DAILY: Ford Plots Five Affordable Models, VW ID. Polo and Sweden Keeps Tesla Offline | 15 Feb 2026

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High Voltage Technology Beyond 800 Volts

No EV news, China, spinoff podcast.

Today is the weekend. Returns tomorrow morning.

Ford plots five sub 40k models by the end of the decade, starting with an electric four-door pickup next year.

The CFO Sherry House confirmed the range will span gas, hybrid and electric.

The U.S. average new car price is now a smidge over $50,000.

That was in December 2025. Ford's average sale price, though, is $55,500.

Ford currently sells two sub 40k models.

There's the Maverick pickup and the Bronco Sport SUV.

Cost reduction centers on Ford's universal EV platform unveiled last August and described as a model team moment.

Beyond the planned $30,000 pickup, which if it does arrive at that price will be an exceptionally priced vehicle.

The platform reduces parts and fasteners, uses prismatic LFP cells and applies an assembly tree process.

Cutting workstations by 40%, assembly time by 15%, 48 volts systems or low voltage battery system getting rid of the old 12-volt battery.

Many people call the $30,000 Ford Maverick electric truck.

It's not called a Maverick, but that's what people call it.

A Cybertruck in disguise because there are so many people that used to work at Tesla now working on Ford's similar architecture.

Ford will also build an affordable pickup at its Tennessee plant from 2029.

Mr. Farley, the CEO, citing a significant technology and affordability lead amongst Chinese automakers,

warning that Western firms need to restructure their cost bases referenced Ford's past failures to anticipate disruptions from international rivals.

Ford denied talks with Xiaomi over US EV production, but did not deny discussions with Geely about potentially producing Geely vehicles at their Valencia plant.

Now, Ford also confirming plans to add EREV's extended range electric vehicles and using EREV technology on its lineup,

including the updated F-150 Lightning.

If you ask me, that's very sensible.

A smaller midsize pickup truck that doesn't need to do any heavy lifting as it were.

Great, make it electric 30K.

That's where we are with battery technology, you know, 10 years in to this fantastic journey that we're all doing.

And if you need to get a real workhorse truck, I mean, look, if you need to do a workhorse in 2026 and you're just going to complain about towing all day long,

just go buy something diesel for the next five years.

However, for most people, an F-150 Lightning with an EREV powertrain, so big battery, but one you can plug in, obviously,

is probably a good way to frame that class of vehicle and those kind of buyers in America.

I should obviously, you know, preface or caveat that with saying this is an American issue.

The rest of us don't have truck culture and, you know, Ute culture in Australia doesn't have that many issues going electric.

So this is about the size of America and also what people are used to doing with trucks.

And yeah, if you're towing an RV trailer 3,000 miles across the country over some elevation,

EV is going to be a little bit inconvenient for you.

And if anyone said it wasn't, then they're lying. It's very doable. It's just harder.

EREVs obviously have a petrol generator engine, you know, Ford have plenty of combustion technology they can lean on

and it's only ever a generator, so any of a charge is a big battery.

Ford expects the new Lightning to be 700 miles of total range with the generator running.

And you can tow, obviously, and you can do big elevation and big towing and all those kind of things

and you can fill it up with gas to your heart's content.

And there is, you may disagree with me here, I will slightly interject with my own personal opinion.

There is a subset of truck buyers, probably in America, who probably need their hand holding a little bit to go EV.

If that's not too insulting. The fact that it comes with a gas tank, that you can put gas in it at any time

but has a big battery that you charge overnight and it's really cheap, is probably a good way to overcome

some of those barriers, some of those blocks. No one's taking your diesel trucks away.

There's never been a mandate in America.

I think when people realize, oh, this is cool, right? It's really powerful.

Loads of torque, nice and quiet, very cheap to run.

And a backup generator, that might be a good thing.

Right, let's talk Volkswagen ID Polo. Been spotted testing ahead of its global launch later this year

with a GTI variant confirmed alongside as well.

That's the first time a GTI badge is going on an EV at Volkswagen.

One of six Volkswagen EVs planned for this year.

ID Polo sits on MEV Plus architecture.

It's four meters long, which matches the current petrol polo.

Volkswagen will sell both versions in parallel.

The petrol model gets tech updates, possibly some hybridization as well.

Design follows the ID2 all concept, which is probably three years old now.

So sleek profile, recessed door handles, sportier GTI styling, like larger wheels,

different bumpers, side skirts, things like that, probably different kind of brake calipers.

The interior, probably a fabric trim, a 10.25 inch digital instrument cluster,

a 13 inch touchscreen, and none of the button madness of the original ID3 design either.

Two battery pack sizes. This is very sensible. This is what the Koreans do.

37 kilowatt hours, 90 kilowatt DC fast charging.

On a polo, absolutely bring it on. I'll have that every day as my second car.

Or 52 kilowatt hour and 155 kilowatts of power with 130 kilowatt DC fast charging.

Again, very sensible. You can just pick your poison on that one.

And so European pricing starts at 25,000 euros compared to 20,000 for the petrol polo.

And the ID polo confirmed for Australian showrooms as well, but no timing actually announced on that one.

Let's talk a little bit about Swedish courts.

I haven't updated you on this in a while because it's largely just ongoing,

but Sweden and Tesla are having a bit of a fight.

All to do with Tesla's insistence on not having anything unionized

and Sweden being a country that has a pretty rich heritage and culture on unionization.

And so it's a battle of cultures and a battle of kind of worldviews as well.

Tesla is just a very anti-union. We see this in Berlin at the Gigafactory in Grunheider.

Very much combative. Let me put it that way delicately with unionization.

Of course, if you're going to run a factory in Germany, they knew this anyway.

It wouldn't have been news to anybody at Tesla despite what I read online sometimes.

Like, whoa, Tesla discovered that unions in Germany are really strong.

Like, no, they knew that. They'd bought the old Groman business whatever it was like eight years ago.

They already had factories in Germany.

Like, they knew this, so it wasn't a surprise to Tesla at all.

But unions also very strong in Sweden and they fell out.

And so there's an ongoing dispute with IF Metall.

Electricians joined a sympathy strike which delay the grid connections to the superchargers.

Tesla challenged the delay and arguing grid operators haven't been connecting their superchargers,

which that was rejected, by the way, upholding the strike's legality under Swedish law.

Also, the administrative court in the area dismissing Tesla's case,

ruling that labor disputes belong to the parties involved,

and that the electricity act of Sweden doesn't conflict with European Union law.

Tesla can now appeal to a higher court.

The station, which I think is called Lundby, is still offline in the meantime.

Two years after it should have been connected.

In recent satisfaction surveys and actually sales surveys as well,

Tesla's still do pretty well in Sweden in terms of sales.

And of course, the supercharger network in Sweden can be used by third-party cars as well.

So Tesla points out, hey, by blocking our supercharger connections,

you're hurting generally V-drivers.

Now, let's talk about the Porsche Macan.

And this is the 2026 Porsche Macan GTS trim.

So the fifth variant of the all-electric Macan, sitting below the turbo,

making a case for performance and premium at a lower price point,

which is $107,650.

Visually, GTS looks a little bit different, different front and rear facias,

lower stance as well.

It sits lower on its standard 21-inch wheels,

electronically controlled limited-slip diff on the rear is fitted.

They say retuned damper springs and anti-roll bars, dual motors,

obviously it's all-wheel drive, over 500 horsepower,

over boost to 563 horsepower,

0-60 miles an hour at 3.6 seconds,

which is slower than the turbo, but not by much.

You wouldn't feel it unless you are...

Well, I don't know how you'd feel the difference.

95 kilowatt-hour battery, DC fast charging at 270 kilowatts peak.

That's a 10 to 80 in 21 minutes.

Loads of driver assistance and things like that.

Even trained parking routines.

And for your $107,000, the GTS opens up another option

for what must be admitted is a narrow set of buyers.

Audi has integrated Easy Park and the app,

which I think is RID, RIDE, R-Y-D,

presume it's RIDE, because RID makes no sense,

but R-Y-D into its infotainment system

that covers parking, fueling, charging,

and even car washing.

Easy Park covers 60,000 public and private locations

in 1,300 European cities.

And so you just get one prompt when the vehicle

enters an area that is supported for things like parking.

If your time is nearing an end,

you get an alert to your phones,

send your parking if you want to.

R-Y-D, RIDE, I presume it's RIDE.

Consolidates contactless fueling, charging,

and car washing into a single app.

It works with ARAL and SO in Germany.

Across Europe, you can use 90% of charging stations

and 10,000 fuel stations as well.

For EV drivers, using the app integrates

with the vehicle's route planner.

It opens automatically when approaching a charging station

and you can start or stop a session

via the infotainment screen in your Audi

and this gets updated.

We'll take a break, we'll come back.

Let's talk a little bit about charging police EVs

and a baby G from Mercedes-Benz.

Stick around, back in the mo.

The number one resolution for people last year

was to save more money.

But nearly half gave up by February.

Don't let that be you.

Download RocketMoney to reach your financial goals this year.

Track your spending, cut waste,

and automate savings in one simple app.

RocketMoney shows you all your expenses

and categorizes them so you know exactly

where your money's going and where you're overspending.

From there, the app cuts waste

by canceling your unused subscriptions

and lowering your bills.

No customer service needed.

With that money freed up,

the app will automatically set some cash aside for your goals.

Whether it's an emergency fund,

paying off debt,

or saving for vacation,

RocketMoney's got you covered.

Users love the app with over 186,000 five-star ratings.

And, on average, users can save up to $740 a year

when using all the app's premium features.

Make saving money a priority this year.

Go to RocketMoney.com slash cancel to get started.

That's RocketMoney.com slash cancel.

RocketMoney.com slash cancel.

There I was scrolling my phone

then someone cracked open a Mountain Dew Baja Cabo Citrus.

Next thing I know, I heard a rip.

My friend tried the splits and jeans

but not a drop was spilled.

Have a blast with Mountain Dew Baja Cabo Citrus.

A punch of tropical citrus flavor.

The number one resolution for people last year

was to save more money.

But nearly half gave up by February.

Don't let that be you.

Download RocketMoney to reach your financial goals this year.

Track your spending, cut waste,

and automate savings in one simple app.

RocketMoney shows you all your expenses

and categorizes them.

So you know exactly where your money's going

and where you're overspending.

From there, the app cuts waste

by canceling your unused subscriptions

and lowering your bills.

No customer service needed.

With that money freed up,

the app will automatically set some cash aside

for your goals.

Whether it's an emergency fund,

paying off debt,

or saving for vacation,

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Users love the app

with over 186,000 five-star ratings.

And on average,

users can save up to $740 a year

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slash cancel to get started.

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slash cancel.

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Now, a Boston counselor called Ed Flynn

has proposed banning delivery drivers

from using electric bikes,

citing safety.

The proposal follows residential complaints

about these e-bikes that go too fast,

run red lights, and even drive on sidewalks as well.

And this local counselor arguing that delivery companies,

the door dashes and deliverers of the world,

have incentivized speed over safety,

fueling reckless behavior.

So this would only apply to delivery app riders,

not normal people riding e-bikes.

Community opinion is somewhat divided.

Residents, they say they support the ban.

Other site would harm delivery workers

who rely on e-bikes for transport.

Local counselors there acknowledging

that enforcing existing traffic laws

may be more effective than a blanket ban on one group.

Okay, let's go talk about how you charge

your electric police car.

Essex Police plans to switch

50 of their 800 fleet vehicles electric this year.

And then when they want to charge them,

they're going to go use a bus depot.

Essex Police Force partnering with First Bus

to charge at Basildon, the bus depot there.

The site's high-powered charges

can refill a police car in 20 minutes.

And Essex Police began their EV move back in 2022,

but relied on public charges.

It now says the first charge arrangement costs less

and suits its fleet.

The Force chose a commercial agreement

with the charging supplier,

rather than spending money on putting

their own charge points in at police stations.

The head of fleet at Essex Police,

says reliable charging infrastructure matters

if the Force wants to hit its decarbonisation targets.

For now, the plan mainly serves

the southern part of Essex.

Makes sense if your buses aren't charging at that time

and you can earn some extra money

and a police force needs somewhere to charge.

I would presume they have some slow

7 kilowatt charges at the police stations

or maybe the vehicles are just always on the move.

You know, swapping police women and men.

So maybe those vehicles just never really

stop long enough to do some level two charging.

Now, let's talk about Mercedes-Benz Baby G.

Spy shots from winter testing put

Mercedes-Junior G-Class on track

for a launch next year.

The prototype retains the proportions of a G-Class,

although the dual front lighting is replaced

by LED outlines, which combine

the daytime running lights and the turn signals.

Two test cars seen in Germany

on a transporter.

One with a full ladder set up as well.

On a scale, the Junior G-Class is smaller

than a two-row Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 SUV.

And Mercedes plans electric and combustion

versions of the Baby G.

The car rides on the MMA platform from Mercedes,

shared with the new CLA and the updated GLA,

so that's all the good stuff.

Very high efficiency, by the way.

Rivals would be something like a Land Cruiser

or a Jeep Electric Recon.

It starts at around $67,000 on the STLA

large platform.

Now, Waymo's sixth generation driver technology

is being deployed with a 42% smaller

sensor suite.

We first saw these Waymo autonomous vehicles,

any autonomous vehicle years ago.

Their sensor suites were so big,

now they just keep shrinking them

and shrinking them, and yet it outperforms

the outgoing technology being 42% smaller.

They've got 13 cameras, not 29.

They've got four LiDARs, not five.

They've got six radar, 17 megapixel

imager, and good low-light performance,

they say.

Using custom chips, these vehicles

have traditionally, the Waymo's been

Jaguar iPaces.

This supports the Zika RT

and the Hyundai IONIQ 5.

So the next Waymo you take could be

a Hyundai IONIQ 5.

That's pretty cool, isn't it?

Waymo serves six US cities

and wants nine more this year.

DC, Detroit, Vegas, San Diego,

Denver, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio,

and Orlando.

They're coming to London as well.

I think they're bringing the iPaces to London

rather than those other vehicles

which are now going to be introduced

to the Waymo fleet.

They say that Tesla's camera-only

approach simply doesn't work

for full autonomy.

If you want it in every possible weather and situation

with no driver,

you need a multi-sensor stack.

That argument will carry on forever

until someone solves autonomy.

And Waymo would say,

well, we're getting pretty close to solving autonomy.

Tesla have a little way to go

would be their argument.

Now, finally,

the German project

that is targeting faster EV charging

is called Odyssey EV.

The optimized dynamics

of high-voltage powertrains

developing sustainable systems

for electric vehicles.

That is the world's craziest acronym.

Odyssey with many Ss.

Odysseyv.

It's fine.

It's a project in Germany

led by Dortmund University,

targeting EV technology

above 800 volts.

It covers the full development chain,

and advanced semiconductors

to power modules and onboard chargers

and inverters as well.

Higher voltages, over 800 volts

enable faster charging.

You can run thinner cables as well.

Of course, that's cheaper.

It has less weight as well.

It improves energy losses,

better efficiency, better real-world range.

The project is developing safety standards

as well over a thousand volts

where there's more insulation demands

because touching one of those orange cables

with your tongue

gives you a really, really bad headache.

And the professor there, Dr. Marcus Tobin,

links the work directly

to consumer barriers,

overcoming longer charging times

and limited range in an EV.

You know I was joking about

the whole tongue orange cable thing.

Don't never do that. Never do.

Do that. That's going to give you a really bad day.

I'll let you podcast for today.

Sometimes I think the British sarcasm

doesn't always come across.

It's like when you explain a joke,

it's no longer funny, but I kind of have to do it.

Thanks to our premium partners, National Car Charging,

on the US mainland

and the Low Heart Charge in Hawaii

and Test EV, Avalu's trusted partner

for independent EV battery health testing

in Australia and New Zealand.

Have a good and see you tomorrow.

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

Want to feel more confident

with your finances this year?

If you have 60 seconds, I can show you how quick

and easy it is to start building healthy money habits

that could last you the entire year

just by using Rocket Money.

Step one, download Rocket Money.

Step two, link all your accounts

and see your entire spending picture.

Your subscriptions, your upcoming bills,

your due dates, everything.

Step three, tap a subscription you don't use

and cancel it. Boom!

That's money back every single month.

Step four, create a financial goal

for something you want to say for,

whether it be a vacation, a retirement account

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of cash towards your goal.

In a month, you'll see real dollars piling up.

In a year, you'll be shocked

at how much money you saved, similar to the

over 10 million members on the app

that have saved up to $740 a year

when using all of the app's premium features.

Use the savings challenge

as one step closer to feeling better

about your finances today.

At RocketMoney.com, slash cancel.

That's RocketMoney.com, slash cancel.

One more time.

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DAILY: Ford Plots Five Affordable Models, VW ID. Polo and Sweden Keeps Tesla Offline | 15 Feb 2026

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