. They use all their own membership systems apps and

plug and charge, of course, where the cars allow it as well. But it's an interesting

direction of travel. Well done, Electrify America. Now talking of charging, two stories about stopping

at charges. Stick this one in the bank. Next time someone complains about charging or something like

that, or you see a crazy relative on Facebook talking about electric vehicles, two thirds of EV

drivers now choose public charges for the amenities, not the killer what's delivered.

That's the claim from Attender. Now Attender is a ChargePoint software firm whose latest survey

suggests 66% of users pick locations based on toilets, seating, Wi-Fi, and refreshments.

That matters for anyone planning to build or fund charging hubs, hardware, and headline

charging speeds no longer suffice. Attender says 67% of its existing EV drivers that they surveyed

would be more likely to use a charging station co-located with things like shopping centres,

comfortable seating areas where they can relax. The firm argues that hubs which feel like modern

service areas, not a car park round the back with some cables, pulls in more users. Evidence from

the same research supports the case. 72% of respondents say they would be more likely to

use a site with free Wi-Fi, 69% favouring charges with onsite food and drink options.

And that kind of feeds into the next story which is even more optimistic. This is 9 out of 10

electric car drivers, so 90% of people when they stop to charge buy something else. That simple

habit is starting to reshape economics of where charges go and the amenities found are charges.

The data which I've reported on similar data points over the years, last eight years of this

podcast, and maybe you have felt something instinctively. I've kind of felt it in my gut,

even though I maybe always couldn't put data points to it. But when you stop somewhere that

also sells anything from light refreshments, maybe just a quick coffee, to larger things like some

food and whatnot, I'm more often to think, well, I'll time charging with a little toilet break,

a coffee stop, and I'll grab a snack. The figure comes from a survey by four court

trader in Great Britain, which polled EV motorists at public charging sites. It suggests the charging

bay now doubles as a retail channel. Drivers stay longer than petrol users, and unlike at home,

can't walk to their own fridge. For site owners, the sales margin on a coffee is huge,

and it easily beats the margin on a kilowatt hour, if there even is one.

Four courts face hard sums, grid upgrades might be needed, that's expensive,

charger uptime has to improve, and pricing must look fair. Because people will go where it's

cheaper, yet the survey undercuts the idea that public charging stands apart as this kind of

low margin utility thing that's a nice to have. But if you're on a petrol or a diesel

four court, and I did take this from some four court retail media, by the way,

called fourcourttrader.co.uk. Now, it wasn't clear exactly how they did the research.

They said 2000 drivers commissioned to do this, so we'll wait and see. But yeah,

that's really fascinating. Now, Ford's China battery gambit is facing more heat.

When is it not, by the way? Ford's write down, recently of $19.5 billion,

and cull of its EV plans hasn't ended its troubles in EVs, because they want to use

Chinese intellectual property to build cells on American soil. And now, fresh scrutiny this week

in Washington about their tie up, John Muthner, the Republican who chairs the House Committee,

has written to Ford's boss, Jim Farley, about its plans to build a factory that uses Chinese

intellectual property to make lithium ion phosphate cells. Again, Ford employing everybody,

it's an American factory built by American firms, employing Americans. But the actual cells they're

building, the intellectual property behind LFP, that's Chinese. There will be some Chinese boots

on the ground, if you like, to build the lines and then they'll leave. The facilities in Kentucky

and Michigan, once aimed at EVs, will move to things like energy storage as well,

within the next 18 months. Ford insists they'll qualify for tax credits and says expanding the

LFP output in the United States is an investment in American energy security, thousands of high

skilled jobs. But this politician has now demanded to know how he wants to know if Ford has either

updated, expanded or altered its original licensing terms to cover this new focus on

energy storage systems and the even data centers that are going to need some battery

storage and whether this shift tracks the new eligibility restrictions under this new foreign

entities of concern thing in America. He also presses Ford on whether it plans a joint venture

with BYD. I don't know why he would be writing about that. Maybe I've missed that piece of news

possibly. He says China has shown it will weaponize the auto supply chain. The row comes as

Ford readies their battery plant in Marshall, Michigan due to start production. I think this

year, possibly starting this year, it'll certainly supply cells when they do get around to making a

$30,000 midsize electric truck. It'll go into those. Right, we've got to talk about GM.

Mary Barra has been vocal about China and we'll talk about fast charging in Australia. Stick

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Okay, welcome back. Now General Motors picked a fight with Canada this week. Mary Barra,

its boss attacked Canada's new tariff deal with China where Canada removed 100% tariffs down to

6% and allow 49,000 EVs that are made in China, not Chinese EVs, although they'll be allowed in,

but Tesla's built in Giga Shanghai. Lotuses, Volvos, Pulse Stars, anything that's made in China,

they all count as well as obviously the likes of the BYDs that might want to be sold there as well.

That number was picked because 49,000 is how many Chinese made EVs were being sold in Canada before

these 100% tariffs. So we're not entering into a brave new world. Canada's just rolling back to

where it was a couple of years ago, but still everyone's very upset about it. And now GM has had

it say. So Mary Barra told staff that the decision risks protecting jobs and national security,

that it's a slippery slope that politicians in both countries echo her concern. Ontario's premier

Doug Ford has called the deal an attack on Canada's auto industry and warned it could strain vehicle

trade with America, Canada's biggest export market. America's Commerce Secretary Howard

Ludnick has said that the Accord complicates this year's renegotiation of trade agreements.

The US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted Canada would look back at this decision and

regret it. The row comes as GM moves ahead with 750 layoffs at its Oshawa plant, a further 1500

jobs expected to go across its supply chain too, despite earlier delays. GM has halted bright drop

assembly at its Kami plant, affecting a thousand posts. Both factories sit in Ontario. So far it

sounds like anything harming the Canadian auto industry has been GM. Detroit still leans on

Canada for GM Stalantis sold over at 700,000 vehicles there last year. And by the middle of

last year, 30% of vehicles entering the US market were Mexican or Canadian made. Ms. Barra

also complained about the Chinese car makers enjoying a good time in China and that high tariffs

and curbs keep the rivals out. And yet, maybe I will remind you, the General Motors did sell

nearly 1.9 million vehicles in China last year, 30% of its global total. So,

you know, don't poke China too hard. Let's talk about 400 kilowatt DC charging now running in

Australia. Okay, so it's the fastest public EV plug you can get. No other operational public

hardware is that fast. The figure also sets a new benchmark because network operators have just

finished rolling out some 350 kilowatt hardware and now must decide whether they need to start

putting 400 stuff in the ground a little bit quicker. Car makers face pressure too.

Let's face it, not many cars can actually charge at 400 kilowatts, but remember,

a lot of Chinese EVs are in Australia and more to come as well that can make use of those speeds.

BYD is one of them. They even have megawatt charging back in China. It's a thousand kilowatts,

but they're pickup truck, the Shark 6, which is sort of an e-rev, but the engine can drive the

front wheels at high speeds, but otherwise the engine's decoupled and it charges the battery.

The Shark 6, really fascinating ute, actually. It's now Australia's best-selling plug-in vehicle,

not pure Bev, but plug-in. It shifted 18,000 utes last year and it knocked the Outlander from

Mitsubishi off its perch. The Chinese vehicle needed just 12 months to beat a total of 12 years of

Outlander sales in Australia. I've been talking about this a lot last year. Little Shark 6 in

Australia has gone down very, very well. Yeah, it might get bested in some cases by payload and maybe

by towing at the extremes, but for many Aussies that want a capable ute that can do most things,

that Shark 6 can be plugged in, big battery, very efficient. You can still add gas to it if you want

to. And the reshuffle doesn't end there. BYD C-Line 6 is a plug-in hybrid. That's lining up to push

things like other plug-in hybrids in Australia further down the rankings. BYD sold 9,000 C-Line 6s

over the last year, I think. Mitsubishi sold like 4,000 Outlanders. And so plug-in hybrids

do some good business in some places. Now, two more stories. Let's talk about the tech journalist,

one of the most famous people on YouTube, has tens of millions of subscribers,

as Marques Brownlee, MKBHD. He is huge in the tech world, if you didn't know. So Tesla will

stop building its Model S and Model X next quarter. We found the news out this week,

they're killing off the original Model S and then Model X that followed it, that really the

whole company was built on. Elon Musk wasn't nostalgic. He said they'll use the space at

Fremont to make robots with the long-term goal of a million units a year that he thinks everybody

will want to buy to do its washing and laundry and folding. Maybe. But the retreat from two key

models comes as Musk again talks up a car that doesn't yet exist, and that's the second generation

roadster now ten years over Jew. And I went back to check this, and they launched it in 2017.

So they were definitely working on the car in 2016, which is ten years ago.

Oh, holy moly. Replying on Twitter to the tech journalist, Marques Brownlee,

who commented when he heard that the Model S and Model X had been killed, he replied,

oh, the roadster is so cooked. After the discontinuation news, Mr. Musk pushed back

and said, no, this car will be incredible. On Tesla's Q4 earnings call, he backed away, though,

from the previously and recently promised roadster launch date. I didn't mention it yesterday on the

podcast. There were many things I could have mentioned, and that one unfortunately didn't

make the cut. But I'll mention it today. He said that hopefully the roadster will debut,

and it'll be the only car left that isn't really designed for autonomy. It'll be a driver's car.

Yet it was only two months ago that he gave a Tesla's annual shareholder meeting a firm date

of the 1st of April, and the way car companies work, that if you know in November you're launching

a car on the 1st of April, it's because it's done. So he said, nah, promise you, 1st of April.

And it wasn't an April Fool's joke. And now he went, well, it might not be April,

but hopefully, that was the word, hopefully, he says it's something special beyond a car.

It'll be unforgettable. The roadster program has been around in gestation. I said for a year,

a decade. It might be more than a decade. The old roads to sign off in 2012, they might have

immediately started sketching it. It might be 15 years into this. The second generation version

was officially debuted, though, to the rest of us in 2017, when Tesla took deposits of $250,000

for the foundation series, full amount, banked it, and never delivered. Incredible. People

don't mind. They just love Tesla so much. They're like, that's okay. Have quarter of a million dollars

on me. In December, Tesla posted some job adverts related to Roadster and three of them. They were

looking for technical managers and manufacturing engineers. Right. Finally, Slate Auto is publishing

some details this week to update on what they're going on. Slate Auto has yet to sell a single

truck, yet the EV startup already promotes its factory refit in Indiana in its latest video

update. Slate walks us through the reconfiguration of their plant chosen as the base for its electric

truck. The former facility, now in mid-overhaul, sits in the centre of their bet that it can scale

fast. The firm says they are transparent. Regular dispatches from the factory floor are trying to

reassure suppliers and would be customers and investors as well in a market where many EV

newcomers stumble between the prototype stage and mass market manufacturing. Each step in

an assembly line counts. The current update focuses on stripping and rearranging the plant,

mapping the layout for the truck assembly, and laying the groundwork for its tooling.

It's not very hyped up. It's just really about proof that the heavy industry is going in and

that it's a serious attempt to make the truck. For now, though, the only thing rolling out of the

plant is some social media video. And that's your podcast for today. Thank you for listening.

Thanks to our premium partners National Car Charging on the US mainland and the Lo Ha Charge

in Hawaii and Test TV. Avalu's trusted partner for independent EV battery health testing in

Australia and New Zealand. Have a good one. Remember, there's no such thing as a self-charging hybrid.

DAILY: BMW Upgrades iX1 & iX2, Norway’s Cold Weather Test and America Adds Plugs | 30 Jan 2026

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