Everything that happened in EVs on 24 September 2026

Saudi Arabia’s Ceer is making a bold entrance with the 817 kW Exobot luxury sedan and SUV, complete with three motors, steer-by-wire and huge gullwing doors. Hyundai, meanwhile, is considering a Tucson N performance hybrid with up to 261 kW, all-wheel drive and adaptive suspension, although it has not yet been confirmed.

Volkswagen’s affordable ID. Polo has won its category in the 2026 German Car of the Year awards and is set to start at €24,995. However, the base Trend version may not reach customers before 2028, with pricier variants expected sooner. VW is also increasing EV production in Emden and Zwickau, while its China comeback plan calls for around 50 electrified models by 2030.

Nissan is targeting the lower end of Europe’s EV market with the sub-€20,000 Pixo, a city car due in early 2027 with Renault Twingo technology, a 27.5 kWh LFP battery and roughly 260 km of range. In China, Buick is already preparing an Electra E7 update only five months after launch, underlining the market’s intense competitive pressure.

Tesla’s battery localization push continues as the Cybertruck uses 4680 cells with lithium refined in Texas. The company has also revised the production Tesla Semi for better speed and efficiency, with improved aerodynamics, a reported 548 kWh battery and more repair-friendly components.

For owners, a software update means Powerwall 2 and Powerwall 3 can now operate together, initially in North America and Australia. Tesla drivers in Germany should also note that Sentry Mode and dashcam recordings remain legally sensitive, particularly when cameras record public spaces continuously or indiscriminately.

Germany may have plenty of charging points on paper, but suitable locations, reliability and utilization are becoming the real bottlenecks. EnBW is addressing the hardware side by introducing 480 kW XCharge C7 fast chargers at several German sites by the end of 2026, though actual speeds will still depend on each vehicle.

CATL has started trial production at its new battery plant in Debrecen. Once fully expanded, the Hungarian facility is expected to reach 100 GWh of annual capacity and become the company’s largest factory outside China.

Chinese brands face mixed fortunes in Germany. Nio is set to retain only one company-owned hub, in Munich, as Cologne closes and Weiterstadt is expected to follow. Separately, the China-only AUDI E5 Sportback and E7X have vanished from a German parallel importer’s listings after Audi took legal action.