EV news Round-up: July 2024

Also, new EU tariffs could grind Chinese EV expansion to a halt and Hyundai hints at an ultra-affordable EV.

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Ferrari CEO hints at an Electric supercar sporting the iconic stallion in 2025

"The first electric Ferrari will be rooted in our racing heritage and will draw from a broader technical reservoir while preserving all its authenticity and consistency" says Ferrari's CEO Benedetto Vigna as he confirms the Itallian car maker's plans to build an all electric super car.

Specs and photos have yet to be revealed however we do know that Ferrari promises that its all-electric offering will share the same unique driving experience with its combustion engine counterparts and will be built in their new Marenello factory that's under construction for the sole purpose of making electric motors, battery packs and power inverters.

This comes as Ferrari moves closer to its goal of becoming a carbon-neutral company by 2030, having first ventured into the world of electrification in 2009 when it adopted the Kinetic Energy Recovery system in its F1 cars.

Easee wins Auto Trader's best home EV charger

The Easee One is Auto Trader's home EV charger of the year for 2024 beating both Tesla and MyEnergi.

Judges of the award stated that Easee's offering of a product that combines both affordability and reliability was the prime reason for winning the award.

Europe considers imposing tariffs on Chinese made EVs

The EU announces that it will be considering imposing tariffs of up to 38.1 per cent on electric vehicles built in China over fears that China's state subsidiaries on domestic battery electric vehicle production will hurt the EU's auto industry.

The European Commission has given Chinese Authorities until the 4th of July to come up with ways to resolve the issue. Companies that were notably targeted by the Commission were BYD with a 17 per cent tariff increase, Geely (which owns Volvo and Polestar) at 20 per cent and SaiC (the Chinese state-run manufacturer that owns MG) at the full 38.1 per cent. This is all on top of the 10 per cent duty import that the EU already has in place.

This follows not long after the US imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese-imported cars, effectively banning Chinese-made EVs from the country.

One of the ways Chinese automakers can avoid Europe's tariffs however is by building their cars in the EU, a tactic BYD is exploring with their manufacturing plant in Hungary that's currently under construction.

What are your thoughts on Chinese-made EVs? Do you have one yourself? If so, do you like it? Let us know here!

Fiat electrifies the Panda and gives it a radical new look in the process

Inspired by its first SUV, the Panda 4x4, Fiat reveals the Panda Grande. In keeping with 1980s car styling, the new Panda Grande features bold anglier lines whilst adding modern twists that give the car a quirky appearance, such as the dot matrix headlights that aren't dissimilar from Hyundai's cars. 

Not much is known so far about the specs however we do know that the car will be built on Stellantis new multi-energy Smart Car Platform meaning that it will have both electric and hybrid powertrain options whilst offering good value for money.

The new Panda Grande is rumoured to go on sale around the end of the year with prices expected to be in the same ballpark as the Citreon e-C3 (£22,000), which shares the same Smart Car Platform.

Audi revamps the e-tron GT

Audi pulls the covers off their newly refreshed e-tron GT line and while it doesn't look like much has changed looks wise, Audi has assured us that that the new cars make up for it on internal improvements. The model range has mostly stayed the same with buyers still being able to buy the S e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT. The star of the show however is the new RS e-tron GT Performance, which packs a whopping 925hp and a 0-62 speed of 2.5 seconds.

To further help with the e-tron GT's performance, the whole model range has been fitted with a new 105kWh battery which is 9kg lighter than its predecessor and allows the car to travel up to 375 miles on a single charge.
Charging has been improved too, with the new onboard charger being able to take rapid charge at a rate of up to 320kW which can provide a 10 to 80 per cent charge in less than 20 minutes.

UK prices have yet to be confirmed however we can expect that you will need deep pockets, especially if you're eyeing up the RS Performance model.

Hyundai teases EV aimed at the budget-conscious

This is the silhouette of the Inster, a budget-conscious small electric hatchback based on the Korean exclusive Casper.

Set to debut at the Busan International Mobility Show in late June, the Inster will have a range of 220 miles and is likely to be priced competitively with other budget-conscious EVs such as the sub £22,000 Citroen e-C3 and the sub £16,000 Dacia Spring.

From the picture above, you can see that the Inster will share the same pixel styling elements with Hyundai's latest EVs such as the Ioniq 5 and new Hyundai Kona electric.

Could this be a sign that more affordable EVs are on the way? Only time will tell!

Volkswagen builds ID.7 that goes from 0-62mph in less than 6 seconds

VW adds the performance-focused GTX badging to the ID.7 fastback (saloon) and ID.7 Tourer (estate) and with it comes a plethora of exclusive features.

Let's start with motor output. Both GTX models get a dual motor setup that outputs a whopping  340 horsepower making the GTX fastback the most powerful EV in VW's lineup and the GTX Tourer the most powerful estate in the brand's entire lineup. All that horsepower enables the GTX fastback to go from 0-62mph in just 5.4 seconds (a 0-62mph speed has yet to be announced for the tourer).

Other exclusivities that GTX customers get are 20-inch Skagen alloy wheels, IQ LIGHT LED matrix headlights with illuminated VW logo at the front and rear, red stitching in the interior with GTX branding on the backrests and a red centre console.

Pricing has yet to be announced.