The Ford F-150 Lightning is an electric pickup truck that can be used for work and everyday driving. It has special features that make it powerful and efficient, just like traditional trucks but without using gasoline.
Car
BYD U9 Extreme
The BYD U9 Extreme is a fast electric car made by a Chinese company called BYD. It is known for being very quick and has set records on a famous racetrack in Germany.
The Nürburgring is a well-known race track in Germany where many car companies test their cars. Setting a record there means a car is very fast and performs well.
Volkswagen is a well-known car company from Germany that makes many popular cars. They are part of a larger group that includes other brands like Audi and Porsche.
BEV means Battery Electric Vehicle. It's a car that runs only on electricity, using batteries instead of gasoline. These cars are better for the environment because they don't produce emissions while driving.
A range extender helps electric cars go farther by using a small gas engine to create electricity when the battery runs out. It’s like having a backup power source so you don’t get stuck.
Megawatt charging is a super-fast way to charge electric cars, allowing them to get a lot of power in a short time, making it easier to drive long distances without waiting too long to recharge.
A DC fast charger is a special charger for electric cars that can fill up the battery much quicker than regular chargers. This is helpful when you need to charge your car quickly, like when you're on a long drive.
The Denzer Z 9 GT is a fancy electric car designed for luxury and performance. It's special because it can charge very quickly, making it convenient for drivers.
BYD is a Chinese company that makes electric cars and batteries. They are becoming very popular, especially in Europe, for their affordable electric vehicles.
The Dacia Spring is a small electric car that's easy on the wallet. It's designed for people who want an affordable way to drive electric without breaking the bank.
The Jeep Wrangler 4xE is a hybrid version of the popular Wrangler that can run on electricity or gasoline. This means you can drive it in a more eco-friendly way, but it still has the rugged features of a regular Wrangler.
Uconnect is the technology in some Jeep and Chrysler cars that helps you control things like music and navigation. It's like a computer system for your car that makes it easier to use while driving.
A plug-in hybrid car can use electricity from a wall outlet to charge its battery, and it can also use gasoline. This means you can drive it using just electricity for short trips, which is better for the environment.
Car
Omoda 4
The Omoda 4 is a new small SUV that you can get with either a gasoline engine or as an electric vehicle, which gives buyers more options depending on their preferences.
Škoda is a car brand from the Czech Republic that makes cars that are usually reliable and not too expensive.
Car
LROC
The LROC is an electric car made by Škoda. It's designed to be a practical choice for people who want to drive an electric vehicle without any complicated features.
VED is a tax you have to pay to drive your car on the road. The amount you pay can depend on how much pollution your car produces and how much it costs.
The Tesla Model Y is a type of electric car that looks like a small SUV. It runs on electricity instead of gas, which means it's better for the environment and can save you money on fuel.
Welcome back to the podcast. Today, Scout reported to drop their EV version.
Ford F-150's lightning phone is a key and denser megawatt charging in the UK.
Plus, stay tuned.
Later in the show, I'll tell you how fast EV sell on the used market compared
to dirty old oil burners on EV News China.
Today, our spin-off show all about fast developments in the East, affecting the global
EV market. We talk about BYD's premium brand Yang Wang, the U9 Extreme,
sets a Nurburgring track record, BYD entering the K-Car segment in Japan,
and China's average EV price drops to an all-new low.
And join me later for a bonus show called No Crash, No Crisis, the truth about
the US EV's post-tax credit.
Not actually finished recording it yet, but essentially everybody and well,
anybody really, but especially those incredibly well informed, such as the CEO
of Ford, Jim Farley, have predicted a huge crash post-September 30th
when the tax credits go and he's not alone.
And so many very high level thinkers have said the same thing.
The problem is, I don't think the data points to it.
Who on earth am I to disagree with such esteemed people in the automotive industry?
But it doesn't add up to me when you look at the evidence.
And I don't think the US is about to fall off a cliff and go into an EV dark
age is, and I'll tell you why on a special bonus edition of the podcast
tonight live for patrons, it'll go into the free feed in seven days time.
I don't want to ever lock down content, but I don't mind making it exclusive
for the patrons a little bit early.
And so if you want it now, you can join up on Patreon five or $10 a month,
get you an exec producer level, get your name in the show notes every day,
get to add free and all that kind of stuff.
I want to many benefits.
Now, this is a fascinating report coming out of Germany.
Volkswagen group is tightening its spending.
After manager magazine reporting in Germany,
net cash flow has fallen to dangerously low levels.
The CFO has convened finance chiefs from the group's largest brands
to coordinate cost reduction measures.
The cash drain affects scout motors.
Volkswagen's soon to be revived US nameplate
relaunched in 2022.
They plan an all electric SUV and a pickup to be out in
2027. Of those, there would be BEV versions, full electric
and ones with engines in for range extenders.
Last year, Scouts said a range extended drive train option
had become the most popular configuration amongst pre-order customers.
And now, according to the Autopian.com website,
manager magazine reporting that the scout electric truck will only be available
with the range extender version and that the pure Bev version of the scout
is now on the back burner to save money.
That might make sense in the United States, where perception about distances
and distances of reality as well.
It's a big country and people drive long distances.
But also it's been hit, you know, early Bev trucks.
And we're about to talk about one in the very next story have been hit
really hard by people expecting to do truck stuff.
Not unreasonably, by the way, expecting to do truck stuff with trucks
and finding out that things are different in Bev World.
With the current battery technology.
And so that might not be the end of the world.
As long as it's not cancelled, maybe it's delayed by a year or two.
Maybe they'll wait for battery technology to improve a little bit.
Launching with a range extender will probably get over
some people in the United States feelings about going pure Bev.
Now, obviously, many people want a pure Bev, you and I probably do.
Many people would also like the idea that they have an engine
and that they're going to go to the gas station.
But here's the rub.
If you have a plug socket on the side of it
and you're paying next to nothing overnight to charge it
and you suddenly realize I'm not filled up with gas in weeks, maybe months.
I do all of my work on electric.
And actually, it's really quiet and nice.
Wow, maybe EVs aren't the devil like politicians have told me they are.
And maybe once in a blue moon or maybe you'll tow a boat or something
that's not just heavy, but with EVs, actually, it's not about the weight.
Really, it's about the aero penalty.
Maybe even up some elevation as well.
And then you dip into the range extender and then your life isn't,
you know, negatively compromised because you have to stop
much more often when you're towing.
It might not be a bad idea.
OK, let's move on.
One of those trucks that launched very early in Evie World.
And I certainly many people bought one to do truck stuff and found out.
Well, sometimes that actually it can be quite difficult
if the infrastructure isn't there in your state.
Ford F-150 Lightning.
Now they're finally going to offer phone as a key.
On the F-150 Lightning trims for twenty twenty six model year
using the Ford Pass app and a smartphone to lock unlock and start the vehicle
remotely Ford F-150 Lightning owners rejoicing,
opening the window and singing into the distance.
It's optional on the STX and flash trims and standard on the Lariat at no charge
pricing on the package for the package on STX and flash not announced.
But look, have it because it's it's you know,
phone as a key is kind of a basic service these days.
I know first world problems say on the STX
the package adds security code, cordless, sorry, keyless entry,
keypad on the driver's side.
That's important for work vehicles as well.
And the flash trim adds those features, plus body color, tailgate handle.
The Lariat includes the package as standard.
Ford has trimmed the price of the twenty twenty six model years.
The STX replaces the XLT starting at sixty three thousand dollars
according to Ford Authority dot com.
Now, Denzer, which is BID's premium brand,
will begin selling cars in the United Kingdom next year in right hand drive
and wants to build a public network of ultra high powered charges,
which they say will be cheaper and they'll tell you they're telling us
why they'll be cheaper to operate.
BID's branding is called flash charging.
And in China, that is thousand kilowatts,
megawatt charging on just your regular car that you drive.
Now, that is at the minute using the two gun approach.
So you've got to get two cables and two handles and plug it in either side
like an old Jaguar with toy and fuel tanks.
Right. And so in the UK, though, they're going to do that with a single cable.
And that adds two hundred and fifty miles of range in five minutes.
It's good night combustion.
Like when you can charge two hundred and fifty miles in five minutes
and you still complain about EVs and in recharging are jog on.
Right. BID has built an all liquid cooled
charger, which they say can peak at one thousand three hundred and sixty kilowatts.
Now, I find a three hundred and fifty kilowatt charger in the UK.
I'm delighted. Can't use it.
I've got a Polestar, you know, I just look for one fifties, right?
That's that's four times the fastest charges we have.
Now, there are some four hundred kilowatt charges around the Porsche network.
His four hundred kilowatt Alpetronics, but they're not common.
BID's UK Country Manager, Country Manager,
said that the first charges will be installed in the UK next year.
He hopes that they'll be live at places like BID's
Uxbridge headquarters by the end of Q1.
So we're talking six months away and megawatt charging in the UK.
BID will also charge a lot less, they say, than other DC fast charging networks,
because they will use BID batteries at those sites.
So it does two things.
It avoids costly local grid upgrades.
It also allows you to put charges where the grid can't be upgraded
without unbelievable cost.
It makes it much faster because BID is very vertically integrated.
BID have a big energy battery energy storage system product as well.
So you put BID batteries in, you can do it very, very quickly.
And because it's all BID batteries, BID charges, everything is effectively
one set of the decision chain.
You can do it very reasonably.
Now, he said that at their headquarters, they could put in a 250 kilowatt DC fast charger.
That is what the substation could do and the transformers.
But you can have battery storage, which is constantly recharging itself.
Think of it like drip feeding.
OK, and then when you need to and a car turns up because they won't have
a hundred percent utilization rate of cars being able to charge at one point
three megawatts in the UK yet.
And and so then it can dump for want of a better word,
dump the power into your car, empty the bucket if you like,
and then just gradually refill on a low cost connection.
The all electric Denzer Z 9 GT, that is a luxury estate.
And that's the car they're bringing.
And it will be the first model to even get anywhere near these charging speeds.
Look, if it gives you five hundred, I'd bite your hand off.
And it doesn't have to do the full 1360 to be absolutely incredible.
Of course, that technology always works its way down to lower cost models
linked to Auto Express in the show notes where they exclusively
interviewed the country manager of BID, where I found this story.
OK, let's move on.
And talking of Denzer, BID's mark will enter Australia this year.
Customer deliveries will be early 2026 premium version of anything Chinese.
Not the Chinese brands are doing really well in Australia by the way.
The two plug in hybrid SUVs, the B5 large off-roader and the B8,
the ultra large SUV plug in hybrid powertrains.
The off road focus was influenced by the success of BID's shark six,
the pickup truck, which is an E rev, but not a pure E rev
because the motor can mechanically connect to the front wheels at highway speeds.
Pricing not disclosed for the two plug in hybrids in Australia.
But the SUVs will sit between mainstream models and establish premium brands.
OK, according to drive.com.au link in the show notes.
If you'd like to find out more now, Europe's BV market
has gone after gangbusters this year.
We turned the year nine months ago, 10 months ago with so many negative
headlines around electric vehicles, appearing for many reasons.
Some of the ignorance, ignorance from the people writing them,
some of the more nefarious reasons for why those stories are being placed in the media.
But we've had 1.66 million BV passenger car sales in Europe
in the first eight months of the year, 32 percent up on the same time last year.
The Bev shares now at 18 percent across Europe.
Many countries are much higher at the Global Data Automotive Europe Conference
in Munich. The analyst Al Bedwell said that European marks are regaining ground
on those that had huge success recently, the likes of Tesla.
Now, Volkswagen's fighting back there now ahead.
Chinese brands are expanding rapidly in Europe.
BYD is the 10th best selling Bev brand in Europe and the fastest growing amongst the top 12.
Mr. Bedwell attributing the rebound to broader model availability and falling Bev prices,
noting that affordable small Bev's and I've been raving about them in 2025.
It's been my absolute kind of key thing this year was Dacia Spring,
Leap Motor T03, Renault 5, Citroen E3 and the rest,
all attracting buyers on a 20,000 and less price point.
The yearly figures are looking to be really good in Europe, by the way.
Not great news, though, for Stellantis drivers.
Those that bought a Jeep 4xE, Stellantis pushed out a telematics over-the-air update last week
that caused Jeep Wranglers, the 4xE plug-in hybrid version,
to lose propulsion when they were driving.
The update targeted the infotainment connectivity system Uconnect,
but triggered a limp mode and no power state, in some cases vehicles shut down
whilst they were driving. Owners reported sudden loss of propulsion
with dashboard warning lights and posts on social media, Reddit and 4xE forums
suddenly lit up over the weekend.
Jeep then pulled the update soon after the problem surfaced,
but many owners had already downloaded or installed it.
And if you are a Jeep Wrangler 4xE customer, you've got that plug-in hybrid,
don't install the update, and if you have,
Jeep will be involved or your dealer will be in touch over a rollback and a solution to that
because you don't want to suddenly lose power at highway speeds, incredibly dangerous.
Let's talk a little bit about Prague and Streetlamp EV chargers,
and Scodder's new TV campaign I think is genius,
though stories and more after the break stick around.
All right, welcome back to the podcast,
Question of the Week returns after a couple of years break, actually,
for years and years and years, we did Question of the Week on EV News Daily,
and I loved it, but I don't know, maybe I ran out of steam on it or something,
but for whatever reason, I rested Question of the Week.
And then a couple of years went by and people were saying,
hey, you should bring it back, we love taking part in that, so I have.
So yesterday, I went through the Patreon landing page,
because what you see and what I see is very different.
So I thought my Patreon page was looking pretty good, actually,
and we relaunched Question of the Week,
and I pinned it to the top of the Patreon feed.
Well, actually, if you go to patreon.com slash EV news daily,
and you have a look today or next time you get a chance to go online,
have a look at the Patreon page,
looks very different for you as a non-paying member than me as the creator login.
And so when I logged out of everything and I looked like how you see it,
so go and have a look, I was like, oh, this is really hard to find.
Question of the Week, it then became buried when I posted a new thing.
So I've completely redesigned the homepage,
so you can, there's four big icons at the top,
either the bonus shows that I make, EV News Daily,
EV News Briefly, or EV News China.
Much easier to see now.
And then, and recent posts as well, if you want to just look at it all chronologically.
And so in that, you will much easier see now Question of the Week on the homepage,
and you haven't got to be a paid member, by the way.
So it's totally free, totally free to have a Patreon account.
And it just means that I think you'll stick your email in, it sends you a code.
And then you can take part in this week's question.
It's back.
What do you think is the ideal mainstream power train
for the next phase of the EV adoption curve?
Not the ultimate solution in 10, 15, 50 years time.
What do you think is the ideal mainstream power train
for the next phase of the EV adoption curve?
Four options, pure electric, plug-in hybrid,
extended range EV with a generator, or hybrid.
You can, you've got four days left.
We'll close it at 23.59 on Sunday night.
And we'll do Question of the Week.
It's back, and we'll keep it going for as long as you want it to go for, really.
And so I'd love you to take part in that.
If you get a chance, if you have time,
share as well in the comment section beneath where you vote.
You'll see it straight below.
Leave a comment, and I'll read out the best ones on the podcast.
Now, back to the news.
Let's talk a little bit about, oh, this is really interesting.
The Omoda 4 is a small SUV coming in both petrol and electric trims.
Omoda sold 4,300 cars last month in the UK.
I'm seeing Omodas everywhere.
That's 900 more than Dacia.
Nearly as many as Honda, right?
So it's a big thing here now.
People are being attracted to the lower pricing.
And they're going to add the Omoda 4 next year.
It's a compact SUV with an electric drivetrain.
So I think Renault Capture,
she's got a Kamiq Volvo EX30, Kiri V3, right?
So very angular body on this small SUV.
A very low nose, sweatback headlights,
and a sharp crease along the flanks.
A very sporty look, a ruler straight appearance, I would say.
When you look at the vehicle, it's certainly,
I think, quite striking in terms of how it looks.
Think, oh, a little bit like the front end of a Lamborghini Urus.
I know, it's a 25,000 pound small SUV.
But that, or like Toyota's design language, very, very angular.
It looks a lot like that.
And I really like it.
Minimalist inside, few buttons, and a big touchscreen.
So there's common ownership with the JQ5.
So you would think that the JQE5, so that would be a,
well, in that vehicle, 207 horsepower motor,
and 248 miles of range, battery pack, 61 kilowatt hours.
If that was in the Omoda 4, which I think is a very,
this is a very futuristic, they called it like a cyber mecca,
which might be a reference for some people, designed 25,000 pounds in that vicinity.
That's a winner.
Now, Prague is converting their street lights for EV chargers
using a retrofit approach that's a bit like replacing an appliance.
And it shortens the installation time.
So you've got your street light, you can imagine what a street light looks like.
Everyone knows what one of those looks like.
And they basically take out a chunk of the side of it
and put in the socket of an EV charger.
Work's been accelerating last year.
There's 143 EV ready street lamps installed.
They want 1500 by next year and 6000 by 2030.
There's tons and tons of these in London, by the way.
And they just charge it, you know, 3.6 or 7.2 kilowatts.
Prague has over 3,500 miles of road, they say, needing cabling upgrades.
And the upgraded lamp chargers aim to serve a fifth of the half million EVs
the Czech Republic expects operating by 2030.
Really important thing to do for people who park on streets,
not off-road, near a lamppost.
And you can slow charge your car all night.
Now, Škoda launching a new ad campaign.
I think this is brilliant, by the way.
It's down under in Australia.
National campaign called, surprisingly, EV,
to introduce the LROC and the NEAC to Australia,
created by the agency DDB Sydney.
They created a campaign that counters EV stereotypes
by positioning the LROC and NEAC as the normal familiar practical cars
that everyone knows with no unnecessary gizmos,
touchscreens or spaceship-like designs.
And instead, adjust conventional cars that happen to have a battery.
The national launch shows two would-be fuel thieves trying to nick fuel
and then having to realize that, oh, these are electric cars.
Some of the worst is about the average Australian.
Are you all nicking fuel?
I don't think so.
The campaign runs two digital film and social content films
across social media platforms as well,
which says you could get an EV where you have to use the screen
to open the glove box or you could get a car that looks and feels
like a great car that happens to be an EV.
Man, I think this is brilliant.
Great campaign.
What a great way to launch Škoda as well as making,
hey, we make great cars that you like.
It happens to have a battery.
It's completely where I am, by the way.
You know, I understand in the early days we had to have points of difference,
but now, just like this is what I say to Toyota, my friends at Toyota,
just make your best cars in all possible powertrains.
A pure combustion, a hybrid, shabby mild hybrid, hydrogen if you want to,
plug-in hybrid, EV.
You could do it if you wanted and see what people buy.
Make the EVs good enough and they'll buy the EV.
People don't want crazy, a lot of people don't want crazy designs
and they're not early adopters of all these things.
They just want, you know, they've had like three Škodas.
The next one wants to be like Škoda.
I love that.
I think it's very, very cool.
All right, let's move on.
This is interesting.
Production has started a new Gigafactory in Bulgaria
to make battery energy storage systems about five kilometers outside of Sofia.
It was inaugurated on the 10th of October this year.
The European Commission classed the plant as a project of strategic importance
for the local European supply of battery energy storage.
They will make lithium-ion phosphate cells there for best systems.
That's very, very cool.
And workplace charging is a great place to charge.
According to this new bit of data coming out
that I found on transportandenergy.com,
workplace charging is often the least expensive option for EV drivers.
The charging provider Fuse, F-U-U-S-E.
Fuse, Analyze, one million workplace charging sessions
on their management software.
So clearly, yeah, bit of data coming out from somebody with skin in the game
because often these press releases are by companies
that want a bit of press coverage.
But their point is they found an average cost of 26 pence per kilowatt hour
at workplace charging.
Workplace charging is up to 50% actually,
a lot more than public charging at DC.
And even cheaper than public AC charging as well.
Yeah, so three times the price of charging at home.
But if you can't charge at home,
the next best thing is probably charging at work.
If you have a workplace or you have an office that you go to,
if that's the kind of job that you do,
where your vehicle has to be driven to it and then left all day,
charge at work and employers can set their own rates.
They might want to subsidize it as a perk, as a benefit,
or just charge you what they're getting paid.
That's really interesting.
Now, a couple more stories.
Here in the UK, 45% of UK drivers say that EV tax changes
might have affected their decision to go EV.
The reassessment of what's EV tax is.
We've got this vehicle excise duty, VED,
but we call it car tax, right?
And you never used to pay car tax on an EV.
And then that got removed or that exemption got closed,
which is fine.
Look, I don't mind paying my fair share.
The new VED is £10 in the first year and £200 or £195 annual charge from year two.
EVs priced over £40,000 get the £425 annual expensive car supplement for five years.
That's got to be raised because it's ridiculous.
In response, 22% of people responded to this survey
said that they no longer plan to buy an EV because of these changes,
which I think it's fair, personally,
because if you were buying an EV simply to not pay any road tax every year,
I mean, fair play, but then combustion car drivers
are taking their unfair share of the burden.
And that's not fair to them.
Like, does that not make any sense?
Like, we all have to pay for the roads.
So whether it's paper mile, whether it's paper weight,
that's an interesting new concept, gathering steam in many parts of the world
because of these massive SUVs that all the big car makers want us to buy
because they can make more money from them,
doing more damage, very heavy three ton vehicles doing damage to the road.
Or you could pay a quarter of the price on your annual taxes
and drive a small family car that doesn't do as much damage.
Well, there's a certain argument for that.
Now finally, AutoTrader data shows that the used EV market is
hotting up in the United Kingdom with used EVs selling faster than any other type of vehicle,
so far in the first 22 days of October.
Top selling EVs, which are three to five years old on the AutoTrader platform,
are the Tesla Model Y, VW ID 3, and Nissan Leaf.
The broader used car market averages 27 days to remarket a vehicle,
from when it goes on sale to when a buyer finally purchases it.
Now that's two days quicker than October last year,
by the way, for the average vehicle.
But what if you're selling an EV?
Well, if you're selling a Model Y from Tesla, they're getting turned over in 11 days.
VW ID 3's selling on average in 14 days,
and Nissan Leaf selling on average in 15.5 days.
Reflecting strong buyer activity in the used EV market,
and confidence over here, according to MotorTraderNews.com,
and that's your podcast for today.
Thanks for listening.
Thanks to our premium partners, Porsche of the Village and Cincinnati,
Audi of Cincinnati East, and Volvo cars of Cincinnati East,
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.
Have a good and sit amour, and remember, there's no such thing.
As a self-charging hybrid.
About this episode
Scout's decision to delay their EV version is a key topic, alongside Ford's introduction of phone-as-key technology for the F-150 Lightning. The episode also covers BYD's impressive performance in the EV market, including a record-setting vehicle and plans for ultra-fast charging in the UK. A discussion on the used EV market reveals that used electric vehicles are selling faster than traditional cars. The episode concludes with insights on EV tax changes in the UK and their impact on consumer decisions, plus a look at workplace charging costs.
