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Plus, stay tuned because later in the show I’ll tell you where Tesla just lit up their second true V4 Supercharger.
On EV News China today we’re talking about: BMW iX1, BYD Yangwang 1000km Range and China Denies Tesla FSD
LUCID BETS ITS FUTURE ON $50,000 SUV
Lucid Motors has built the first prototype of a new midsize SUV at its Arizona plant, aimed squarely at the $50,000 bracket. That puts the crossover about $20,000 below the current entry-level Air sedan, with production due to start in late 2026.
The car matters more than its price. Lucid casts this SUV as the core of its move into higher-volume segments and autonomous services, while it tries to halt steep losses. The firm reported a net loss of $978.4 million in the third quarter, but its shares rose after its main backer, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, confirmed ongoing financial support.
The new model will follow the design principles of Lucid’s existing range: space, efficiency, dynamics and long range. Yet the firm now stresses manufacturability and cost efficiency, a shift from its earlier, more rarefied offerings. Production is confirmed for Lucid’s Saudi Arabia plant; it is still unclear whether the Arizona site will build the car as well.
A new midsize platform will underpin the crossover and spawn three future SUVs, including one with an off-road tilt. All will use Nvidia’s DRIVE AGX Thor computing platform, which Lucid targets at Level 4 autonomous capability and potential robotaxi use. A teaser image shows a low-slung shape akin to the Gravity SUV, with more details due soon.
Lucid plans to unveil its third EV model around mid-2026, and may tie that to an investor day on March 12 to set out its strategy. In a break from past launches, it will skip reservations and open order books as soon as the car goes public.
COURT REBUKES TRUMP-ERA EV CHARGER FUNDING FREEZE
A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration broke the law when it halted funding for America’s public electric-vehicle charging network. The decision restores money under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, a $5 billion pillar of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
U.S. District Judge Tana Lin sided with 20 states and the District of Columbia, which sued after the Department of Transportation (DOT) suspended the scheme in February. She held that the DOT and the Federal Highway Administration flouted administrative law when they froze the programme and tried to treat the funding pause as a mere temporary measure. The statute, she said, does not allow such stops and starts.
The ruling matters for two reasons. It locks in federal backing for state-led build-out of fast-charging corridors. And it constrains a White House that has made no secret of its preference for petrol cars over EVs and its wish to pare back EV incentives.
Judge Lin’s order permanently bars the DOT from withdrawing funds or cancelling previously approved state plans. That gives fresh certainty to states such as California, Colorado and Washington, which sued in May alleging wrongful withholding of funds. Environmental groups including the Sierra Club hailed the judgment as vital to keep state-funded infrastructure projects on track. Washington State’s attorney-general’s office called it a victory both for the rule of law and for clean-energy investment.
Yet the funding fight is not over. Legislation pending in the Senate would divert $879 million from NEVI’s EV charging budget to other infrastructure works. The court has blocked the administration from shutting the programme down by stealth. Congress may still shrink it in plain sight.
JAGUAR FLIRTS WITH HYBRIDS AS EV BET WOBBLES
Jaguar says it is all-in on battery power. Yet the firm is reportedly exploring a petrol-electric hybrid built around a range-extender electric vehicle (EREV) layout.
In this set-up a small petrol engine works only as a generator for the battery. Electric motors still drive the wheels. Backers say this stretches real-world range without full reliance on public chargers. For a brand moving upmarket, the promise of long distance and quiet running is tempting.
The interest in EREVs follows a rough spell. Jaguar’s push for an electric-only future has drawn public backlash. A cyberattack and management churn have added to the strain.
The first test comes this summer. Jaguar plans to unveil its first new electric model, a grand tourer priced between £120,000 and £140,000, fresh from cold-weather trials and targeting about 400 miles of range. A range-extender option could beat that figure in real use while still offering an essentially electric driving experience.
EREVs have gained ground in China, where some models claim more than 600 miles of range. However early adopters of the technology such as Li Auto have suffered as pure BEV technology improves.
FORD LINES UP 2026 ELECTRIC SEMI TRUCK FOR EUROPE
Ford plans to put a battery-powered semi on Western European roads in summer 2026.
The truck targets regional distribution, urban logistics and municipal work, where routes are predictable and stops frequent. It will come in 4×2 and 6×2 layouts, both rated at 26 tonnes and able to tow trailers of up to 10 tonnes.
The F-Line E uses up to four modular 98 kWh nickel manganese cobalt battery packs from ZF, for a total capacity of 392 kWh.
Charging is brisk by truck standards. The 6×2 version supports DC fast charging at up to 285 kW, with the 4×2 model charging at over 200 kW. Ford says both can go from 20% to 80% in about 45 minutes, short enough to fit into standard rest breaks on regional routes.
Ford has tuned the F-Line E for body-builder use. An electric power take-off allows zero-emission operation of auxiliary equipment, while air suspension on the rear axle should help ride and load handling.
CHERY EYES JLR PLANT AS BRITAIN COURTS CHINESE CAPITAL
Chery may soon build cars with its own badge at a Jaguar Land Rover plant in Britain, according to three sources cited by the Financial Times. Talks are due to move forward during Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing next week, the first by a British prime minister to China in eight years.
The government wants Chery manufacturing in Britain, Business Secretary Peter Kyle has said, arguing that partnerships make sense where plants have spare capacity.
High energy and labour costs remain the main block to local production, though Omoda executives have not ruled out building a brand new British plant. Manufacturing partnerships between global automakers and Chinese rivals are still rare outside China; Changan-Mazda is an exception. Yet European tie-ups are likely to grow as local firms wrestle with weak demand and rising costs.
Chery comes with momentum. Its Omoda and Jaecoo marques were the fastest-growing Chinese brands in Britain in 2025, prompting the launch of the Chery brand there over the summer.
Starmer’s trip signals a wider thaw as Britain navigates a volatile America and NATO allies edge closer to Beijing. Canada has shifted to “pragmatic” engagement, cutting duties from 100% to 6.1% on up to 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles a year.
MICHIGAN SUES BIG OIL OVER ALLEGED EV SQUEEZE
Michigan has turned its electric-vehicle growing pains into a legal assault on Big Oil. On Friday the state’s attorney-general, Dana Nessel, filed a 126-page federal antitrust lawsuit against BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell Oil and the American Petroleum Institute.
The state claims the firms ran a decades-long conspiracy to keep fossil fuels dominant in transport and primary energy while blocking electric vehicles from reaching scale. The complaint alleges unlawful collusion to cut innovation and output and to inflate prices in Michigan’s energy and transport markets.
Michigan says oil companies deliberately slowed charger deployment at their own fuel stations and dragged their feet on hybrid and battery technology. It also accuses the industry of bankrolling misinformation about renewables through think-tanks, blogs and sympathetic media, to spread false stories about electric vehicles and clean-power technology. Without this alleged plot, the state argues, electric-vehicle adoption would have scaled years earlier, saving residents and government billions of dollars in energy costs. Instead, it notes, Michigan still suffers some of the highest electricity costs in America.
The Trump administration rolled back stricter fuel-economy rules, moved to cancel federal electric-vehicle-charger funding and scrapped electric-vehicle tax credits on its first day, while filling the cabinet with officials close to the fossil-fuel industry.
RIVIAN PATENTS DATA-DRIVEN GUIDE FOR OFF-ROAD EVS
Rivian has secured a patent for a “virtual off-roading guide” that tells its vehicles how to tackle trails before their drivers do. Filed in September 2022 and published on January 20th 2026 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the system turns past drives into a data set for future ones.
The aim is to help novice off-road drivers avoid trouble and let veterans spend less time tweaking settings. Rivian notes that each trail has quirks. Its guide will draw on data from vehicles that have already completed a given path, then adjust driving parameters and provide on-screen guidance tailored to the next vehicle that attempts it.
After a trail run, the vehicle will upload its trace to an online portal. That storehouse will keep metadata such as vehicle type, condition, modifications, terrain details and driver experience. When a “learning” vehicle nears the same trail, it can request relevant driving data. The portal will then filter and select the most suitable traces based on the learning vehicle’s specifications and the driver’s history.
Drivers will be able to pick drive modes and set their experience level—Beginner, Intermediate or Expert—through a touchscreen. Dashboard messages will serve up trail-specific tips, including how to deal with particular surfaces. Rivian has not said when customers will see any of this.
TRUMP THREATENS 100% TARIFF ON ALL CANADIAN IMPORTS
Donald Trump now threatens a 100% tariff on all Canadian goods if Ottawa seals its trade deal with China. Eight days earlier he backed the same agreement.
Over 75% of Canadian exports go to the United States. A blanket 100% duty would hit almost every Canadian sector and unsettle cross-border supply chains that already shape North American EV investment. Trump says Canada risks becoming a Chinese “Drop Off Port” for cars bound for America, and predicts “dire” consequences for its economy.
The row stems from Canada’s move to cut tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to 6.1%, from 100%, and to cap annual imports at 49,000 vehicles.
The reversal in Washington is sharper because Trump had praised Canada for the deal in the immediate aftermath, and then welcomed Chinese automakers entering the U.S. market, so long as they built plants in America. Now he signals he will punish Canada if it offers Chinese firms a nearby route into North America instead.
At the World Economic Forum, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney cast the spat as a symptom of the decline of the post-war international order amid rising great-power rivalry.
TESLA’S MEGAPACK CHARGER DRAWS UNION LEGAL FIRE
Tesla’s newest Supercharger outside Stockholm may soon draw more than motorists. Swedish labour unions say the site’s power supply may breach energy-market rules and are pressing regulators, and possibly police, to act.
The station in Arlandastad, opened shortly before Christmas, runs off an on-site Megapack battery rather than a direct grid connection. That design offers resilience against the union blockades that have dogged traditional charging stations in Sweden for nearly two years. But it also poses a sharper question: who may sell or supply electricity, and on what terms.
IF Metall, the metalworkers’ union at the centre of Sweden’s broader dispute with Tesla, has filed a report with the Energy Market Inspectorate. It wants the regulator to assess whether the electricity fed into the Megapack meets the country’s regulatory standards. The local provider for the Megapack has not been disclosed. Peter Lydell, an ombudsman at IF Metall, says that supplying electricity without a permit amounts to illegal trading, which prompted the union’s move.
The Swedish Electricians’ Association noticed electrical cables have been routed from a property roughly 500 metres away to feed the installation. A police report could be filed.
TESLA LIGHTS UP SECOND TRUE 500KW V4 IN UTAH
Tesla has switched on its second true 500kW V4 Supercharger in North America, in Taylorsville, Utah, marking another step towards a next‑generation network in the United States.
Earlier “V4” sites in North America used legacy V3 power cabinets behind taller posts. Taylorsville instead runs new V4 power electronics end‑to‑end. The station has 16 posts, though only eight work for now while Tesla waits on software updates, due by February. That mirrors the staged launch of the first true V4 site in Redwood City, California, which opened in September 2025.
The Taylorsville hub uses Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector and is open to both Tesla cars and approved NACS partners. CCS‑compatible EVs can charge via a NACS‑to‑CCS adapter. New V4 locations, including this one, add central payment kiosks to handle billing, cut hardware on each post and meet local rules.
Pricing keeps an edge for Tesla drivers. Tesla owners in Taylorsville pay between $0.27 and $0.37 per kWh, while non‑Tesla users pay $0.38 to $0.52 per kWh, with rates varying by time of day and vehicle type.
The hardware can now deliver up to 500kW. In Redwood City, Tesla showed a Cybertruck drawing the full 500kW, though only for a short period. For now, the Cybertruck, with its 800‑volt architecture, is the only Tesla model able to use that peak power; the rest of the line‑up stays limited by lower‑voltage systems.
Tesla is already lining up more V4 Superchargers in Texas, Oregon and Tennessee. Taylorsville shows that the firm is now rolling out the full V4 package, not just taller posts hiding outdated grunt.
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