America's Losing Its EV Edge. Here's Why Europe Has To Race Ahead

BMW will unveil the iX3, which, despite sounding like another electric version of an existing car, feels more like something from Rivian or Tesla than what it’s released so far.

The iX3 has 400 miles of range, bidirectional charging, a zonal architecture and up to 230 miles of range in 10 minutes of fast-charging. (Check out my write-up and video tour at InsideEVs.)

Mercedes-Benz is expected to debut a direct electric competitor, likely called the 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology, that also has next-generation range, charging and software.

Polestar will unveil the Polestar 5, a high-tech electric sport sedan that could rival the best at both performance and charging—a potential Porsche Taycan competitor.

Renault will debut a new electric compact car, possibly the new Clio, which is a top-seller in gas form.

Audi will show off a TT- and R8-inspired two-seater that probably previews an electric sports car it’ll develop alongside Porsche. (This design has been controversial, but I like it.)

But I’d argue the biggest stuff is coming from Volkswagen: two new, affordable small EVs, the ID. Polo and ID. Cross. I’m also hoping to learn more about the VW ID. Every1, which should cost below $22,000 and has software and electrical architecture co-developed with Rivian.

Ford, General Motors and Hyundai all reported record-high or outstanding EV sales in August. Customers are racing to get deals before the federal EV tax credit expires on Sept. 30.

Take Ford’s Mustang Mach-E: it’s been on sale for five years, but just had its best sales month ever in August. That’s a rare thing for an older model.

But everyone’s bracing for slower sales when the tax credit ends. “There’s no doubt,” said GM exec Duncan Aldred, “And it may take several months for the market to normalize. We will almost certainly see a smaller EV market for a while, and we won’t overproduce."

And even though the revived Chevrolet Bolt could be a winner regardless of tax credits if it comes in around $30,000, GM will only produce it on one shift, not two.

Translation: don’t expect GM to make too many EVs it can’t sell, then try and move them at a massive loss.

Cadillac will also cut output of two electric crossovers—the Lyriq and Vistiq.

Volkswagen is even “reducing production” of the ID.4 electric crossover to “align with market demand.” The car is made in Chattanooga, and 160 workers are being furloughed.

America’s car dealers, who never wanted to bother with EVs anyway, now have “a record level of pessimism” about their future.

One “bright spot” for Ford lately, according to CNBC: its big, gas-powered Expedition.

The whiplash in America is unlike anything I’ve seen since perhaps the pandemic brought the global car industry to a halt, though it’s a completely different scenario.

The loss of tax credits isn’t just the driver behind these EV pullbacks. It’s also the loss of any real fuel economy regulations, which, under the Biden administration, were driving a more electric car market.

It takes years to build up supply chains to make EVs profitably. So far, only Tesla and a handful of Chinese automakers have pulled that off. Give any automaker a chance to retreat, and apparently, they’ll take it.

But we cannot ignore the impact of tariffs on this situation. Car companies are taking multibillion-dollar cost hits right now. If scaling back unprofitable EVs is a way to save cash, it’s almost a no-brainer.

Europe is playing an entirely different ball game, however. (Soccer, I guess?)

European Union regulators are still pushing for all new cars and vans to be zero-emission by 2035.

That’s a highly controversial policy and the industry is aggressively pushing back, but for now, it’s got no choice but to meet those goals.

Plus, Europe’s automakers have China’s newcomers quickly stealing market share on their home turf. Everybody’s gangster until BYD comes knocking on your door.

Gas cars for America, EVs for everywhere else: is this our future?

On a long enough timeline, no. I still believe a convergence between electrification and autonomy is taking place, and over time, EVs will win out.

But it’s truly striking how many automakers apparently depended on government support for their strategies, even when they insisted they didn’t.

Deep down, however, it’s not a situation most companies like. They’d rather sell the same stuff everywhere than spend money and capital to be so stratified.

As I mentioned, Europe’s automakers have no choice but to evolve, thanks to regulations and competition. But both are driving serious innovation.

We’re stuck with the gas-guzzling Expedition, while European buyers are getting some really high-spec zero-emission options.

But a lot of Americans have bought new EVs in recent years. Many more bought used ones. They aren’t going back to gas. They will demand more as time goes on.

When that day comes, half-measures, middling products and compliance cars won’t cut it.

As you’ll read below, it feels like every day some American city gets an autonomous taxi service—usually Waymo, but increasingly, others too.

Can Slate Auto’s bare-bones EV truck still come to market at its planned mid-$20,000s price tag, or will Ford’s $30,000 truck be the bigger threat? At InsideEVs, Kevin Williams breaks it down.

This related Slate story raises big questions about how much state EV tax incentives can pick up the slack as the federal ones go away.

And if you need some levity this morning: Can EVs get ticketed for being too loud? Apparently so. [The Drive]

This is very exciting: Porsche is claiming to become the first automaker to make wireless EV charging available to customers. Here’s how it works. [InsideEVs]

Are we stuck in charging adapter hell in America, as tons of cars use the CCS plug type while the country gradually moves to Tesla’s NACS standard? Maybe. GM has a whole table to help you figure it out. [General Motors]

Startup DeCharge lets individuals and small businesses install its EV chargers almost anywhere, then set their own prices and benefit from real-time payments. [The Cool Down]

The UK’s largest energy supplier, Octopus Energy, is launching its own home EV charger. The company is known in that country for driving down energy costs with renewable energy. [The Verge]

Texas’s Austin Energy is expanding its smart home charging program to include GM’s EVs. The program can temporarily pause or reduce charging speed on a participant’s EV during moments of high demand. [Austin Energy]

The Trump administration may be forced to unleash federal EV charging money, but a new policy may actually favor gas stations instead. [Politico]

Blink Charging, one of the bigger fast-charging giants, now takes crypto payments. [TheStreet]

Here’s an unexpected driving force for expanding charging access: the U.S. military. [Stars and Stripes]

Tesla’s Robotaxi app is now open to everyone and on Apple’s App Store. It’s available in Austin, and service in San Francisco is coming soon. [MotorTrend]

This, even amid its legal woes. Tesla seeks to vacate a $243 million judgment after it was found partly liable for a fatal crash involving Autopilot. The case raises many questions about the nature of liability in autonomous vehicle crashes. [CNBC]

Waymo will soon operate at Silicon Valley’s home airport: José Mineta International Airport (SJC). It’s the second airport in America, and the first in California, to get the driverless service. [San Francisco Standard]

Waymo is also coming to Seattle and Denver soon, it announced this week. These cities will also get a driverless van from Chinese automaker Zeekr. [TechCrunch]

Newcomer Avride’s self-driving Hyundai Ioniq 5s are coming to Dallas next. It’s currently testing dozens of AVs throughout Austin, after deploying autonomous delivery robots there too. [Avride]

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Thursday that it will release new rules next year revising its outdated vehicle safety rules, including eased restrictions on autonomous vehicles. [Bloomberg]

Three startups, Overland AI, Forterra and Scout AI, have secured contracts to test self-driving ground vehicles for the U.S. Army. [Defense News]

You’ve no doubt heard of software-defined vehicles. But what about AI-defined vehicles? [Just Auto]

San Jose and Lakewood, Colorado are testing AI-powered traffic vision sensors to detect pedestrians at night and alert motorists in low-vision conditions. [Automotive Dive]

The automotive AI market is expected to double in value to $38.45 billion by 2030, especially with regard to computer vision tech. [Research & Markets]

Qualcomm has big dreams for AI-assisted autonomy in cars, starting with the Snapdragon Ride Automated Driving software stack in the BMW iX3. [Indian Express]