DAILY: Volvo EX60 Range Revealed, Renault Twingo E-Tech and Equinox Leads For GM | 08 Jan 2026

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Welcome back to the podcast.

Today, Volvo's EX60 range revealed the Renault Twingo E-TEC and Equinox Leads for GM.

Plus, stay tuned.

Later in the show, I'll tell you about Sony Honda's second EV

before they've even sold their first one.

On EV News China today, we're talking about BYD overtaking Tesla

in Europe's two biggest markets.

GLE's new MBV and NEO's millionth car.

And if you join me later for a bonus show, it's called

Why Winning in Europe is Crucial for BYD.

It'll be live tonight for patrons and all Patriot exclusives go into the free feed after seven days.

If you want the content first, it's one of the member benefits.

Let's kick off and Volvo will unveil the EX60 in two weeks' time on January 21st.

A crossover it builds as its next-generation electric car and expects to sell in large numbers.

Even with four-wheel drive, the EX60 is claimed to manage 505 miles on WLTP.

It's 800 volt.

It's 400 kilowatt DC fast charging.

It's, they say, able to add 210 miles in a 10-minute charge.

That's if you turn up to a appropriately fast charger with between 10 and 20% range remaining.

On paper, that puts the EX60 neck and neck with the new BMW iX3,

that Neuer-classer platform that 500 miles at next generation of technology.

The EX60 also introduces fresh hardware under the skin.

Volvo calls the new underbody, chassis and suspension the SPA architecture,

an evolution of the SPA2.

That's what cars like the big EX90 and the ES90 are built on.

At its core, it's a cell-to-body battery layout.

Instead of building cells into modules, then into a pack that gets bolted under the floor,

Volvo will stack the cells directly into the body structure.

The battery casing becomes part of the car's skeleton, adding stiffness to the shell

and the cell compartment while trimming weight and bulk.

Much of EX60's software stack, motors, battery and power electronics have been developed in-house.

That tighter grip on hardware and code is meant to set the template for future electric models,

which will share SPA3 and its integrated battery.

Staying on Volvo, Thomas Ingenlath has resumed his post as Volvo's chief designer

nine years after leaving Gothenburg to go be the CEO of its offshoot Polestar.

The move puts the German stylist back in charge of Volvo's next generation models,

a role he first took in 2012 and I think Volvo's became, look, it's all subjective.

I know that.

The best looking cars on the road.

It's why I went out to buy a Tesla Model 3 and came home with the Polestar 2.

And I still look over my shoulder when I park the thing and walk away.

I'm of a certain age, I don't know, or a certain target audience.

What Volvo were making around that time really appeals to my eye.

During his first five-year spell at Volvo, Ingenlath led a redesign of the brand.

He reshaped the XC90, the V90 and the XC40, which set the company's current look.

He made two concept cars as well.

There was the Polestar 1, which came from the Concept Coupe, and then the Concept 40.2,

which became the Polestar 2.

In 2017, Volvo and Geely shifted Ingenlath from design into being CEO of Polestar,

as it was carved out as its own manufacturer.

Under his leadership, they moved from design-led Halo products, Polestar being the performance

bit of Volvo, which evolved from some touring car stuff in the naughties.

Polestar became its own thing.

After leaving the chief exec role at Polestar, he went on to become design advisor for the

big Geely Megacorp that owns everything from Volvo to Polestar to Zika and the London Black

Cab Company.

He's now returning to Volvo itself to steer the styling of its next-gen lineup, and in

a way, they're putting the band back together because he's teaming up again with Huck and

Samuelson.

Now, Samuelson was Volvo's chief exec during Ingenlath's first tenure as design boss,

but he stepped down to retire in 2022.

However, Volvo felt like they needed a change earlier last year, and so the old CEO went

and Samuelson returned.

After leaving Gothenburg to build an electric spinoff brand into its standalone thing, Ingenlath

now comes back to the mothership to define their next generation of electric cars.

Renault, next in the news, their new Twingo e-tech electric will make its public debut

at the Brussels Motor Show from tomorrow, January 9th through to the 18th, with orders

opening right now.

Built on the Ampere-AMPR small platform, the city car launches at €19,490 for the evolution

trim.

Before incentives, the Techno version starts at €21,000.

Both versions have the same motor, that's a 60kW motor, and the same battery, not doing

the old Kia Hyundai thing of doing different battery sizes.

27.5kWh lithium-ion phosphate, it's all very sensible, not going to be doing too many road

trips in this, but it's a Twingo.

Renault quotes a WLTP of 263km, AC charging at 6.6kW, but you can spec 11kW, it'll DC

fast charge at 50kW.

Hey, this is all about use case, right?

The Twingo supports vehicle to load at 3.7kW, that's deeply impressive by the way.

It also offers vehicle to grid capability, but a lot of people are saying that right

now, it's not like you can just go and tick a box on the spec sheet, and all of a sudden

your car is powering your home, so work to be done.

The Techno trim adds the Renault OpenR Link multimedia system with Google built-in, adaptive

cruise, stop and go, one pedal driving, and focusing on low running costs with simple

hardware, that's why they've gone for an LFP, battery chemistry for its durability, and

cost control rather than pure energy density.

After its debut at the Brussels Motor Show, the Twingo E-Tex blend of simplicity, durability

and of course low price will test how far European city drivers are ready to go on an

electric budget.

Price is key.

Monthly price is absolutely key in how Renault always do good offers by the way, so Renault

dealers are not going to be selling this for list price, there's going to be incentives

and offers depending on where you live around Europe, if you want a very small city car.

I think for us, we need to separate our cars a bit more, if that makes sense, into something

that's a small city car that I'll happily just jump into and smile and just have fun

in like a go-kart to go do some errands, and then probably an electric van this year which

is depressing because I don't want to sell the Polestar, but the kids are three and seven

and we live by the beach and they kind of have outdoorsy lifestyles and so it's probably

where we'll end up and try and split the cars a little bit, so something super small, something

much bigger, that is a job for a different today.

Anyway, General Motors electric vehicle sales are next in the news in the US and you won't

be surprised to hear they fell in the fourth quarter of 2024 deliveries dropped year on

year 42% to 25,219.

Underlining weakening demand in parts of the market,

now a rather bumpy transition following tax credit cuts.

The Chevrolet Equinox CV compact crossover was GM's top-selling model but only by a slim margin,

recording 5,111 deliveries, that's 20% of the firm's AV volume in the last quarter.

Close behind came the Cadillac Lyric GM's two-row luxury crossover,

including the high-performance Lyric V, that was at 4,345. GM's earliest,

Batric Electric Entities still on sale, like the Hummer EV and the Hummer SUV together,

still posting 2,500 sales, Cadillac's newer models, the OPTIQ V, three-row Cadillac Vistic,

all selling good numbers too, and the full-size Escalade IQ and the IQL added 2,085.

GM counts both under the Escalade IQ label. Whether 25,000 and change quarterly EV deliveries

mark a temporary detour or a structural stall for GM is going to hinge not on things like

the Escalade though, is it? It's going to be on the new Bolt, because the new Bolt and the new

Nissan Leaf, that $30,000 price point, the new Bolt coming in at $29,990, I think,

there may be plus or minus delivery, really important vehicle, and we'll see if that can

give the Equinox a run for its money. Mercedes next in the news, Mercedes-Benz using CES in

Vegas to unveil MB Drive Assist Pro. That's a system which combines navigation with SAE Level 2,

ADAS. The company says it enables partially automated door-to-door travel at the touch of a

button. Of course, Mercedes do have a Level 3 system on the road in Europe and America, this

isn't it. As with Tesla's FSD, it is a driving aid, not a formal autonomy. The driver must

take hands off the wheel, or may take the hands off the wheel, but must be ready to put the hands

back on the wheel. Using a smartphone, for instance, taking your eyes off the road, is strictly forbidden,

unlike the more advanced Mercedes system already out there. MB Drive Assist Pro will steer through

urban environments from parking space to parking space. It draws on 30 sensors, 10 cameras, 5 radar,

12 ultrasonics, and more. These feed the raw data to an on-board computer that works at

508T operations per second, built around NVIDIA's chips. The launch underlines Mercedes' split

strategy by region, because in China they're working with Momenta on the CLA, the battery

electric vehicle, whereas over in America and Europe later, they'll be using NVIDIA chips.

Costs $4,000, by the way, to add it to Mercedes' Benz electric vehicle, and you get that for

three years after which it becomes a subscription plan. Joy, because what we do need in life,

is more subscriptions. We'll take a break on that note, and we'll come back and do a bit of

Aussie news and Lucid and UK charging stick around back in a moat. The holidays are expensive. You're

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Okay, let's move on. And Lucid is going to make more EVs, but no more mid-sized saloons.

The interim CEO, Mark Winterhoff, telling Inside EVs that Lucid's coming mid-size platform

will support three distinct bodies, but none of the bodies they stick on that platform are going

to be, that's not a technical term, by the way, that they stick on top of it will be a four-door

saloon. I don't want to be in that segment, he said. The choice is striking. Lucid's first,

and for a long time their only flagship model was the Air, was a sleek four-door sedan,

one of the most technically impressive cars on sale today. Long range, high efficiency,

but really high performance, and has often been framed as a sort of model S that Tesla

could have made if Tesla were serious about really improving the model S. They have made it

better over the years, no doubt, but the model S is still essentially a little bit long in the tooth.

It is a different beast to what it was, but still, the Lucid Air, very, very impressive,

not without its problems. If you've seen Jason Fenske's video, he's a YouTuber,

I think he's more than a YouTuber, that's almost sounds derogatory. I'm of a certain age

where being called a YouTuber makes it sound like you're a 17-year-old with no direction in life,

but he's a content creator, and his channel Engineering Explained talked about his purchase,

or lease, with the option to buy at the end of three years of his Lucid Air.

Pretty significant problems, had 1.1 million views last time I checked.

Now, Mark Winterhoff spoke during a round table with reporters at CES. The firm is preparing to

launch a gravity-based robo-taxi developed alongside Uber. That will also roll out their new

mid-size architecture, and the platform will underpin three models. None will go head-to-head

with the sedan, so no more Model 3 or BMW 3 Series competitors. After launching the Air,

they will prove that their future is anywhere but with sedans.

Now, Great Britain's public network of EV charges got bigger last year. New figures from

ZAPMAP showed the number of public charge points rose by 20% from the previous year,

as 14,316 devices were added to the network. That took the total to 87,796 charges at 45,000

locations across the country. Growth was the fastest at the top end of the power range.

The number of ultra-rapid charges, rated at 150kW or more, increased by 41% last year,

giving drivers more options for quick turn-arounds. These high-powered devices now account for a

growing share of our charging network. Larger rapid charging hubs are spreading as well.

The number of sites with six or more rapid charges rose by 39% last year. There's now 748

locations with at least six or more ultra-rapids. Such hubs are built to handle heavier traffic

and to improve reliability by offering multiple bays in one place, limiting disruption when

individual units may be out for service. ZAPMAP's data suggests the UK is not just adding more

plug points but more capacity in terms of hub-style sites that resemble a modern filling station.

Staying here by the way, the British government is adding £18 million to its

plug-in truck grant. That's about $24 million. It seeks a surge in orders for electric lorries.

Now the scheme should close in three months time. The grant is aimed at hauliers and fleet operators

offering up to £120,000 per vehicle and sits within a wider £318 million package

for low and zero emission freight. Ministers hope the extra money will prompt operators to bring

forward their investment decisions before the deadline. There are some manufacturers to firm

up the UK order books. Now Chang'an is a Chinese maker. This is not a story for EV News China,

our spin-off podcast by the way. This is a story about Europe. Chang'an has begun exporting their

electric cars to Europe from Thailand, marking a new stage in its expansion and confirming Thailand's

role as a hub for Chinese EV makers. The first model to go abroad from its Thai base is the

DPAL SO5. In the last week of 2025, Chang'an shipped the first batch of Thai-built EVs. The firm has

not said which European market gets the vehicles but a website called World Cargo News which tracks

car carriers say the route of the car carrier is going to be the UK, then Belgium, then Norway,

then Germany. Not saying that it will offload right-hand drive versions but it could do, couldn't it?

To the UK first, Chang'an is following a path taken by the likes of BYD,

which also began exporting EVs from Thailand last year. Building in Thailand lets Chinese brands

sidestep EU special tariffs on EVs made in China and helps them meet Thailand's new EV rules,

which tie incentives to local manufacturing. Now, Volkswagen is giving their electric van

and people carrier more range, faster charging and four-wheel drive. That is the e-transporter

and the e-caravell. They now use a 700, sorry, not a 700 kilowatt hour, a 70 kilowatt hour.

That would be amazing, wouldn't it? 70 kilowatt hour battery. Volkswagen says it's 13% more range

on the previous version, 125 kilowatt DC fast charging, 30 minutes to get to 10 to 80. We do

love a 10 to 80. Thank you, Volkswagen. We always encourage the car makers. Just give us a 10 to

80 number. Don't do 20 to 80. Don't fudge it. Thank you. Oh yeah, I was going to say thank you

where it's due. We get a 10 to 80. We love it, don't we? The battery remains in the vehicle

floor, obviously. It's the same. Same vehicle, just a bigger battery and more real-world range,

no sacrificing practicality. The output for the motor stays the same. I think it's just a battery

upgrade on this. From early 2026, there'll be a four-motion, which is their marketing term,

the four-motion all-wheel drive system, which combines the existing rear motor with a new front

motor on the front axle, which will add four-wheel drive traction for customers who need it. The

technical tweaks are modest, but they will be welcomed. Finally, Sony Honda Mobility has added

the joint venture revealed a new, still unnamed car for now dubbed the Ophelia Prototype 2026.

The vehicle appears to be an SUV version of the Ophelia One, a vehicle that isn't yet with customers.

The company says the new SUV carries over the technical package and innovations of the Ophelia

One, which I presume by that they mean the fact that it comes to the PlayStation 5

inside it, which is cool, right? If that's what you want. The fastback shape is meant to provide

more interior space and easier access than the original car. Not that we know if the original

car has been a success or not, because it's not even on sale, but it will hopefully this year

arrive on California's roads at least, I think, in that first market for 100,000 plus dollars.

But good to know that we've got the second one from them already. And that's your podcast for

today. Thanks to our premium partners, National Car Charging on the US mainland and the Loha

Charge in Hawaii, and Test EV, Avalu's trusted partner for independent EV health testing

in Australia and New Zealand. Have a good one. See you tomorrow. And remember,

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

The holidays are expensive. You're paying for gifts, travel, decorations, food. And before you

know it, you've blown way past what you were planning to spend. Don't start the new year off

with bad money vibes. Download rocket money to stay on top of your finances. The app pulls your

income, expenses, and upcoming charges into one place, so you can get the clearest picture of

your money. It shows how much to set aside for bills and how much is safe to spend for the month,

so you can spend with confidence. No guesswork needed. Get alerts before bills hit. Track budgets

and see every subscription you're paying for. Rocket Money also finds extra ways to save you

money by cancelling subscriptions you're not using and negotiating lower bills for you.

On average, Rocket Money users can save up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium

features. Start the year off right by taking control of your finances. Go to rocketmoney.com

slash cancel to get started. That's rocketmoney.com slash cancel rocketmoney.com slash cancel

DAILY: Volvo EX60 Range Revealed, Renault Twingo E-Tech and Equinox Leads For GM | 08 Jan 2026

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