Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi-agentic AI, they are already deployed
one.
It's called Chat Concierge, and it's simplifying car shopping, using self-reflection and layered
reasoning with live API checks.
It doesn't just help buyers find a car they love, it helps schedule a test drive, get
pre-approved for financing, and estimate trading value.
Advanced, intuitive, and deployed, that's how they stack.
It's technology at Capital One.
If you're an HVAC technician and a call comes in, Granger knows that you need a partner that
helps you find the right product, fast and hassle-free.
And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's
no need to break a sweat.
With Grangers easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon
have everything humming right along.
Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Granger.com or just stop by.
Call 1-800-GRANGER for the ones who get it done.
Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi-agentic AI, they are already deployed
one.
It's called Chat Concierge, and it's simplifying car shopping, using self-reflection and layered
reasoning with live API checks.
It doesn't just help buyers find a car they love, it helps schedule a test drive,
get pre-approved for financing, and estimate trading value.
Advanced, intuitive, and deployed, that's how they stack.
That's technology at Capital One.
If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes
all the difference.
That's why hands down, you count on Granger for auto-reordering.
With on-time restocks, your team will have the cut-resistant gloves they need at the
start of their shift.
And you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand.
Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Granger.com or just stop by.
Granger for the ones who get it done.
Welcome back to EV News Daily.
Coming up today, smart return to the ultra-compact EV segment.
Kia's EV5 arrives under 40K, and Honda revises its EV target, plus stay tuned.
Later in the show, I'll tell you how long it took a solar car to cover 3,000 kilometers
in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge cruiser class.
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you're listening around
the world.
Welcome to EV News Daily.
Your trusted source of EV information, it is Wednesday 3rd of September.
I'm Martin Lee, and I go through every EV story that I can find, over a thousand sources
a day.
So you don't have to, so you're fully up to date in one little podcast.
Patreon supporters also get the episodes ad-free, fund this podcast and be part of
the EV News Daily community.
Welcome to a new Patreon producer.
Well, that'll be you, Rob Woods.
Rob, thank you so much for signing up.
My friend, very kind of you, to fund this show and keep me in work.
If you like Rob by clicking on a link in the show notes, we'll start with Smart launching
a new electric hashtag too next year.
Mercedes might have killed off the Smart 4-2.
But here's the twist.
The tiny city car that squeezed into impossible parking spots is getting a new electric makeover.
Smart is a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely, just confirmed its successor
will premiere in late 2026 as the all-electric hashtag too.
The 2 is an ultra-compact segment, a kind of a segment vehicle designed by Mercedes-Benz
and built in China.
It's currently in final design and development under the codename Project 2, so not exactly
a secret codename for that project.
Smart Europe CEO, Dirk Adelman, revealed last year that the 4-2 successor is coming.
It'll use a completely new electric compact architecture targeting four or hopefully
five-star Euro-NCAP safety rating with a high level of driver assistance features and good
EV range.
Smart plans to launch three new models total, with one new model hitting European markets
every year.
The question is, will the new electric number 2 capture the same parking anywhere magic,
the imagination, the kind of, at times, the kind of the zeitgeist of small city
cars that made the original 4-2 such a legend, we'll wait and see.
Now let's move on to Kia, opening orders for the EV5, the brand new EV5 just opened for
UK orders, a 39295.
Now that is right in the heart of Tesla Model Y, ID4, Nissan Aria Territory, in fact for
some of those, it's considerably cheaper.
It's Kia's fifth electric vehicle in the UK and effectively the electric version of
the popular Sportage, see those everywhere.
Kia gives you three trim levels that won't break the bank.
The base air model starts at 39295, if you want more features.
The GT line costs 42595, that adds 19-inch wheels, heated rear seats, electric front seats,
vehicle to load.
And the top GT line S is 47095, adding a sunroof, ventilated front seats, a Harman
Kardon audio system, head-up display and fingerprint recognition, not sure what that's
for, what to get into the vehicle to start the vehicle to open up, I don't know, a secret
glovebox compartment.
That sounds very James Bond.
Every single model uses the same battery.
So the old Kia Genesis Hyundai thing of offering different battery sizes to get a lower entry
price.
I do that with the EV3, still my current crush by the way, but not on this vehicle.
So this one doesn't have the small battery option.
This is a large family SUV by the way.
So 81.4 kilowatt hours, delivering 329 miles of range.
That's more than most people drive in a week, according to the average stats.
The front-mounted motor is a decent 214 horsepower and it charges up to 150 kilowatts so you're
not waiting around forever.
The charging stations, they're building European EV5s in South Korea, not in China.
And that dodges hefty EU tariffs on Chinese built EVs, not that we pay them since
Brexit.
Follow EU down that path.
And while they haven't confirmed it yet, there is obviously talk of a dual-motor 300 horsepower
version coming later.
They always have a GT version, don't they?
And I think it's better, there's a GT EV9, which is a big three-row seven-seater.
If they make a GT version of that, then they'll no doubt make a GT version of this
at some point.
All right, first delivery start this year.
Let's compare it to its competition then.
Tesla Model Y, in terms of size, family occupancy, all that kind of stuff, space right up against
the Model Y, that starts at 45 over here.
So they are bringing in five grand less on the Kia EV5, more than 5,000 pounds.
That's for the rear-wheel drive version, very comparable.
The long-range all-wheel drive is 52 and the performance, which was launched last
Friday morning, was 62,000 pounds here.
The Volkswagen ID4, that starts at 37,000 for the Pro trim, 44 and a half for the
Match Pro with the big battery, and 54,000 for the GTX trim.
And finally the Nissan Aria was recently cut to 37,000 pounds on the base trim, and that
enables all higher trims to also get the new government grant.
So very, very competitive pricing there on Kia for the EV5.
As I always say, it will 100% come down to the monthly payments, and the special offers
in family vehicles like that are not bought by people walking into a showroom, your local
Kia showroom, and saying, oh, here's 40,000 pounds in used notes for an EV5.
It's always about the monthly finance, and they tend to be pretty good on that after
the initial rush.
It won't be a cheap car when it first comes out, but if it's not urgent for you, give
it a little while.
There's still no major deals that I see on the EV3, which is a real shame, because the
smaller version of that, the Kia EV3, I really, really like.
I've seen so many around now.
It's, you know, for a long time, I argue the Volkswagen Golf was the perfect car.
Not too big, not too small, does everything, gets your family places, but also gets
in parking spaces.
I think that, for me, that's now the Kia EV3.
Charges decently, goes far enough.
You can get the small battery, big battery, great pricing.
I love it.
OK, EV5 will be a lot bigger, though, and deliveries start later in the year.
Now, let's talk about Honda, delaying its EV focus for two years.
Honda just cut its 2030 EV target from 30%, 30% EV, to somewhere below.
According to the CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, announcing the automaker will
prioritize hybrids over purebevs.
Not surprising.
The strategy shift comes as Honda's only current EV, the Prologue, is doing
really well.
It's averaging 2,700 units monthly year to date, but July did six and a half
thousand.
Honda plans 13 hybrid models, launching over four years from 2027.
Two new EVs enter production next year on Honda's in-house platform.
A mid-sized crossover and the zero series sedan.
The zero series follows the compact crossover.
Another one will be late 2026 as the first Honda badge vehicle
from Ohio's EV hub.
The zero series compact sedan will follow the crossover, production versions
of both the crossover and the sedan debut, we think next year, getting
all the details, we'll wait and see.
Now, Tesla's European performance.
What do the August numbers tell us so far?
Just yesterday or the day before, I get confused at my own gender.
I don't know what day it was, but I was talking about Tesla's
July numbers now that they're all mopped up and in the books.
Some countries report sooner than others.
Some do daily figures, by the way.
So now on the 3rd of September, we can get to look at Tesla's August performance.
And what do the numbers tell us?
Well, Tesla just lost 84% of its customers in one Nordic country.
But while Elon Musk's company crashes around Europe due to fierce
competition and backlash against the CEO, two nations did bug.
The trend August data reveals Tesla's European nightmare continues.
France saw registration data plummet.
47%, the overall car market grew.
That's not a good sign.
Sweden's collapse was even worse, down 84%, despite the car market going up 6%.
Denmark down 42%, Netherlands down 50%.
All these numbers aren't just double digit.
They're huge for Tesla.
But here's where it gets interesting.
Norway bucked the trend, with Tesla up 21.3% in August.
And sales managers in Spain might avoid a tough conversation
with the boss at least for a month.
Because in Spain, deliveries exploded.
161% up to 1,435 cars in August, up from 549.
I don't know the breakdown of that.
Could well be the new Model Y effect.
And if you're one of those who think that all the talk around the backlash
being because of the far right supporting CEO.
And I get that.
I get those emails saying, look, you're really overregging the putting on this.
I mean, they didn't use that phrase.
It's a very British phrase, but you go on too much about how Europeans
and British don't like the halo around Elon Musk is definitely worn off now,
partly because of politics and all those kind of things.
I think people are much less enamored with him.
Even half followers of technology.
He used to be portrayed by the media, the newspapers and stuff like that.
As kind of a visionary, genius, tech, Silicon Valley kind of person.
And now when he gets reported, generally not in the EV press,
but far and wide, it's a very negative interpretation now over here.
Sorry if you don't live in Europe.
I'm just telling you how it is if you're a Tesla fan.
But OK, I'll buy that if you think we go overboard a little bit too much
on how we're not so keen on the chap anymore.
Let's talk about the competition because you can't avoid that.
Chinese rival BYD was one of the Chinese competitors
crushing Tesla pretty much everywhere.
It jumped 218 percent in Norway, up 400 percent in Spain.
So although Tesla did pretty well in Spain, year to date,
BYD sold over 14,000 cars there.
Tesla managed 9000.
You know, I don't know the breakdown of that.
And it's a valid argument to say, yeah, but Tesla sell
more high value vehicles than their Chinese competitors.
No, that over here.
You don't get too many of those ultra cheap Chinese cars.
That is also an argument.
I guess if you're looking at things like financial performances
and stuff like that, is it better to sell
fewer more profitable cars?
Well, that's an argument for somebody else to have.
Now, BYD are having arguments in their kind of investor
community around profits.
That's a really interesting topic.
We'll tackle that in a moment.
The Defender Sport EV and the Fiat Grande Panda
pricing and spec stick around back in a mow.
If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant,
you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference.
That's why hands down, you count on Granger for auto
reordering.
With on-time restocks, your team will
have the cut resistant gloves they
need at the start of their shift.
And you can end your day knowing
they've got safety well in hand.
Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Granger.com, or just stop by.
Granger for the ones who get it done.
If you're an HVAC technician and a call comes in,
Granger knows that you need a partner that
helps you find the right product, fast and hassle-free.
And you know that when the first problem of the day
is a clanking blower motor, there's
no need to break a sweat.
With Granger's easy to use website and product details,
you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right
along.
Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Granger.com, or just stop by.
Granger for the ones who get it done.
If you're an HVAC technician and a call comes in,
Granger knows that you need a partner that helps you find
the right product, fast and hassle-free.
And you know that when the first problem of the day
is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat.
With Granger's easy to use website and product details,
you're confident you'll soon have everything humming
right along.
Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Granger.com, or just stop by.
Granger for the ones who get it done.
Before you begin your road trip,
ask yourself, do you really need five full suitcases?
With the 2026 Kia Sportage X Pro's class-leading cargo space,
you'll have room for what you need.
Find out more at your local Kia dealer today.
Keep the adventure going.
Kia, movement that inspires.
Call 800-334-KIA for details.
Always drive safely and obey all traffic laws.
Comparisons based on second row legroom and cargo space
behind second row seats and the subcompact SUV class
according to Kia segmentation as of October 2025.
All right, so welcome back to the podcast.
If you heard the ads, or if you didn't,
because you're on Patreon, thank you for that.
But if you listen to the ad-supported free feed
and you'd like to fund this show,
get closer to the community,
and, well, frankly, pay more wages,
then you can do that on the Patreon page.
Now, China's EV King BYD just shocked investors
with their first profit drop in three years,
falling 30% despite selling more cars than ever.
And here's what happened behind the scenes.
BYD got caught in China's brutal EV price war
while profits crashed at home.
Overseas revenue exploded 50% year over year
in the first half of this year.
BYD also ramping up R&D spending by 50%,
betting big on future technology.
BYD, a famously vertically integrated company,
they literally make everything that they possibly can.
The company also started paying suppliers within 60 days
instead of, well, nearly year-long delays
in some cases.
GMT research revealed that this could mean
BYD's true debt is higher than previously thought.
BYD's solution, go global.
They are prioritizing global markets outside of China
where profit margins are higher,
making overseas expansion their key growth driver.
Maybe they'll have to lose at home for a bit
to win worldwide.
Now, let's talk about Land Rover,
planning to expand the Defender lineup
with a smaller electric model.
And now a prototype has been seen
during hot weather testing in Southern Europe.
The vehicle shows an upright profile.
If you know what a Defender looks like,
whether that is the little kind of three door or five door,
I like the, is it two door, three door?
How would you describe a Defender?
Cause I would call a three door vehicle like a hatchback.
I'd say it was a three door and a five door hatchback,
but the Defender obviously has a, you know,
a vertical slab at the back of it.
So, you know what I mean?
The two door version, man, that's a good looking vehicle.
However, it's now been seen testing.
The vehicle shows, well, it looks like a Defender
and that's a really good thing in my mind
because the new electric Range Rover looks
exactly the same as every other Range Rover
that could be petrol or diesel.
It just happens to have batteries.
And I am a really big fan of that
as we'll get onto in a minute with Mercedes Benz.
It has a flush rear door handle setup,
vertically aligned handles on the left side
of the tailgate indicate the side swinging door
has been maintained.
There was no boot mounted or tailgate spare wheel,
but that was a, obviously this is a testing vehicle.
The front end is largely all sealed up as it's an EV.
Doesn't need the air coming in the combustion vehicles need
both for cooling and, well, you know, to combust,
obviously the platform is the electrified
modular architecture EMA 800 volt electric system
using electric motors and batteries built in the UK
a new factory in summer sets owned by Tata Land Rover's
parent company, according to a British magazine,
the electric baby Defender will be still called
the Defender sport more details when we get it.
Now here's a really cool looking vehicle,
the new Fiat Grande Panda open for orders at 21035.
I mean, why do you put it 35 quid over 21?
Can you not put it on sale for 2,995?
Fiat lose 40 quid of profit and then we get to say it's,
yeah, you know what I'm saying?
It's under 21, but anyway, it's over 21,000.
It's 21035 either way.
That's really, really cheap.
It makes it one of the most affordable EVs you can buy
and not some stripped down city car
either is looking at you dachier spring.
This is a proper vehicle, right?
111 horsepower.
Okay, 11 seconds, 0 to 62 is not quick,
but a big battery 44 kilowatt hour.
They call this a global vehicle.
They need the new Fiat Panda to work everywhere globally,
whether that's EV or not EV.
It's got the integrated charging cable for AC
on the little coil spring.
So you open up the little flappy flap at the beginning
at the grill and it pulls out the cable.
It's all attached.
And then when you've finished AC charging,
it just winds itself back in again to the car.
I've seen people over the years say,
why don't cars have the cable attached for AC charging?
Well, this one does at 200 miles of range,
100 kilowatt DC fast charging.
You can top up reasonably quickly on longer trips
if you need to take them.
Here's where it gets interesting.
The government's new electric car grant
gives 1500 quid off cars like the related Citroen EC3.
But Fiat hasn't yet either done the paperwork
or got the qualification.
So Fiat have done their own 1500 pound E grant
and it matches the government grant.
So they are taking it on the chin there
until they get the government money
and the government catches up.
The demand has been unparalleled, say Fiat,
with several thousand buyers already registering interest.
Dealers are reporting big inquiries.
You can see the car at dealers nationwide
between tomorrow, the 4th of September
and the 11th of October.
Deliveries are in November.
So for under 22,000 pounds,
you're getting a proper electric car, decent range,
not bad performance.
It undercuts most rivals.
And if you've been waiting for a stylish small EV
to become affordable, this might be the moment.
Look, I love the Dacia Spring
and I really love the Leap Motor T03.
They're around 14,000 pounds, but stylish, they're not.
But now, if you can stretch your budget to 20,
well, look, you're getting Fiat Grande Panda,
also a very small car, but really interesting.
Design flourishes inside and out.
Funky colors, like the whole world has turned gray.
My Polestar is Swedish gray, right?
You can get the Polestar in many shades of gray.
But the Fiat is bright colors inside great fabrics,
little design touches, quirks,
stuff that's on the inside for no particular reason,
just because it looks good or is a throwback to the past.
The Renault 5 fits the bill as well.
If you can get that budget to low 20s
and you want a small city car
that will do long journeys occasionally,
but actually makes you smile when you get inside your car.
And shouldn't our cars make us feel good and drive
when we drive them?
That low 20s bracket is getting really, really competitive now
and I'm absolutely here for it.
Now, a car that 16 year olds can legally drive,
at least in France, is about to hit UK roads
through Nissan dealers, but don't get excited.
It doesn't mean that 16 year olds
can start driving the vehicle on the road here.
It's called the Silence S4
and it's electric microcar
that's been selling across Europe for over a year now
and it's coming to Britain early next year.
But you will need a driving license to drive this thing.
There's also a cargo version.
Nissan has partnered with Silence,
although they've been selling it in France.
So maybe it's the Silence, maybe.
They sell it through dealerships in France,
also in Germany and Italy.
They're now expanding to the UK
to shake up urban transport.
The entry level Unico uses a 5.6 kilowatt hour battery,
62 miles range, they say.
I mean, it's a very lightweight car.
Reversing camera as standard,
28 mile an hour top speed, it has to be.
So 16 year olds can drive it on the continent.
The L6E Vivo adds a little TFT display inside
and two removable batteries for 11.2 kilowatt hours total,
100 miles range, still 28 miles an hour.
And the battery features trolley handles and wheels.
So if you want, when you've parked your car,
you can then wheel the battery out from under the seats
and charge it in the office
on the boss's electricity, but under your desk,
which I think is brilliant.
Battery swap stations let drivers exchange empty packs
for new ones via a subscription service.
Not sure if that's coming to the UK.
Compared to the Citroën AMI, the little Silence
or Silence S4 offers more tech,
better equipped interior, more practicality
and a big battery as well.
This, in terms of how it looks,
there's not much you can do
with a two-seater car that has no front,
no boot, has got some storage, of course,
but the shape of the thing,
if you're gonna make a very short car that kids can drive,
I mean, it doesn't look exactly the same as the Citroën AMI
because that's quite a stylish-looking vehicle,
but it's certainly, yeah,
it's a small two-seater tiny little short car.
There's not much you can do with it.
It looks how you'd expect.
Now, three battery giants revealed their new power plays
in Las Vegas.
Let's talk about them.
So, first up, LG dropped their first prismatic
lithium-ion phosphate battery
after years of development
and years of making pouch cells for energy storage.
Samsung unveiled their new battery box
with more energy density than their previous version
using LFP cells for long service life
and SKON is converting part
of their Georgia EV battery line to ESS.
This is all about energy storage systems.
I'll tell you why.
The timing isn't random.
Mordor Intelligence points out
that the US energy storage market
will hit $5.09 billion a year by 2030,
growing at 7%.
US tariffs on Chinese batteries
are jumping to 60% next year, up from 40% this year.
Companies are positioning for a new market in the US
where domestic production of energy storage
is gonna be critical, really.
LG's format shift signals
their flexibility in manufacturing.
Samsung's dual chemistry approach
covers off performance and longevity
and SKON's conversion of the factory
shows how companies need to quickly pivot
if the market changes pivot.
Mercedes is gonna end EQE production next year.
They just call time on two of their electric cars
after just four years.
Ooh, is that embarrassing?
I think it's pragmatic if nothing else.
So the EQE sedan, EQE SUV,
are getting the axe next year,
barely surviving their fourth birthday.
The EQE is built in Germany.
EQE SUV is made in Alabama
and they just weren't selling well enough to keep them alive.
But Mercedes is not leaving you hanging.
They're replacing both with something better.
The C-Class EQ drops next year
and the GLC EQ debuts at this month's IAA Munich show.
Both run on the new 800 volts MBEAM platform.
Big upgrade.
The new GLC EQ, 570 liters of boot space
and 128-liter frunk beating the EQ's 520 liters.
It'll tow 2,500 kilograms as well, unlike the EQE.
The C-Class EQ gets premium treatment
with air suspension and rear steering.
Mercedes isn't abandoning the EQE concept though.
There will be a direct successor
and that'll be the E-Class,
because it's back in 2027.
And this goes back to what I said a minute ago
about car companies making vehicles
that don't look like what their existing customers
think a vehicle should look like
or just their personal preference.
And that's okay.
And so Mercedes really went down the route
of being the wind tunnel and the CFD
dictated the shape of that vehicle
and they were fabulously efficient,
but it turns out ES-Class and E-Class buyers went,
we're not sure about how long.
And so the new S-Class and E-Class
will have that traditional three box shape
and it'll either have an engine or batteries
in either way.
Now, that's not the most efficient way
to run a car company, by the way.
The most efficient way is to be absolutely single-focused,
whether it's a Tesla or a Chinese company
that just makes a pure EV platform
maximum efficiency in terms of making
the best possible electric vehicle.
But that's exactly what Mercedes-Benz did
with the EQE QS.
It didn't go down very well.
So the new E-Class coming on again,
that MBEAM platform.
The EQE was updated and it's short life.
It got the bigger battery to 96 kilowatt hours,
a heat pump, more performance.
They even added a disconnect for the front motor
to be more efficient, but sadly, not enough.
Now let's talk Hyundai IONIQ 3.
Now the Hyundai IONIQ 3 is an interesting vehicle
because it's gonna give you access
to a lot of technology for not as much money
as you would have had to pay.
CarPlay Ultra is what I'm talking about.
Now we'll see IONIQ 3 at the IAA show in Munich next week,
or maybe this weekend on the press days.
And this is gonna be the cheapest car you can get
with CarPlay Ultra.
It goes beyond the traditional center screen,
expanding all the instrument clusters,
the Speedos, the climate, and vehicle integration.
Apple launched with Aston Martin vehicles
exclusively in the US and Canada,
but not everyone can afford an Aston Martin.
But if your budget's reasonable,
you probably can afford a Hyundai Kia or Genesis
and they're the ones that get CarPlay Ultra next.
The system has built-in radio, climate, widgets,
bi-directional data flow, connects to your iPhone,
all your driving metrics like speed and tire pressure,
everything fully integrated into the car.
In fact, CarPlay Ultra takes over the car.
And Apple control the human interface
in terms of what you see and the buttons that you press.
Now many car makers push back against that
and say it's a key part of our relationship
with our buyers, our customers, our drivers.
We don't wanna just hand over that crucial part
of the relationship to Apple.
Others go, well, look, if our customers want it,
they can absolutely have it.
The Arnic 3 production starts in 2026 up against, again,
that segment, Renault 5, Peugeot E208,
Kia EV2, Fiat Grande Panda.
Now, GWM just dropped two new hybrid versions
of their Havel H6 in Australia.
September marks the arrival of a new ultra-hybrid
all-wheel drive, but it's not a plug-in,
so we don't care.
There is, though, a front-wheel drive plug-in hybrid,
Luxe version of the Havel,
and it starts at 4,400-900 drive away,
and that's really good.
That's in Aussie dollars, obviously,
making it great wall motors,
most affordable plug-in hybrid,
3,000 Aussie dollars less than the ultra plug-in hybrid,
a serious price cut to bring plug-in technology
to American, sorry, to Australian families.
The plug-in hybrid has a 20 kilowatt hour
lithium-ion phosphate pack,
over 100K's pure electric range.
And finally, meet the Sophie 8X.
What is a Sophie 8X?
It's a student-built solar car
that just won the 2025 solar challenge.
The student-built car just defeated
every engineering team across 3,000 kilometers
of brutal Aussie outback.
The Sophie 8X didn't just win the challenge,
it shattered expectations.
It averaged 68.7 kilometers per hour
for 44 straight hours across the continent
with nothing but sunshine to power it.
Here's what makes it possible.
The most electric vehicles need massive battery packs,
weighing hundreds of kilograms.
The Sophie 8X battery is 40 kilograms.
And that's a massive saving.
The lightness is, you know,
less than some people take as carry-on,
you know, on a cruise or something.
The tiny battery pack is 15 kilowatt hours
which is still decent size into the energy storage.
And that's what powered the two-seat vehicle
over 3,000 kilometers at average highway speeds.
The secret lies in efficiency.
Typically, these waste, you know,
energy through resistance and heat and things like that.
The Sophie 8X used the new
Silicon Carbide Semiconductors
to cut energy consumption by 30%.
Every electron counts when you're racing
on sun power alone.
But efficiency means nothing without energy collection.
Six square meters of solar cells cover the roof,
continuously feeding power to the vehicle while it drives.
The 400 watt hour per kilogram lithium pouch cells
store the energy in minimal space, minimal weight.
And aerodynamics sealed the victory.
Computational fluid dynamics.
CFD, putting it into a computer,
running the algorithm and saying make something slippery.
Shaped every curve of the carbon fiber body.
And it does look like one of these kind of crazy, very low,
no exposed wheels, solar vehicles.
But anyways, the class it was in
was between 400 and 800 kilograms.
The ultimate validation, Hong Kong has approved it
for being safe on public roads.
It's the first solar racing vehicle
legally authorized for street use in the territory.
So well done to that team.
And that's your podcast for today.
Thanks to our premium partners, Porsche of the Village
in Cincinnati, Audi of Cincinnati East,
and Volvo cars of Cincinnati East.
National car charging on the US mainland
and the Loha Charge in Hawaii at Octopus Electroverse.
Global public charging made simple with one app and one map.
Have a good and see you tomorrow.
And remember, there's no such thing
as a self-charging hybrid.
Capital One's tech team isn't just talking
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They already deployed one.
It's called Chat Concierge,
and it's simplifying car shopping.
Using self-reflection and layered reasoning
with live API checks,
it doesn't just help buyers find a car they love.
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get pre-approved for financing,
and estimate trading value.
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That's how they stack.
That's technology at Capital One.
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Capital One's tech team
isn't just talking about multi-agentic AI.
They already deployed one.
It's called Chat Concierge,
and it's simplifying car shopping.
Using self-reflection and layered reasoning
with live API checks,
it doesn't just help buyers find a car they love.
It helps schedule a test drive,
get pre-approved for financing,
and estimate trading value.
Advanced, intuitive, and deployed.
That's how they stack.
That's technology at Capital One.
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Capital One's tech team isn't just talking
about multi-agentic AI.
They already deployed one.
It's called Chat Concierge,
and it's simplifying car shopping.
Using self-reflection and layered reasoning
with live API checks,
it doesn't just help buyers find a car they love.
It helps schedule a test drive,
get pre-approved for financing,
and estimate trading value.
Advanced, intuitive, and deployed.
That's how they stack.
That's technology at Capital One.
About this episode
Kia's new EV5 enters the competitive ultra-compact EV market with a starting price under £40,000, aiming to rival models like the Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID4. Meanwhile, Honda has revised its EV targets, shifting focus towards hybrids, while Smart announces an electric successor to its iconic city car. The episode also discusses the performance of Tesla in Europe, the rise of BYD, and highlights the innovative solar car Sophie 8X that recently won a major challenge. Insights on pricing strategies and market trends make this episode a comprehensive update on the EV landscape.