Tesla Model Y L Goes On Sale, Korea’s EV Sales Surge and London Can’t Decide If It’s EV-Friendly | 19 Aug 2025

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Welcome back to EV News Daily.

Coming up today, Tesla's model YL goes on sale.

Careers, EV sales surge and London can't decide if it's EV-friendly or not.

Plus, stay tuned.

Later in the show, I'll tell you which market used Tesla's outsell new Tesla's.

Welcome morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are in the world.

Welcome to EV News Daily, your trusted source of EV information.

Tuesday 19th of August.

I'm Martin Lee and I go through every EV story,

so you don't have to.

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Well, Tesla has launched the new six-seat version of its model Y SUV in China.

I must say, I wonder if the rest of us will get it.

It's 47,000 US equivalent, that's 339,000 yuan, by the way.

Announced today, August 19th on Weibo, the social media network,

with a video, deliveries will begin as soon as September.

The Model Y L adds a six-seat layout using a foldable second row set of captain's chairs

and a redesigned third row with much more space and flexibility.

The previous third row in a Model Y was really only for people without legs.

The Model Y L variant is 15 centimetres or 5.9 inches longer than the standard Model Y,

making room for a proper third row.

It has a driving range of 467 miles, CLTC in China, of course,

that's 751 kilometres on the China cycle.

That is similar to a five-seat Model Y performance.

So if you're trying to do the calculation of, well, what would it really do?

You can look at that.

Photos show the front seats may actually have

new adjustable headrests and largest side supports.

There's also rumours that the central display is bigger,

but that's not confirmed in the video.

The second row, the captain's chairs, are shown to fold flat just like in the Model X

to make a bed or more cargo room.

The third row has armrests with cup holders and a side button,

probably power folding for the second row, similar to the trunk,

seat controls and other Teslas.

The Model Y L fits between the established Model Y in China

and the larger Model X.

Some features reportedly surpass those on the Model X.

There are also rumours that the second row seats have

heating and ventilation.

Model X doesn't offer that, for instance.

The video shows a powered armrest coming from between the second row seats,

likely one for each chair.

There's the aisle between them.

And the Model Y L improves ventilation for rear passengers.

There's new air vents on the B and the C pillars,

an event below the rear display.

These solve the previous complaints about limited airflow in the 7-seat Model Y.

A black headliner is shown, different from the earlier Model Ys,

and similar to the interiors of the Performance Alcantara Lined SNX.

The pricing puts the 6-seat Model Y in direct comparison

with other vehicles in China.

Like Li Auto's L8, that's an extended range L8.

The Aito M8, that's backed by Huawei,

since the launch in 2020.

The Model Y quickly became the world's best-selling vehicle,

not just the world's best-selling electric vehicle.

But in 2023, that became the world's most popular passenger car.

So it's a really big deal when it gets updated,

particularly with one like this that could be very popular

outside of China when you think about it.

Now, 6-seat cars around the world,

it's not quite an MPV that's going to carry 7 or 8 people,

but would be very useful if you're not using that third row,

of course, loads of storage in the Model Y.

And the ability to have that completely flat load area,

it's always nice when seats do that,

because then again, you kind of use a very usable space in the back.

Tesla's global lineup has been very stable lately.

Stable is a positive word for stale, isn't it?

Lots of analysts and some people think that Tesla's lineup

is incredibly stale, a handful of colors.

The Model Y is effectively a slightly bigger Model 3

is what they say.

I'm not convinced by that argument so much.

This is a very important vehicle,

the most popular passenger car on the planet,

not these days, but still it was,

and easily the most popular EV in the world.

So very, very important car to be updated.

It will gain market share in China.

There's no doubt about it.

It has to be popular.

How popular will it be in China

where new EVs come out very, very often?

There's a very high cadence of new electric vehicles,

which even the likes of Tesla haven't been matching.

They still just sell the three and the Y

in terms of their mainstream vehicles.

And so we'll see if it is able to compete.

Now, last month in Korea,

EV sales were surging 25,000 plus new electric vehicles

in Korea last month registered,

67% up from the same month last year.

Hybrids were up as well, gasoline and diesel were down.

Alarming diesel was down 25% in Korea.

We see this all around the world,

by the way, you just wouldn't own a diesel car anymore.

EVs made up 16.7% of all new car sales last month,

up from 11.1% in the first half of the year,

an increase of five points and the highest share so far.

Manufacturers expect this growth

to continue through the second half of the year.

New model launches are helping.

Hyundai just released the new Ionix 6,

their midsize electric sedan,

nice new look for the Ionix 6.

Kia is going to launch the EV5, a midsize electric SUV

and the PV5, the purpose built PBV,

purpose built vehicle on that.

So lots of reasons to be very excited

about the cars coming out in terms of the imports as well,

because obviously the Korean cars are very, very popular.

But in terms of the imported stuff,

well, BMW introduced the flagship SUV, the iX,

the new iX and Audi Korea began selling the new A6 e-tron.

So really interesting.

Now, let's talk a little bit about London.

Transport for London plans to end the cleaner vehicle

discount for EV vans and other EVs used by small businesses

starting December 25th.

Happy Christmas.

He'll be spending more money to drive into our capital.

It's not that they don't get charged,

but they just that they had an exemption

from the congestion charge.

Electric cars will get a 25% discount on the fee.

Heavier electric vehicles get a 50% discount.

Labour's transport spokesperson for the London Assembly

called it counterproductive.

And in a letter to TFL,

warning the small businesses will use the congestion

charge zone, whatever the level of charge,

the smaller discounts could make them switch back

to petrol or diesel.

It's hard to argue against that, isn't it?

Because if they've got an old vehicle that they're still running,

but could save money by not paying the congestion charge

to drive into London,

then they might just carry on that old dirty vehicle.

London says, TFL says, that the change is needed

because there are now way more EVs in London.

And the full discount is actually increasing congestion.

So the amount of traffic.

So yes, it's clean traffic and that's great,

but it's too much traffic and the congestion charge

is designed to reduce congestion.

So two sides to that, we'll see what happens.

I mean, it will obviously bring in more money to London, won't it?

And so, I don't know, naturally, I kind of lean towards

let's not charge EVs to go into the city

as they do at the minute.

And I am biased.

I recognize my biases, but I just think it's a message

to say drive an EV.

But I understand it's also a congestion charge

and there are a lot of EVs in London.

Now, a bit more Tesla news.

There's loads of Tesla news today,

but nothing as headlining as the Model YL,

but Tesla has lowered the official EPA range

from the Model 3 long range rear wheel drive

in the United States by six miles.

For some reason, 363 goes to 357.

Six miles or nine kilometers seem to have been lost

down the back of the sofa.

That's rather unfortunate.

There's been no reported changes to the battery pack,

the drivetrain or the hardware.

Maybe updated EPA testing rules or rating methods.

The cars, as far as I know, haven't changed.

So if you go to look for your new Tesla

and it looks like doesn't go as far,

well, that is, you know, an intended change

that they've made by the look of it.

Also, Tesla's launched a wheel and tire protection plan

in the United States, covering owners against common hazards

like punctures, debris and pothole damage.

Prices start at £12 a month for the standard Model 3,

$25 a month for the SNX Plaid versions,

unlimited tire repairs from damage.

If a wheel or tire needs replacing,

you pay a $25 deductible pair replacement.

The plan covers all tires on the vehicle.

Coverage starts when the subscription

is activated for 24 months.

You must have bought a new eligible Tesla

in the last 30 days.

Purchased four new tires at a Tesla service center

or had a free inspection.

Sign up is through the Tesla app.

Of course, the plan does not cover cosmetic damage

or theft or vandalism or problems that existed

before the subscription program began

or low tread depth, for instance.

But for many vehicles that have low profile tires,

I'm not sure I've ever seen a Model 3 performance

that hasn't had all four wheels a good old curbing.

And so, you know, if you aren't very careful

with your car and you occasionally hit potholes,

depending on where you live, on those low profile tires,

on the performance, Teslas particularly,

can be a very expensive hobby having new tires put on.

So that could be worth it.

And finally on Tesla, at least for now,

Tesla has denied remotely disabling a Cybertruck.

This was a viral video that was faked,

but it's gone everywhere.

You know what the internet is like.

And I hate to say the phrase fake news.

A musician called Big Huey.

I'm not familiar with Big Huey.

You won't be surprised.

However, I gather he's popular,

posting a video claiming his Tesla was shut down.

His Cybertruck, he was driving it,

and he claimed in the video the truck screen

showed a message, Tesla Cybertruck deactivated

critical issue detected contact customer service.

Huey said, I'm in the middle of traffic, bro.

I'm not sure I can pull off saying the word bro.

I'm in the middle of traffic, bro.

Look at this, expletive, bro.

Showing the locked steering

and saying that Tesla has disabled his Cybertruck.

However, the Cybertruck obviously was not disabled.

Tesla don't do that.

Even if you haven't paid your bills, they probably could.

People who watch the video say,

look, your vehicle's not in drive.

And that the warning didn't match Tesla's usual font and format.

They don't call their,

they don't call themselves dealerships.

They're Tesla stores.

And so lots of inaccuracies, and then it came out that this was indeed all faked.

You know, Tesla could certainly limit car functions.

In cases like theft, you could fully shut down

and remotely disable a vehicle.

I'm guessing if you're Tesla, you must have a big kill switch.

Tesla denies it has the capability.

Surely they do.

Tesla recently posted about it online

that it doesn't do this, that the video indeed has been faked.

However, not before it went far and wide,

you would think doing some sorts of damage.

And if I was a brand, and certainly many Chinese brands, by the way,

many Chinese EV brands are looking at the kind of damage

can be done by influencers, even with a negative review.

But that's China, right?

But I'm not sure I would go up against corporations,

because if they can, somebody can make a calculation

that the video was viewed X many million times,

or X many million impressions across various platforms.

And you could probably do an algorithm or calculation to say,

this cost our business, you know, lost sales, brand reputational damage.

I don't know, but stick your finger in the air, $20 million.

Well, that is absolutely a court case ready to happen.

So I'm not sure it was a wise thing to do,

but I'm not familiar with the artist's work.

Maybe this is his shtick.

We'll take a break.

We'll come back.

We'll talk about a lot more really good EV news on the podcast today,

another day of positive news, by the way,

and record BEV registrations to discuss next.

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Well, welcome back to the podcast.

Now, Western Europe registered nearly 600,000 BEVs from April to June,

setting a new quarterly record.

Q2 was indeed a record for BEV's pure electric vehicles.

The rise, the growth rather, comes after slower than expected sales,

but that's the growth rate.

So a lot of people interpret the growth rate fluctuating

in certain parts of the world.

It can go up and it can go down.

And then if it's in an area that goes down, the growth rate,

that gets sometimes misreported as, oh, the decline of EVs.

No, the decline of the growth rate.

But of course, you know, if you, I don't know, have one pint of beer

and then you have two pints of beer, then you, you know,

it's 100% growth rate.

That sounds really impressive, doesn't it?

But you're still not drunk.

And so I don't know.

European car makers like Stellantis,

which owns Citroën and many more,

and Renault are launching cheaper models to attract budget buyers.

The rise is due to lower price BEVs

and higher sales in Southern Europe.

The online Berlin-based automotive analyst, Matthias Schmidt,

saying electric vehicles are becoming more affordable

and more attractive to private customers.

I've invited him onto the podcast before in the past,

but he doesn't do, he says things like podcasts.

He just does writing.

Very, very interesting guy to follow on, oh, the various places

that he posts his content.

Okay, let's talk about a new assembly method at Ford.

I talked about this recently,

but Ford plans to launch the new $30,000 EV pickup,

mid-size pickup in 2027,

part of a large plan to release new EV models

over the next five years, not just new vehicles,

but how Ford physically build an EV.

The new models will use the universal EV platform,

which is a small team led by the former Tesla engineer,

Alan Clark.

Ford is switching from a traditional linear assembly line

to what they call the production tree.

In the process, three separate teams build the front,

the rear and the battery core,

all at the same time.

When the sections are done, they're put together in final assembly.

This new method will reduce the total assembly time

compared to regular car building.

Chief EV, digital and design officer at Ford,

is the famous Doug Field,

saying, I don't think many legacy car manufacturers

could pull off a project like this,

and I don't believe new electric vehicle startups

will be able to keep up with our Ford engineers

and manufacturing teams that are making this a reality.

End quote.

So, you know, startups can do a lot,

but he says you need the heft of Ford to do this,

and the engineering now support to do this properly.

Now, here in the UK, the UK government will fund the plug-in

van and truck grant for another year through April 2026.

Grant amounts after that have not been set yet.

Right now, the grant gives you £2,500 for small vans,

£5,000 for big vans and £16,000 for small trucks,

and £25,000 off large trucks.

The plug-in truck grant already extended earlier this year

goes to April 2026 as well.

EV van registration is up 72.6% in July,

the eighth month in a row of growth,

but EVs take up only 8.8% of all light commercial vehicles

so far this year, so some work to do.

Amsterdam is next, and Power Shelter, a Dutch company,

will roll out Amsterdam's first public charging network

for e-bikes.

This aims to fix major issues for e-bike users

in the Netherlands,

and there's a lack of secure public charging spots.

They say there are now thousands of charging points

for EV cars in the city,

but why not public charging points for EV bikes

without dedicated public charges?

Many e-bike owners charge batteries either in a cafe

or a restaurant or at public sockets in bike parking areas.

Power Shelter's answer is public lockers

that can store and charge any type of e-bike battery securely.

They're set for installation later this year in the autumn.

Now let's talk a little bit about a good day

to play a round of golf.

During the third round of the BMW Championship,

one particular player made a hole-in-one on the 17th.

You know sometimes you do a hole-in-one at a golf course,

or they have a little car,

or the sponsor has a car sitting on a podium or a platform,

and it's a nice little thing to have a shot of.

You could win this car if you do a hole-in-one.

Well, actually, Batia made the hole-in-one.

It was 195 meters or 213 yards.

He used a five-iron, by the way.

He's 23 years old,

and the American won the tournament's hole-in-one prize,

and he got himself a brand new all-electric BMW iXM70.

He's won twice on the PGA Tour,

ranked 29th in the FedEx Cup standings,

and is trying to qualify for the forthcoming season finale

reserved for the top 30 players.

But for now, at least he got to drive home.

I presume he got to drive home in his brand new BMW iXM70.

Not bad for playing a round of golf.

I think pro golfers do all right anyway, don't they?

Now, Apple Card users now get 5% cash back on...

If they use Apple Pay at Chargepoint EV charging stations,

the offer lasts until September 15th,

applying to Apple Pay purchases.

You can earn 5% cash back and up to $500 in qualifying purchases

during the promotion,

and after September 15th,

the cashback rate goes down again.

So if you're charging your EV at those Chargepoint stations,

you get a bit of money back.

And finally, the Australian Automotive Dealer Association,

the AADA, reporting that 1066 used Teslas were sold last month

in Australia in July.

Of that, 625 Model 3s, 441 Model Ys,

but that is more than the amount of new Teslas delivered in July.

Although more used Teslas were sold overall,

sales of new Model Ys were higher than used ones,

new Tesla deliveries in July have been dropping.

They dropped significantly actually in Australia,

but again, shipment delays, things like that,

careful with monthly numbers on Tesla.

In Australia, the Model Y was the top-selling EV for the first half of the year,

but for the month of July itself,

the BYDC Line 7 took the honours.

And that's your podcast for today.

Thanks for listening.

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Have a good one.

See you tomorrow.

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Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Granger.com or just stop by.

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Tesla Model Y L Goes On Sale, Korea’s EV Sales Surge and London Can’t Decide If It’s EV-Friendly | 19 Aug 2025

Tesla Model Y

Tesla Model X

Tesla Model 3

Kia EV5

Audi Etron

Tesla Cybertruck

Tesla Model 3S

About this episode

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