Google Maps is an app that helps you find directions and shows you where things are, like charging stations for electric cars. It can also tell you how busy those stations are.
Superchargers are special charging stations for electric cars that let you charge your car much faster than regular chargers. They help you travel longer distances without waiting too long to recharge.
Car
Polestar
Polestar is a brand that makes electric cars, known for being sporty and eco-friendly. They are connected to Volvo and focus on performance and technology.
The EPA is a government agency that measures how far cars can go on a full charge or tank of gas. This helps buyers know what to expect from their vehicles.
LFP cells are a type of battery used in electric cars that are safer and cheaper than some other types. They help power the car without catching fire easily.
The Nissan Leaf is a popular electric car that is known for being practical and efficient. It's a good choice for people looking for an electric vehicle.
Car
Ato One
The Ato One is an electric car made by BYD. It's designed to be affordable for people in Australia.
Car
Ato Two
The Ato Two is also an electric car made by BYD, and it has more features than the Ato One, making it a bit more expensive.
The Blade Battery is a special kind of battery used in electric cars that is safer and lasts longer than many other types. It helps the car run efficiently.
BlueCruise is a feature from Ford that lets you drive without holding the steering wheel in certain situations. It's a step towards fully automated driving but still needs you to pay attention.
Level two plus means the car can help with driving, like steering and speeding up, but you still need to be ready to take control if needed.
Car
Puma Gen E
The Puma Gen E is a small SUV from Ford that is designed to be efficient and easy to drive in cities. It has modern features and is part of Ford's electric vehicle lineup.
The Mustang Mach E is an electric SUV from Ford that has a sporty design and is part of the Mustang family. It can drive itself on certain highways with a feature called BlueCruise.
The Peugeot 308 is a small car that looks good and is fun to drive. It's getting some updates to make it even better, like new technology and design changes.
18-inch wheels are the size of the wheels on a car. Bigger wheels can make the car look cooler and can help with driving, but they might make the ride a bit bumpier.
A 10-inch central touchscreen is a big screen in the car that you can touch to control things like music and navigation. It's like a tablet built into the car.
A digital instrument cluster is a screen in front of the driver that shows important information like speed and fuel level. It looks modern and can be changed to show different things.
Car
Omoda 7
The Omoda 7 is a type of SUV made by the Omoda brand, and it's designed to be a bit bigger than some of their other models.
The BMW M5 is a fast and powerful car that is part of the 5 Series. The new version will be electric, showing that BMW is moving towards electric cars.
The Audi e-tron is a big electric car that runs on batteries instead of gasoline. It's designed to be comfortable and high-tech, making it a good choice for people who want an eco-friendly vehicle without sacrificing luxury.
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Welcome back to the podcast.
Today, Google Maps adds Tesla Superchargers.
The new Bolt enters production
and some cheap BYDs for Australia.
Plus, stay tuned.
Later in the show, I'll tell you why the nicest place to charge
might just be a Porsche lounge.
Let's get into it.
Charging operators are now sharing more data
with third-party apps and automakers as time goes on.
And now Google Maps will show real-time Tesla Supercharger availability.
Maps already listed Supercharger locations.
The app will now report how many installs a site has
and how many are occupied.
And I wonder if they'll also know which ones are out of order
because I was watching Kyle from Out of Spec
actually have a look at the Tesla Diner.
And he says, oh, let's check Google Maps
because, you know, in his latest YouTube video,
Google Maps should be showing Tesla Superchargers.
And it showed two less or two fewer
than there actually were there.
So maybe a couple were out of order
or maybe just they weren't bringing in all of them.
I think there were sort of 78 superchargers
on that location, not 80, which is still incredible.
Either way, it follows Google's EV routing work,
which also incorporates live plug availability.
I have experience of that
because my Polestar runs Google natively.
And honestly, it works really, really well.
The change won't matter much for Tesla drivers.
Their in-car navigation already did show,
of course, Tesla Supercharger occupancy.
But it makes a big difference
for those accessing Tesla Superchargers in a non-Tesla EV.
And Android users who prefer Google Maps
over Android Maps as well.
Increasing data sharing is making life much easier
for you and I and EV drivers.
Now, General Motors kicked off production
of the Chevrolet Bolt.
I think we're calling it the second generation Chevy Bolt
at the Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas.
They did this four days ago, reported by GM Authority
and confirmed by Chevrolet spokesperson.
First vehicles will reach dealers
sometime in January next year.
It will be sold in the US as a 2027 model year.
GM disclosed core specs at a customer event
back in October.
EPA will be 255 miles, 410 kilometers.
Rapid charging 150 kilowatts.
New Bolt shares components with the equinox.
You won't be surprised to hear the motor.
157 kilowatts.
The battery, 65 kilowatt hours.
GM is switching to LFP cells.
Lithium, iron, phosphate.
More robust, cheaper,
and a change that will bring lower pricing as well.
So at launch, the Bolt LT with Comfort package
starts at $29,990.
A planned one LT, we think will be about $28,995 in time.
There should be an RS version as well.
And the top RS with tech package and panoramic roof
would pop top out around $35,000, $36,000 US dollars.
But get it under 30.
That's the big headline price.
The Bolt should be along with the new Leaf.
A really interesting couple of additions
to the US EV landscape in 2026.
Now, let's talk about some very interesting additions down under.
And that's BYD.
Now, when BYD sell these vehicles in Australia next month,
they will be branded the Ato One
and the Ato Two.
The Ato One, let's just get straight to it.
The pricing starts at $24,000 Australian dollars.
And the Ato Two starts at $32,000 Aussie dollars.
So let's get into the specs.
I'll give you the prices where you might be listening.
The Ato One, otherwise known as the Dolphin Mini
and the Seagull, uses BYD's Blade Battery.
They're E platform three.
It's a compact hatchback.
So it's a small city car, the Ato One.
It's got a five-meter turning circle.
It's got vehicle to load, though, over-the-air updates.
This would suit fleets, councils, utilities,
car sharing schemes, or individuals that want a smaller city car.
A sub-$25,000 entry price.
So there's two battery sizes on the Ato One.
The Ato One is the essential trim.
It's a 30 kilowatt-hour pack,
which is about there or thereabouts for small batteries
here in Europe as well.
The motor is 65 kilowatts.
The WLTP is 220 kilometers.
And the pricing is $24,000 Aussie dollars.
That is $15,500 US dollars equivalent.
That is about where we are with the cheapest cars.
The cheapest cars we've got are the Leap Motor T3,
the Dacia Spring.
And if you want to go used, maybe a year old,
Great Wall Motor, GWM, Funky Cat,
which has had horrific depreciation,
but get a nearly new car, a year old, whatever it's called.
Now, they've changed it,
but the launch one was called Funky Cat.
And you can get a low mileage,
one of those in the low teens as well.
It's about half the price that it was when it was new.
And so that's actually a pretty nice car with good specs.
The Ato One Premium in Australia
adds the 43 kilowatt hour pack, doubles the motor size,
nor to 60s down to nine seconds,
but it costs $28,000.
That is $18,000 US dollars equivalent.
Now, I told you this was cheap, right?
The Ato Two comes in just one battery size.
It's 51 kilowatt hours.
And there's two specs on that,
which is like a 32 or 36,000 Aussie dollars
for the different trims.
That is either $21,000 or $23,500 US dollars equivalent.
So all of those two vehicles in four trims would easily be
the cheapest vehicles on sale in most countries, wouldn't they?
Both models reach Aussie dealerships next month in December,
joining BYD's Ato Three, Seal, Dolphin, Shark Six, C-Line Six and Seven.
Now, Ford will add its hands off BlueCruise technology
to increasing EV models here in the UK.
Launched a couple of years ago,
BlueCruise is level two plus, according to them,
with legal approval for use over here in the UK.
Uses radars and cameras,
and it's a bit like any other good adaptive cruise control
from the likes of BMW, Volvo, Mercedes, etc.
But you are allowed to remove your hands from the wheel
on BlueCruise roads.
That's about 95 percent.
Pretty much all of our motorway network.
You have to keep your eyes on the road.
They're adding BlueCruise not only to the Mustang Mach E,
we get that already, but to the Puma Gen E as well.
Peugeot is updating the 308, the 308 and 308 SW.
Some new diamond cut alloys,
and the E308 and E308 SW have the new 18-inch wheels as well.
10-inch central touchscreen and a digital instrument cluster.
3D graphics on the display with some big luggage space as well.
There comes in plug-in hybrids version two,
the Allure GT and GT Premium trims.
Full LED headlights, rear parking sensors,
reversing camera as well.
They eliminate the grille and the badge too.
Leather steering wheel, some faux leather Alcantara inside as well.
A heat pump, 360-degree camera, heated steering wheel,
adaptive cruise and massage function on the driver's seat too.
Some good specs on those little Peugeots, isn't it?
Now, let's talk about a plug-in hybrid coming to the UK
from one of the brands making some noise right now.
That's Omoda.
It's a mid-size SUV, the Omoda 7,
the Chinese company adding a plug-in hybrid version next January.
Plug-in hybrids, 32,000 pounds,
and that'll sit between the Omoda 5 and the Omoda 9.
It uses their super-hybrid system with an 18.3 kilowatt-hour battery.
So, pretty small these days by China standards for a plug-in hybrid battery.
Some of those EREF batteries are getting up to big, big sizes.
But they say 56 miles on EV mode alone.
Talking of China, by the way,
a quick mention on this main podcast about how China was doing
you can always check out more China news on our spin-off show, EV News China.
October's sales figures are in and 51.6% of the market was NEV.
So, that's either a full Bev or a plug socket on the side.
So, a plug-in hybrid or an EREV.
Experts expect the market to keep accelerating
as consumer demand and policy measures steer the industry towards growth in EVs.
From January to October, China produced 27.69 million vehicles
and sold about the same as well.
Up 10% year-on-year, NEV output,
NEV output for the period was 13 million.
And so, over 50% of cars in China sold now in the new car market
now have a plug socket on the side.
There's a new Honda electric motorcycle, which looks sweet, by the way.
I'm not allowed a motorbike because I used to ride motorbikes
and we don't have really many vetoes in our relationship.
I'm very lucky. I picked a good one.
But my wife says, can you just not have a motorbike?
Just because.
We have two young children.
She's a nurse, by the way.
My dad was a paramedic and he scraped plenty of motorcyclists off the road.
And so my wife's got, which it just might not have in a bike.
Because a few times over the years I've tabled it, I'd like to get a bike.
I used to ride motorbikes in maybe an electric motorbike.
They are still quite expensive, but they're coming down as a fine weather Sunday drive.
Now we have a garage and we've moved, which you might not.
So I love electric motorbikes, but I'm not allowed to get one myself.
So I am paying attention to them.
And the new Honda WN7 is what's called a naked motorcycle.
I'm not up on the ins and outs of electric motorbikes.
So I'll hand this over to rideapart.com where I found this article.
The WN7 fits into the naked bike segment, which has been about keeping things simple
and focusing on riding.
These bikes are easy to live with, sporty to enjoy twisty roads
and don't take themselves too seriously.
Honda wanted the WN7 to carry the energy,
like a CB750 or a CB650R, into the electric era.
The bike runs on a new water-cooled electric motor, an integrated inverter,
putting 67 horsepower down on the road.
That's about the same power as you get from a 650cc middleweight,
but you get the instant torque every time you twist the throttle.
Power goes through a gearbox and belt drive, keeping things smooth and quiet.
Honda integrates the battery pack into the chassis rather than a conventional frame,
like being a stressed member engine would be.
With the battery case and the steering head and the swing arm,
all mounted directly to that central part.
It's a 9.3 kilowatt hour battery, 87 miles of range, CCS2, fast charging on it as well.
Couldn't get price on this, but this thing looks so sweet.
Obviously, in the bike world, we talk about live wire and the regular names there,
but Honda, famous on, you know, in two wheels, going electric.
This thing, and it just looks so cool as well.
Really simple, quite futuristic.
And man, I would absolutely love one of these, but not allowed.
I've made peace with that.
Now we'll talk about the next generation BMW M3 going electric and a wallbox supernova.
What's one of those I'll tell you soon, stick around.
All right, welcome back to the podcast.
Now, London will start charging to drive your EV next year into the congestion zone.
From the 2nd of January, London's congestion charge will be 18 pounds.
Now electric cars will get a discount, but until now have been free.
The mayor said he can't plans to remove what's called the clean vehicle discount.
So it's not that EVs were free, it's that they were temporarily exempted.
And that exemption is not being renewed as it were.
I guess it, in a way, it's semantics, but it's the way you look at it.
But there's a tiered system.
So electric vans, HDVs and quadricycles get a 50% discount, which lowers the fee to nine pounds
if you are on TFL's auto pace.
If you want to drive your EV into the center of London now,
which I've found a few times I've not really needed to,
then it's no longer free, but you've got to pay your nine quid.
There are times of the day in the week when the congestion charge doesn't apply, I think.
Last time I checked, the announcement follows a report from the UK government
that's now also considering a paper mile approach,
whether that'll be part of the budget in the next couple of weeks or so.
We don't know.
That's not exactly a vote winner.
I think that would be something that you'd have to say,
we are introducing paper mile as a country, which would be a huge change.
And it's in X many years time to allow everyone to get used to the idea.
There will be huge pushback.
The idea of charging by the mile is entirely new.
I'm sure life would go on, by the way.
We've survived worse, but people would be up in arms.
And so they've got to try and replace some of that lost fuel duty.
We're not only driving a lot more EVs,
but diesel and petrol cars are also driving a lot, lot less.
By the way, the average mileage driven in this country
has been going down over the last couple of decades and continues to go down.
So there's a big black hole in the government's fuel duty.
And people are blaming EVs.
It's partly it, but the total number that we're,
you know, that's missing as it were over the last couple of decades
is just because people are driving a lot less anyway.
So we'll wait and see what they do with that.
But yeah, driving into London is about to get a lot more expensive if you have an EV.
Now BMW confirmed the next generation M3 will be both saloon and touring version.
And the M3 lineup will have two distinct variants.
And one of them will be full electric.
Here we go.
Full electric touring version of a BMW M3.
That'll do me.
The announcement arrives as BMW's Neuer-class of transition is now entering,
well, really full swing, reshaping the range and following speculation
after the high performance iX3M prompted questions about estate offerings, touring,
wagon, whatever you want to call it in the M portfolio.
The all electric iM3 will use a high output four motor arrangement
with a variable all wheel drive system.
They've been doing prototype testing on the Nürburgring for about a year now
with fled wheel arches and things that give away what they are testing.
A thousand horsepower.
BMW confirming the next M5 will be electric touring as well.
It's going to be a load of those on the German Autobahn in a few years time aren't they?
They look great.
Now Warbox, the company Warbox, have a new system called the Supernova Power Ring.
And that is 720 kilowatts of shared charging.
Warbox's Supernova Power Ring is a modular connected DC fast charging system
delivering 400 kilowatts at a time to a single vehicle and a shared capacity of 720.
For destination charging and semi-public charging locations,
compact, it's modular and they share the energy intelligently pooling any unused capacity.
Obviously as EVs arrive, each one is different and can take a different amount of energy.
But also as an EV fills up, it slows down.
And so if you have a total amount of power at a site to be able to constantly load balance
and going, okay, well that Porsche Taycan no longer needs 270 but this Audi e-tron's turned
up and that needs to move it around, that reduces idle energy and infrastructure needs.
It maximizes installed capacity.
It's all smart stuff.
Each power ring can connect up to three Supernova units and provide six outlets,
enabling scalable installed capacities up to 720 kilowatts like I say.
They also add some intelligent power sharing algorithms soon as well to distribute energy
not only amongst the charges but amongst multiple sites in a location too.
Okay, finally, let's talk about one of the nicest places to charge and that is
Porsche's charging lounges.
Now no one has replicated the Tesla Supercharging network to the scale.
I mean, not even scratch the surface.
Maybe there's a lot of investment in China by the automakers but in the West, no chance.
Some of them have done their own thing though and Porsche have done their own thing
for Porsche drivers and if I were one and needed to charge and I was somewhere near,
I would definitely go out of my way to charge here.
Their 10th charging lounge is now open in Europe.
Use the Porsche charging service which does give you access to, well like all of these
charging services, they just pull together tons of networks.
So you can drive across Europe anyway using your Porsche app with 95,000 fast charges inside
the app.
However, they've also got their own charging network.
There's 10 of their locations and they're just absolutely gorgeous.
They must spend a fortune on these because they look brilliant and it's the second lounge
on the A9 after Ingolstadt and the A9 links the Berlin Ring with Munich over about 530 kilometers.
So there's six fast charging stalls there but each charger can deliver 400 kilowatts
and if they're all full, they will all deliver maximum power but it's the lounge.
So there's lovely relaxed seating areas.
There's snacks on offer.
They've got soft drinks selection.
You've got coffee and water selections as well.
Obviously complimentary high speed Wi-Fi too.
So if you have a Porsche ID and you've got your number plate in the Porsche app,
then when you pull up to the barrier, it will open.
Please enter and please charge your car here via your license plate recognition
and then have a lovely experience.
Obviously only for Porsche owners but if I were one and I was anywhere near,
I would definitely use these because yes, it's exclusive and you can argue the pros and cons
of locking down a network but as a nice little bonus,
the way that the Tesla Supercharger entire network used to be a nice moat for Tesla owners.
This looks really, really nice to enjoy a charge and of course if you do own a Porsche,
either it's going to be a Taycan or a Mechanica N,
you won't be there very long which is a shame because they all charge stupid fast
and that's your podcast for today.
Thank you so much to our premium partners, National Car Charging on the US Mono and the
Low Heart Charge in Hawaii and Octopus Electroverse Global Public Charging made simple
with one app and one map.
Have a good and cinema and remember there's no such thing as a self charging hybrid.
About this episode
Google Maps now features real-time availability for Tesla Superchargers, enhancing the charging experience for non-Tesla EV drivers. General Motors has begun production of the new Chevrolet Bolt, boasting impressive specs and a competitive price point under $30,000. Meanwhile, BYD is set to launch affordable models in Australia, with prices starting at just $24,000 AUD. The episode also covers Ford's expansion of BlueCruise technology, updates on the Peugeot 308, and the luxurious Porsche charging lounges, offering a premium charging experience for Porsche owners.
