Reengineering the Bolt for a new battery pack wasn't the work of a minute. The cells, modules, and electronics are all different but had to fit in the same size space with the same mounting points as the original. And GM's own LFP factory won't be producing cells until sometime next year. Which means for now, GM is importing LPF cells from CATL in China, paying costly tariffs in the process.
The Tesla Model 3 Standard came out of nowhere, and it mostly flew under the radar at first, considering that everyone's attention was pinned on the Model Y Standard. But now that the dust has settled, the cheapest new Tesla EV is making headlinesand not because of its lack of creature comforts. Starting from $38,630, the most affordable Tesla out there has an EPA-rated driving range of 321 miles on a full charge, which is anything but bad. Here's the thing, though: it just beat that estimate in Edmunds' independent range test, where it drove nearly 6% over the official estimate.
For starters, the Taycan's range increased from a maximum of 246 miles for model year 2024 to more than 300 miles for the current model year. Its peak charging rate also increased from 270 kilowatts to 320 kW, reducing the 10-80% charging time by roughly 3.5 minutes when plugged into a fast enough DC fast charger. Behind the scenes, Porsche made a raft of changes to make all of that possible.
One of the things that was made clear in the Eurocharge 2025 EV road trip that I took part in a few weeks back was just how big an impact speed has on an electric car's range. On the days that required mostly or only highway driving, which means cruising at a constant 80 mph (130 km/h) here in Europe, all eight EVs in the group lost around 40% of their range.
The 2026 Leaf has little jaw-dropping technology, but several features stand out. Unusually, Nissan built in separate AC and DC charging ports. The Leaf includes both wireless and wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay phone mirroring, and Google routing services (on all but the S+ base model). Like a growing number of EVs, via a pair of 120-volt outlets-though only on the highest-end trim-you can power stereos, cooler
Taking a road trip in an EV is no easy feat, as two Tesla alumni found out the hard way. Range is already a significant anxiety for EV owners taking long journeys, and towing a heavy RV can cause an electric vehicle battery to drain even faster. Toby Kraus and Ben Parker, two ex-Tesla employees who each spent five years working at the EV giant, say they have an answer.
