Tesla Still Struggling In Europe, FSD Rollout Down Under and MG4’s Semi Solid State Battery | 01 Sep 2025

Forget the pressure to overhaul your life.

The new year doesn't need a new you, it needs you.

Grounded, supported, and ready to grow.

Grow Therapy helps you make meaningful change

at your pace and on your time.

Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th,

Grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you,

not the other way around.

They connect you with thousands of independent,

licensed therapists across the US,

offering both virtual and in-person sessions,

nights and weekends.

You can search by what matters, like insurance,

specialty, identity, or availability

to get started in as little as two days.

And if something comes up,

you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost.

There are no subscriptions and no long-term commitments.

You just pay per session.

Grow helps you find therapy on your time.

Whatever challenges you're facing,

Grow Therapy is here to help.

Grow accepts over a hundred insurance plans,

including Medicaid in some states.

Sessions average about $21 with insurance

and some pay as little as $0 depending on their plan.

Visit growtherapy.com slash get started today

to get started.

That's growtherapy.com slash get started.

Growtherapy.com slash get started.

Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

New year, same extra value meals at McDonald's.

Now get a savory sausage McMuffin with egg,

plus hash browns and a small coffee for just $5.

For limited time only, prices and participation may vary.

Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska,

and California and for delivery.

Forget the pressure to overhaul your life.

The new year doesn't need a new you.

It needs you, grounded, supported, and ready to grow.

Grow Therapy helps you make meaningful change

at your pace and on your time.

Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th,

grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you,

not the other way around.

They connect you with thousands of independent,

licensed therapists across the US,

offering both virtual and in-person sessions,

nights and weekends.

You can search by what matters,

like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability

to get started in as little as two days.

And if something comes up,

you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost.

There are no subscriptions and no long-term commitments.

You just pay per session.

Grow helps you find therapy on your time.

Whatever challenges you're facing,

Grow Therapy is here to help.

Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans,

including Medicaid in some states.

Sessions average about $21 with insurance

and some pay as little as $0,

depending on their plan.

Visit growtherapy.com slash get started today to get started.

That's growtherapy.com slash get started,

growtherapy.com slash get started.

Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

New year, same extra value meals at McDonald's.

So now get two snack wraps, plus fries,

and a medium soft drink for just $8.

For limited time only, prices and participation may vary.

Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska,

California, and for delivery.

Welcome back to EV News Daily.

Coming up today, Tesla still struggling in Europe.

FSD is rolling out down under an MG4's semi-solid state battery.

Plus, stay tuned because later in the show,

I'll tell you why one Formula One team is ready to go all electric,

even if it's not out of the track.

Well, good morning, good afternoon, or good evening.

Whether you're listening around the world,

welcome to EV News Daily,

your trusted source of EV information.

First air the week Monday, 1st of September.

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

so you don't have to.

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Fund this show and be part of the EV News Daily community.

Feel like damned by clicking on a link in the show notes.

We'll start with news of Tesla still struggling in Europe.

It's down by 40%.

This is July's data.

I know we're expecting probably April's data

in the next couple of days to start rolling in

from the first countries that report kind of their daily figure,

so we get them straight away.

So we are looking back here at July's numbers.

But EV sales in Europe saw significant changes.

Tesla's sales across the EU's,

the European Union, the UK,

and the European Free Trade Association was down by 40%,

falling to 8,837 vehicles

and reducing its market share to 0.8%.

Meanwhile, BYD surged ahead,

increasing its July sales by over 200%

to 13,500 vehicles and capturing a 1.2 market share,

overtaking Tesla for the first time.

Overall, battery electric vehicles made up 15.6%

of new car registrations in the region,

up from 12.5% the previous year,

while hybrid cars reached a high share as well of 34.7.

Other Chinese brands, such as SAIC,

also expanding rapidly with almost a 2% market share

from January to July.

During the first seven months of the year,

Tesla's European sales have continued to decline

down between about 33 and 43% country to country.

Its market share in the EU fell,

it halved really 2.1 to 1.2%,

highlighting the downward trend.

At the same time, BYD and other Chinese brands are growing

because of low prices,

a broader model range, smart marketing,

even in the face of tariffs.

In July, total new EU car registrations, up 6%.

So I mentioned that because everything is going

in the right direction in terms of EVs.

Germany, Spain, Italy,

as European and Chinese companies increase offerings

and price competition,

the EV market is becoming a bit more balanced out.

There's no dominant player over here,

like obviously my US listeners will know

that well over half of your EV market

is simply Tesla alone.

We don't get the same situation over here.

In fact, quite the opposite.

So I'm really interested to see

in the second half of this year,

what will Tesla do to roll something out

that recaptures that spark, that passion

and those sales figures as well?

Will it be?

Well, obviously we're going to be talking more

about the Tesla Model Y performance soon.

Will they launch the market fully?

The six-seater Model Y L,

is it going to be something else?

Is it going to be the roll-out of more autonomy

as different areas approve it?

Well, wait and see.

Looking forward to seeing what Tesla come with.

However, one of those big things,

as I just mentioned,

that could spark some sales is the Model Y performance.

Tesla's unveiled the Model Y performance in Europe

with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup.

460 horsepower, that's 343 kilowatts

and acceleration that outpaces supercars, frankly.

0-62 miles an hour, that's 100 kph.

In 3.3 seconds,

the top speed is limited to 155 miles an hour,

which should be plenty for German auto barns,

positioning the Model Y right up against

the likes of the BMW M5 and the Audi RS6

in terms of performance.

Orders here in the UK from today,

you can go get one at 6190

with European configurators showing a September arrival

and deliveries expected from October

in some European regions in Germany.

The price is 62,000 euros.

Launch markets are Europe and the Middle East.

Other regions will follow.

Model Y performance uses

Tesla's latest high-energy density cells, they say,

but I have nothing more apart from that.

A feature shared with the Model Y performance,

you would think.

Although Tesla hasn't disclosed the exact battery capacity,

we can pretty much guess

where WLTP range is a hundred and,

sorry, 360 miles,

which nearly matches

the less powerful all-wheel drive long range.

Fast charging says Tesla will add 150 miles in 15 minutes.

Now, the chassis does get adaptive suspensions

or adaptive dampers.

They come over from the Model 3 performance,

calibrated for the Model Y though,

along with revised suspension hardware

and drive modes to improve high-speed driving

and overall road manners.

21-inch alloys are standard

with a staggered set-up front to rear for better grip,

replacing the 19s and 20-inch wheels of other trims.

Exterior improvements include

an aerodynamically efficient front bumper,

a diffuser-style rear bumper,

a large carbon fiber rear spoiler,

and red brake calipers inside its interesting.

Gone is the 15.4-inch display landscape,

obviously, in all modern Teslas.

They've gone 16-inch, a bit of a bump.

It's Tesla's highest-resolution panel yet.

The front sports seats are heated ventilated

and feature larger bolsters

for improved lateral support during cornering

with some plaid-inspired badging.

Production takes place at Tesla's Brandenburg facility

near Berlin.

The launch is part of a broader Model Y refresh,

which includes lower-priced entry variants

in the long way and a long wheelbase,

as I mentioned, six-seat version Model YL.

Tesla is gonna have to address that European sales decline.

They're obviously putting out fires around the world,

as it were, because, not literally,

but China, it's to do with competition.

Europe, I think it's a mix of issues.

The US still strong, but obviously tax credit going,

and so very, with tariffs as well,

very fluid time, I think, for all EV makers.

One thing in their control, though,

is how quickly they roll out autonomy

once different regions and areas agree to it.

Well, Tesla's launched its full self-driving

supervised down under in Australia and New Zealand,

entering right-hand drive markets for the very first time.

It's hands-free, but supervised.

Driving systems now available on local roads,

following reports of a major Tesla announcement incoming.

We thought we knew what this was going to be.

Available for Model 3 and Model Y

with hardware for, with plans for support.

For more vehicles coming,

customers can buy the software for 10,000 Aussie dollars,

that's about six and a half grand US,

or subscribe monthly.

All new Tesla buyers in Australia

get 30 days free trial to test the system.

They've got the auto journalists

and the car reviewers to have a look.

One review by the Chasing Cars website says,

it's better than probably 60% of Australian drivers.

Interesting Tesla said in July

that FSD supervised past all the required reviews

in Australia and New Zealand,

and now was doing its final checks.

There'll be, you know, they said the technology's ready.

It'll now go down to the various areas

and how, you know, risk averse,

or, you know, risk forward, different places are.

Whether we'll see it on European roads,

well, again, it's different, isn't it?

Because the UK, we're not tied anymore

thanks to Brexit to the EU.

We might want to be a bit more lenient.

I think getting it through the bureaucracy in the EU

is gonna take maybe a little bit longer, we'll see.

Okay, let's move on.

GM is pausing a shift to do with some of their EV makers.

They're also temporarily laying off 360 workers

at Factory Zero in Detroit.

From tomorrow to October the 6th,

one of the two daily shifts making the Hummer EV

and the Cadillac Escalade IQ will pause

according to automotive news.

This change doesn't affect production

of the Silverado EV or the Sierra.

They're also built at Factory Zero.

Of the 360 workers, about 200 already set for layoff

during the week with plans to come back.

They will now stay furloughed though

until October the 6th.

In the first half of the year,

GM sold 3,766 Cadillac Escalade IQs

and 8,000 GMC Hummer EVs.

That's both the Mixer, the Pickup and the SUV

in the United States.

All right, moving on.

And SAIC, which is the owner of MG,

has launched the all new MG4 Pure Electric Compact

at the Chengdu Auto Show.

Five trims are priced from

9,500 US dollars equivalent.

That's 68,000 yuan.

All the way up to 14,000 US dollars equivalent.

And the Anshin Edition is the one

with the semi-solid state battery delivery this year.

So CLTC range, that's obviously on the China cycle,

up to 330 miles.

Power comes from the integrated motor,

120 kilowatts power on that

and the top speed of 99 miles an hour.

But really what we're interested in

is the batteries in this.

Because like I say, semi-solid state,

first mainstream vehicle to come out there.

Some of the batteries at LFP,

those packs are gonna be either 43 or 54 kilowatt hours.

The semi-solid state version is different

and that is coming later in the year.

Offering, we think, the first,

I think anyway, the first mainstream example

of a battery like this coming out at a price.

Like I say, the model range starts at 9,500 US equivalent.

Looking quite different to the MG4,

very popular vehicle over here actually.

They've kinda softened it.

The MG4 was a bit spiky, I would say, like a CUPRA.

And they've made it all friendly and cuddly.

A bit like a Volkswagen.

12-volt trisonic radars,

four 360 surround view cameras,

an eight megapixel front camera

and a rear-facing camera as well.

Looks after some of the autonomy features.

All right, we'll take a break when we come back.

Loads more to discuss on the podcast.

Got a bit of zero emission trucking to talk about.

A new Visa payment card to charge your EV.

And despite all the things it's going through,

Ukraine is importing electric cars in numbers.

Stick around, back in the mo.

Forget the pressure to overhaul your life.

The new year doesn't need a new you, it needs you.

Grounded, supported and ready to grow.

Grow therapy helps you make meaningful change

at your pace and on your time.

Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th,

Grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you,

not the other way around.

They connect you with thousands

of independent licensed therapists across the US,

offering both virtual and in-person sessions,

nights and weekends.

You can search by what matters,

like insurance, specialty, identity,

or availability to get started in as little as two days.

And if something comes up,

you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost.

There are no subscriptions and no long-term commitments.

You just pay per session.

Grow helps you find therapy on your time.

Whatever challenges you're facing,

Grow Therapy is here to help.

Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans,

including Medicaid in some states.

Sessions average about $21 with insurance

and some pay as little as $0

depending on their plan.

Visit growtherapy.com slash get started today

to get started.

That's growtherapy.com slash get started.

Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

New year, same extra value meals at McDonald's.

So now get two snack wraps, plus fries,

and a medium soft drink for just $8.

For limited time only, prices and participation may vary.

Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska,

and California and for delivery.

Forget the pressure to overhaul your life.

The new year doesn't need a new you, it needs you.

Grounded, supported, and ready to grow.

Grow Therapy helps you make meaningful change

at your pace and on your time.

Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th,

Grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you,

not the other way around.

They connect you with thousands of independent

licensed therapists across the U.S.,

offering both virtual and in-person sessions,

nights and weekends.

You can search by what matters,

like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability

to get started in as little as two days.

And if something comes up,

you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost.

There are no subscriptions and no long-term commitments.

You just pay per session.

Grow helps you find therapy on your time.

Whatever challenges you're facing,

Grow Therapy is here to help.

Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans,

including Medicaid in some states.

Sessions average about $21 with insurance

and some pay as little as $0, depending on their plan.

Visit growtherapy.com slash get started today

to get started.

That's growtherapy.com slash get started.

Growtherapy.com slash get started.

Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

New Year, same extra value meals at McDonald's.

So now get two snack wraps, plus fries,

and a medium soft drink for just $8.

For limited time only, prices and participation may vary.

Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska,

and California and for delivery.

All right, welcome back to the podcast.

All right, if you had an advert or two,

then thank you for listening to the ad supported free feed.

You can sign up to Patreon and get rid of the ads

if you want to.

Now, one of the curious little loopholes

of the current or the new UK grant

was that if you had a version of the car you were selling,

under 37,000 pounds, if you're a car maker,

that was in the base trim.

As long as the powertrain was the same,

you can have some top trims going up to any price

and it would still get the money off the car.

Well, the rules and regs have been tightened

over the weekend.

There is now a cap of 42,000 pounds

on qualifying variants.

That stops any higher price trims getting discounts.

Launched last month, it's 3,750 pounds off a new EV.

If it's priced under 37,000 pounds,

that as long as the cheapest version of the model range

was below 37, they all got the discount.

And so as long as the same battery, it would all apply.

Now there is a cap of 42,000 pounds.

You've got a 5,000 pound window to get that discount.

One example, after Nissan introduced a 37,000 pound

Aria in entry level trim,

all front wheel drive versions of that vehicle,

all the way up to the Evolve trim,

which is 44,500 pounds, got the government grant.

Now the government's changed the rules,

so that particular one won't get the grant.

We'll wait and see if any car makers

do a little finessing around with their pricing.

I'll keep you in touch.

The European truck and bus manufacturers,

say they're expanding their zero emission portfolios.

The European Carmakers Association, the ACEA,

has now issued its 2025 update covering models on the market

and those launching soon.

They say at least 45 zero emission truck models

are available and four new models

are entering production soon.

These cover use cases from urban and regional delivery.

It's a long haul, heavy duty operations.

At least 20 zero emission bus models are available

and three new additions in series production since last year.

They serve cities and regions increasingly

into urban and long distance routes as well.

That's a great bit of news.

Octopus Energy, my electricity provider.

Our Octopus Electroverse, in fact,

sponsor of this podcast has teamed up with Visa

and they've launched the UK's

first Electroverse Business Payments card.

The card is designed to make managing EV fleet charging easier

by combining everything that you have to pay for.

So that could be your EV charging, your tolls,

your car wash if you've got to have the van looking nice

and even meal payments if you are given that allowance.

All on one card, fleet managers can set spending limits,

control what drivers can buy and change the settings.

Anytime you can upload digital receipts

and put it all through on the same system.

Of course, it works with Octopus Electroverse,

the largest EV charging network for consumers in Europe.

Electroverse gives access to over one million charging points

in 40 countries with more than 1200 charging brands

like Ioniti, InstaVolt and Osprey.

That is brilliant news.

Always good when fleet charging gets a little bit easier

and running fleet vehicles.

Now, in the first half of 2025,

Ukraine imported a bunch of EVs

that despite everything that Ukraine is going through,

they still imported 42,700 electric vehicles.

That's up 40% from the same time last year.

This comes from the Ukav Toprom Association

using the state statistics.

Most of the increase was due to used electric cars,

so these weren't all new cars coming in.

Out of all the imports,

9,500 were new electric vehicles

and there were 33,000 used electric vehicles.

The sources vary, they say,

91% coming from China, interestingly.

4% from Japan, 3% from Germany for used EVs.

Of all the used EVs coming into Ukraine,

39% came from the United States.

That's a long way to come for used EVs, isn't it?

17% from Korea and 15% from Germany.

Top new electric car imports into the country.

BYD Song Plus of EWID Unix.

Zeke is 001, 7X in the Audi Q4, e-tron.

The most imported used models

with a Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model 3,

Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Kona and Kia Nero,

even though a country is going through what it is going through,

they're still buying a lot of EVs.

And finally, which Formula One team is ready to go electric,

even if that might not be on the track?

Well, I mean, I say that,

they have been going electric on the track,

but in formulary, but they're ending that.

I'm talking Mercedes, Mercedes AMG.

Formula One team has been moving its race cars

with fully electric vehicles,

becoming the first F1 team to go all electric

in terms of how it moves their things around.

After a pilot during the British Grand Prix a few weeks ago now,

the team is using the Mercedes-Benz E-Actros 600s.

So, Bradley, near Silverstone, actually,

it's very much in that whole kind of Formula One area.

So it's not right outside Silverstone's gates,

that'll be Aston Martin,

but you go down a couple of roundabouts

and then you get to Mercedes-Benz.

And so it's very close to the kind of heart of motorsport.

And that does mean that when the vehicles go back there,

a lot of Formula One is based in the UK.

In fact, all kind of in a very similar area, it's sort of.

And so the cars come back here,

they need to be serviced and a lot of the support stuff

is all freighted around the world,

whether that is air freight or sea freight or whatever.

But a lot of the time,

the vehicles have to either come back

or new parts and things like that.

So especially for the European part of the season,

road transport is used a lot.

And Mercedes-Benz saying that they are now using

the Electric E-Actros 600s.

They moved their W16 race cars from Bradley

to the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.

Not a million miles to go, must admit.

It's a quick hop across the North Sea.

I come from, as many listeners know,

I've mentioned before, I'm a Norfolk boy,

an East Anglian boy.

I grew up in Lowstaff,

which is the most easterly point in the country.

So Ness Point, if you ever want to go

to the most easterly bit of our fine island,

there's not much there from what I remember.

I've been back in a few years, a bird's-eye factory,

making some fish fingers and it's probably about all.

But anyway, and there's not much to see actually,

because the sea where I grew up is pretty brown,

to be honest with you.

It's not like down here on the South Coast,

I'm a bit of a softy and I moved down

to where it's a little bit warmer.

However, from where I am, from where I grew up,

on the most easterly bit of the country,

it's not a long way to get to Zandvoort.

It's across and up a little bit.

And so the cars didn't have to go too far,

but still, fantastic that they did it.

With electric power, the EATROS has a 600 kilowatt hour

LFP pack with zero tailpipe emissions,

of course, 311 miles per charge.

It was 418 miles to get to the racetrack

from their base.

They do 25 minute stops to charge

on megawatt charging system to go 20 to 80.

And the life cycle CO2 emissions are reduced by 80%

compared to diesel trucks.

Fewer charging stops and fast top-ups reduced downtime

in Formula One logistics.

Daimler Truck UK is working with the team

to show them how battery electric logistics supports

their long-haul operations.

Long time listeners of the podcast know,

and hello if you're new to the show, by the way,

that I'm a huge Formula One fan,

worked for many years in Formula One

during the Formula One podcast.

And so people say, but maybe you love EVs.

I don't know, I know, but

we haven't got to stop burning everything, have we?

If we can do 99% of all journeys on electric,

and then we, I don't know, have some motor racing,

is that really a problem?

I don't know.

I'm not too evangelical about doing every last,

every last drop of combustion.

And so fascinating to tie those two little passions

of mine together.

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,

and Octopus Electroverse.

Global Public Charging made simple

with one app and one map.

Have a good and cinema,

and remember, there's no such thing

as a self-charging hybrid.

Forget the pressure to overhaul your life.

The new year doesn't need a new you,

it needs you, grounded, supported, and ready to grow.

Grow Therapy helps you make meaningful change

at your pace and on your time.

Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th,

Grow makes it easier to find a therapist

who fits you, not the other way around.

They connect you with thousands

of independent licensed therapists across the US,

offering both virtual and in-person sessions,

nights and weekends.

You can search by what matters,

like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability

to get started in as little as two days.

And if something comes up,

you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost.

There are no subscriptions

and no long-term commitments.

You just pay per session.

Grow helps you find therapy on your time.

Whatever challenges you're facing,

Grow Therapy is here to help.

Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans,

including Medicaid in some states.

Sessions average about $21 with insurance

and some pay as little as $0

depending on their plan.

Visit growtherapy.com slash get started today

to get started.

That's growtherapy.com slash get started.

Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

New Year, same extra value meals at McDonald's.

Now get a savory sausage McMuffin with egg,

plus hash browns and a small coffee for just $5.

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Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska,

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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.

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Tesla Still Struggling In Europe, FSD Rollout Down Under and MG4’s Semi Solid State Battery | 01 Sep 2025

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