DAILY: Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake, Tesla Hits A Wall In Europe and BMW Eyes Range Extenders | 26 Nov 2025

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Welcome back to the podcast today. Mercedes Benz, CLA shooting break. Tesla hits a wall in Europe

and BMW i's range extenders. Plus, stay tuned because later in the show

I'll tell you why the next frontier of electric racing will be on the water.

And on EV News China, today our new spin-off show. We're talking about BYD taking the global sales

crown. Xiaomi, SU-7s, Bonnet, Saga, heads to the courts, and Zika's hardware retrofit.

Let's get into it. Mercedes has built an estate car that'll do almost 500 miles of range on a

charge. The new CLA shooting break lands in the UK as a pure EV first, with prices from 47,750 lbs

and a brief to tempt both long-distance private drivers and premium fleets.

Both models use an 85 kWh battery. In the 250, there's a single rear motor with 268 brake

horsepower and on paper at least 469 miles of range. This is the longest range of any

estate car in the UK. The 350-formatic adds a front motor for 349 brake horsepower and

cuts range only slightly to acclaimed 451 miles. Either way, this is a car built to crush distance

rather than chase drag times. Charging backs that up. The CLA shooting break

can rapid charge at 320 kW, and that puts it among the fastest charging EVs you can buy in Britain.

Find a suitable DC charger and big top-ups should take a coffee stop, not a lunch break.

For drivers used to diesel wagons that knock off hundreds of motorway miles a day,

this new mix of range, space and charge speed will matter more than raw power.

Put it together, and Mercedes is trying to bridge two worlds. On one side sits the firm's own

long-running premium estates, and on the other, a new wave of long-range EVs. Oh, and I should mention,

it's also very, very pretty. It's on sale now. We've got two more stories to go on Mercedes-Benz

today. The second one is the same car, actually, the CLA, but this time it gets its US spec. It

wants its new CLA to land where many rivals have fumbled. Long range, fast charging,

and a price that doesn't scare off owners of current gas models. For 2026 in the United States,

the CLA 250+, as they put it with EQ technology, starts at $47,250 before destination. That again

uses the single rear motor, 268 horsepower, good for 0-60 in 6.6 seconds, and 374 miles when it

gets EPA-ed for range. Add the front motor, step up to the CLA 350 Formatic, that is only $49,800,

and like I say, you get the 349 horsepower, and a range of 312 miles on the, some would say,

more realistic EPA cycle. Both versions, again with the 85 kilowatt hour pack,

on the 800 volt electrical system built on Mercedes' new MMA platform. MMA can carry both

combustion and electric, and that helps spread costs and keep pricing close to the combustion

CLA of today. DC fast charging at 320 kilowatts means a 10-80 charge in 22 minutes. If you

can find a nice DC fast charger in the US at 500 amps, you'll be adding 100 miles in 5 minutes,

and more than 200 miles in 10 minutes. If those numbers hold in the real world,

the CLA will sit among the fastest charging EVs on sale. Prices may be its quiet trump card.

The outgoing gas CLA was about the same price, so the shift to an electric version brings a very

small premium for much, much more car. That fits a broader change in Mercedes' EV plan.

Instead of standalone EQ, sedans and SUVs, Mercedes is folding electric power into its

core badges. The CLA class leads the move. The G-Class and GLC G-Class models are on the way

as well. The results is clear enough with long range, strong charging features and

a familiar 3-pointed star on the nose. The CLA EV goes after very much the mainstream luxury buyer

who wants an easy jump from their gas CLA to the electric CLA in the United States.

And finally, talking Mercedes-Benz, if you pull off Interstate 5 in Red Bluff, California,

and the coffee stop will now come with a 400 kilowatt jolt, Mercedes-Benz high-power

charging and Starbucks have opened their first joint-ventured DC fast charging hub there,

an early node in the planned long-distance EV corridor that links rapid charging with

familiar retail stores. Under ideal conditions, the new Mercedes-Benz branded units can add

300 miles of range in 10 minutes depending on which car you get. Every stall carries both

NAX and CCS, so most modern EVs will plug in without an adapter. Older fleets are not

left behind, though. Behind the shiny new hardware sits a larger bet. Mercedes-Benz

high-powered charging North America is a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz Group and the

renewable energy producer MN8 Energy. The partners put up an initial $1 billion to fund

their own fast charging network, shifting the brand from being a pure automaker to a direct

rival of legacy fueling providers. Their first US site went live in November 2023 at Mercedes-Benz

USA headquarters in Sandy Springs, Georgia. By the end of last year, they had more than 150 fast

charges operating in the country and more coming online as sites plug in. Starbucks is the consumer

facing part of the strategy. Mercedes-Benz claims to add charges at 100 Starbucks nationwide

as part of their plan, with the 1,400-mile I-5 route from Canada to Mexico being its

spine. For drivers, that means a chain of predictable stops along the main West Coast

artery, the same coffee, the same restrooms, and if the rollout works, the same expectation

that 10 minutes of charging will cover you on your next leg.

All right, let's talk Tesla. A couple of Tesla stories today, how they're doing in

Europe, and then our second story we'll look at who they're winning or losing to.

Tesla has hit a wall in Europe, its October sales halved, its market share now shrinking

to just 0.6%, and a fresh Model Y, not stopping the slide even as the wider EV market is on the up.

New data from the ASEA show Tesla sold 6,964 cars in Europe in October,

that's down though from 13,500 for the same time last year.

Year-to-date, Tesla is down 30% versus year-to-date in 2024.

This is not an EV recession, regional demand is ticking up, but buyers are not moving to new models.

From Tesla, there aren't really, they're moving to Volkswagen and Chinese brands.

The shift marks a clear break from 2023, which now looks like golden time for Tesla.

They delivered 367,000 vehicles in Europe that year, they held 3% of the entire market.

Its sales fell 11% in 2024, when big markets like Germany scrapped EV subsidies.

And that hurt Tesla's pricing edge. The company then paused output at its Berlin

plant to retool for the new Model Y, cutting volumes as rivals arrived in flooded showrooms

with fresh metal. Policy is only part of the story though. On price and product cadence,

Tesla faces tough competition. On reputation, the CEO's political moves in Europe and his

backing of Donald Trump may have turned off some buyers at the margin,

adding a brand headache to its policy and product woes. Meanwhile, Volkswagen,

BYD, SAIC and other Chinese names are broadening their European lineups,

with cheaper, on-year EVs giving shoppers more reason to look elsewhere.

Tesla's answer is not more models, but more code. Musk says that self-driving and other AI

features will set Tesla apart and bring them back to growth. The firm says its

top-tier automated driving package, FSD, is on track for regulatory approval. In Europe,

they claimed February. Regulators pushed back on that date.

So who are they losing to? Well, Skoda and Renault have both knocked Tesla's Model Y

off the top step in Europe. Last month in October, Skoda's new L-Rock,

that's the smaller version of the ENIAC, and Renault's revived five led battery electric

sales in Europe, a sharp turn in a market that Tesla's been dominating for many years.

Fresh dataforce numbers now show why this matters across the EU, EFTA and United Kingdom.

So all of the EU states, the Nordics, the UK as well, and some extras, 262 different fully

electric models sold at least one car in October, up though from 233 a year ago.

Another 30 models have gone on sale in the last year. Battery electric volume has been jumping,

33% up, lifting BEVs to 21% of the European market last month in October. That was 16%

October last year. Skoda's L-Rock took the monthly BEV crown, and the Renault 5

was in second place. The Model Y from Tesla, which has been leading, was pretty well in September

the previous month, but their monthly numbers can bounce up and down, but in October it was down

to eighth in the market. And part of this is timing, Tesla still leans on a back loaded

delivery pattern with weaker first months and heavier pushes at the end of the quarter.

The same cadence showed up in July when the Model Y dropped to sixth and the L-Rock

again moved into first, just ahead of Volkswagen's ID3. In October though,

VW underlined its depth and strength in numbers if you like, taking third, fourth and fifth with

the ID's four, seven and three. But the pattern goes beyond Tesla's simple logistics

now with 262 different BEV name plates on sale, and with big markets like Germany and the UK

now bringing in some big incentives, demand that once flowed in bulk to a few early movers,

it's now spread across dozens of credible choices. Legacy groups like VW and Renault

are turning dealer reach, local brands and tailor made models into share gains.

We'll take a break, lots to talk about when we come back, we've got BMW in the news,

got bit of MG and Porsche looking at the Hyundai's with NVSI's. I'll tell you why, stick around back

in a moment. Hear that? That's me with a lemonade in a rocker on my front porch. How did I get here?

I invested to make my dream home, home. Get where you're going with MDY, the original

mid cap ETF from State Street Investment Management. Getting there starts here.

Before investing, consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and

expenses. Visit statestreet.com slash im for a prospectus containing this and other information.

Read it carefully. MDY is subject to risk similar to those of stocks. All ETFs are subject to risk,

including possible loss of principle Alps Distributors Inc. Distributor.

This isn't just a game, it's a once in a generation event. The Harlem Globetrotters 100

year tour. Celebrate 100 years of high flying dunks, 100 years of showstopping moves,

and 100 years of changing the game. Bring the whole family and be part of the legacy.

This game is once in a century. Be there at Motor Center on January 24th.

Go to HarlemGlobetrotters.com for your tickets to the 100 year tour.

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Welcome back to the podcast. BMW is weighing up the idea of petrol range extenders for their

X5 and 7 series, a move that would put Germany's best known premium brand

into one of China's hottest drivetrain niches. The Torx centre on the long wheelbase versions

of the big models in China, where BMW can tuck a small engine under the skin without

stealing too much space inside, and that matters in China, whereby I still want large SUVs that can

cross a province or estate without a longstop at a charger. A range extender is not a plug-in hybrid,

the engine never turns the wheels, it runs as a generator, which feeds the battery,

which drives the motors. China's market has already embraced the idea of e-revs,

as they're called, extended range electric vehicles, but the last four months has seen

sequential continued declines. Has the e-rev bubble burst already,

just as the western automakers are catching on to the idea?

In China, BYD and other local brands are clawing share from the Germans in the very segments

that they once owned. Range extended flagships like BYD's Yang Wang U8, Aito's M9 and the Li

Auto L9 have been winning over buyers this year. Nor is this a Chinese experiment.

Stellantis is readying the RAM charger pickup truck with a range extender for the US, but that project

has been on again, off again, and had some name changes as well, so I'm quite sure that project

is at the moment. And Volkswagen's Scouts brand confirmed that they would bring the range

extended versions of their vehicles first. Let's move on. MG is doing good business here

in Europe, and now we find out that MG is lining up a new entry-level EV. For Europe,

a compact hatchback, it'll be called the MG2, it'll come in 2027, it'll start below £25,000,

it'll sit under the MG4, and go head to head with things like the newly reborn Renault 5,

and a whole wave of small electric cars which we're now getting. The project came to lights

via David Allison, head of MG Motor UK. He first floated the idea in spring last year,

pointing to a smaller MG EV at around £20,000. That has shifted now to a ceiling of £25,000,

but the role is the same. MG2 would be the cheapest MG car in the range. Mr Allison argues that Europe

Switch to EV power makes small cars the natural next battleground. As EVs spread, the quickest way

to cut prices is to shrink the cars themselves, and wait for battery costs to fall of course

as well. Early Renault 5 sales, he says, back up the argument that small cars are where the

action is right now. MG2 won't chase rock bottom prices, they're around £12,000 to £15,000

at the moment with the Dacia Spring and the Leap Motor T03. Technical details, of course,

are under wraps. Platform choice, battery size and range targets have yet to be disclosed.

MG, however, is refreshing its wider lineup. Alright, let's move on and talk about Porsche.

Now engineers there have been driving the competition and have been very impressed.

Porsche has turned to an unlikely tutor for their all-electric 718. That is the Hyundai

Onyc 5N. For a brand built on flat-six engines, using a Korean electric hot hatch as a benchmark

shows just how far performance cars have come. Frank Moser, who oversees both of the 911 and 718

lines, told Australian outlet Drive that driving the Onyc 5N was, and I quote, eye-opening. Hyundai's

car didn't just impress him, it shifted Porsche's view of what an electric sports car should feel

like. He praised how the Onyc 5N's fake engine noise and fake gear shifts, which Hyundai calls

N-active sound and NE shift. He said those tricks are feeding straight into the all-electric

Boxster and Cayman due in 2027. This is the way, he said, Porsche plans to give drivers their own

configurable sound and shift systems, including a simulated flat-six soundtrack

and virtual gears you can turn on or off. Even Porsche GT's boss and long-time

guardian of the purest models, Andreas Püninger, came in as a skeptic and left a convert. He had

dodged any of the electric stuff, he says, until he tried the Onyc 5N's N-grin boost

NGB mode, a red button that raises the horsepower output for 10 seconds. He said, wow.

If software can carry much of the drama, the hardware still matters though. Porsche says the

electric 718 will be really lightweight for an EV, even if it is heavier than their combustion cars.

The focus on mass hints at a clear split. In the next range, most models will go fully electric,

only the top versions they will keep combustion for now,

likely with their flat-six T-hybrid technology. Now, the head of Stellantis, the chairman, in fact,

has been speaking up about lowering carbon emissions. Europe's car industry could shrink

for good if Brussels clings to the idea of reducing harmful emissions. That's the warning

from Stellantis chairman John Elkin. Clearly not caring about people's health and the wider

public health. No, he's more concerned about his car company. He says the European Union has to ease

its roadmap for cutting harmful emissions, or has to accept losing jobs. On the 10th of December,

the European Commission is going to unveil draft changes for its CO2 rules as they stand.

Those rules amount to a de facto ban on petrol and diesel. Well, pure petrol and diesel, of

course, in 2035. In 10 years time, given the rate of development over the last 10 years in EV

technology, I think it's fair to say most people are optimistic about what we'll be driving in

10 years time. Car makers, though, are pushing back. Elkin says the industry has put a joint

proposal on the commission's desk. The aim? Keep 2035 climate goals, but open up how car makers

hit them. Their plan centres on what counts towards compliance. Yes, of course,

BEV would be compliant, but also fuel cells and plug-in hybrids, and they want extended range EVs

to count as well, plus cars that run on so-called low carbon fuels. They would all count towards

the deadline, too. In his view, this mix matters for more than engineering neatness.

Europe's legacy brands are under heavy strain as they retool plants, line up battery supply,

and pour billions into new platforms on razor-thin margins. At the same time,

Chinese and, to an extent, US rivals are chasing electrification with a broader range of

powertrains and a freer hand on policy at home. Okay, let's talk about vans. Electric vans.

Electric vans in the UK are about to shed a chunk of heavy goods red tape,

clearing a key roadblock for fleets that want to go all-electric. Many big electric vans tip

the scales above 3.5 tons, and it's because of the batteries, really. Even though they're the

same size as diesel 3.5-tonners, models like the Mercedes E-Sprinter and Ford E-Transit often

land in the heavy goods bracket, and that drags in things like HGV-style MOTs. That's our

annual roadworthiness test we have. Even driver hours limits on some vehicles,

tachographs, and mandatory speed limiters. For fleet managers, that means more cost, more admin,

and a slower move to EV, if I'm honest with you. One operator told the Department for Transport

that some fleets hold back on going EV. Because of this, the Department for Transport

has now confirmed a shift. Zero emission vans up to 4.25 tons will move into the Class 7 MOT regime,

so regulators treat them like light vans. The first MOT will be due three years after

registration, as always, instead of one like we get with passenger cars, cutting both early

compliance costs and workshop downtime. After that, they line up with diesel vans on their

annual testing. The Department has also proposed taking these electric vans out of driver's hours

and taco rules as well, and is reviewing whether they even need speed limiters. For mixed fleets,

this would remove what many in the consultation called a disproportionate financial and operational

burden. This is not a full revolution, but it is a clear nudge from our government

towards a level playing field for electric vans. If Parliament can move quickly, then that

clears that roadblock. But the remaining question is how many fleets will now bring forward their

switch to battery power? And finally, electric powertrains are no longer a sideshow all around

the world. Everything's going electric from not only passenger cars to buses and construction

equipment, but now, with its calendar firmed up, the E1 series lays out a world tour that

looks like a mature motorsport, but this one's on the water. The E1 World Championship, presented

by PIF, starts in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia before a three-stop run through Europe, Lake Como in

Italy. That returns in April, followed by Dubrovnik in Croatia in June, Monaco lands

mid-July, where New Entrant Team Monaco get a home race. From there, the series heads to Nigeria,

fresh from what organisers say will be a record crowd and atmosphere. The season then crosses

the Atlantic for Miami, and wraps up with a first-ever Caribbean finale in the Bahamas.

Behind the glossy travel brochure that I've just read you is a clear pitch to the EV World.

E1 powerboats want to show that high-performance electric boats hold up in real racing, not just

the brochure. It's foiling racebird craft that built to push the limits of electronic propulsion

and prove that fast commercial-grade electric drivetrains work on the water.

Organisers call this year a landmark year, with sell-out crowds, often more teams and a

growing queue of marine and auto brands circling the paddock. They now claim that the

broadcasts reach 140 territories and a grid stacked with celebrity-backed

outfits. Everyone from Tom Brady to LeBron James, Raphael Nidal, Will Smith, Steve Aoki all have

their own teams in E1. Founder and shaman Alejandro Agag, as in, yes, the man behind

Formula E, argues that next year's schedule is a new chapter with an exciting global

championship, he says, that blends cutting-edge electric tech with famous coastlines and

new markets. And the CEO, who I've spoken to in the past in my old life working in motorsport,

CEO Roddy Basso, fascinating, massively intelligent man, casts the series as proof that electric

marine mobility is not a niche experiment, but the direction of travel. That's your podcast

for today. Thanks for listening and thanks to our premium partners as always, National Car

Charging on the US mainland and the Low Heart Charge in Hawaii, and Octopus Electroverse Global

Public Charging made simple with one app and one map and a brand new name to add to that

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DAILY: Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake, Tesla Hits A Wall In Europe and BMW Eyes Range Extenders | 26 Nov 2025

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