Tag Archives: Charging

News

IONNA Hits the California Freeway: A New Wave of EV Charging Arrives

California has long been the proving ground for America’s electric-vehicle ambitions. This week, it became the launchpad for the country’s newest fast-charging heavyweight. IONNA—the joint venture stitching together multiple automakers into a unified, public charging network—just wrapped a week-long kickoff tour across the Golden State, unveiling its first wave of Rechargery stations and announcing a quarter-billion-dollar investment over the next three years.

That’s not pocket change, even in Silicon Valley terms.

A Thousand Bays and Counting

The IONNA caravan stopped in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, and Westminster for ribbon cuttings, representing only a sliver of what’s coming. Over 1,000 charging bays are already contracted in California, and more than 4,000 nationwide. The company says the real shift begins now: moving from construction to actually switching on the hardware, with over 1,100 bays in the U.S. entering the final stages before going live.

Chief Executive Officer Seth Cutler calls the pace “IONNA Speed,” though the term isn’t just about rapid deployment. “It’s how we deliver,” Cutler says, repeating the company’s mantra of driver-first charging—a philosophy increasingly necessary as more EV owners navigate fragmented, inconsistent infrastructure.

Charging That Works—A Novel Concept

Coverage matters, but in the real world, reliability is the currency EV drivers care about. IONNA’s first flagship location—the Westminster Rechargery Beacon—sets the tone for what the brand wants to be: clean, high-capacity stations with a deliberate emphasis on usability. The network is also rolling out a California EV Education Program, tapping ambassadors to partner with dealerships and local EV groups. The goal is to catch the “EV-curious” before analysis paralysis (or charging anxiety) takes hold.

Consider it test-driving the test drive.

After each opening, IONNA staff will host events on site—part tutorial, part meet-up, part customer-conversion exercise. If you’re going to sell drivers on an all-electric future, giving them a place to kick the tires—figuratively speaking—makes sense.

Plug & Charge: No Apps, No Fuss

One of the most tangible improvements IONNA brings is its aggressive rollout of Plug & Charge capability, the holy grail of EV user experience: plug in, the charger recognizes your car, billing happens automatically. No phone-fishing, no card readers frozen in the rain.

Five of IONNA’s eight founding automakers already support Plug & Charge—BMW, GM, Hyundai, Kia, and Mercedes—with Honda, Stellantis, and Toyota on deck by 2026. And in a notable expansion, Rivian and Ford EVs can now use IONNA’s stations with full Plug & Charge integration, slotting Ford’s vehicles comfortably alongside its sprawling BlueOval network.

If IONNA wants to be the EV equivalent of the gas station on the corner, this kind of interoperability is non-negotiable.

The Lifestyle Era of Charging

Because no modern mobility brand is complete without merch, IONNA teased its first official swag drop—retro-styled, region-flavored apparel and accessories—available via a limited release. It’s a soft launch ahead of a full-fledged merchandise store coming later, proof that the company wants drivers to feel not just charged, but represented.

Think “I survived the 405” energy, but make it electric.

The Big Picture

For a network that didn’t exist a year ago, IONNA’s acceleration is impressive. But scale alone won’t determine whether it becomes a national staple or another well-funded experiment. EV drivers want stations that work, every time, with as little friction as possible.

If IONNA can deliver that—reliably, consistently, and without the dead-charger roulette that plagues far too many networks—it won’t just be riding the California wave. It’ll be shaping it.

Source: Honda

News

Lotus Emeya Proves EVs Can Refuel Faster Than You Can Order a Coffee

If you still think charging an EV is an exercise in patience, Lotus just handed you a stopwatch and told you to try again. The brand’s first electric hyper-GT, the 2026 Lotus Emeya, has officially smashed a critical real-world benchmark: fast-charging from 10 to 80 percent in just 13 minutes and 35 seconds.

And no—this wasn’t done in a climate-controlled lab at 3 a.m. with the HVAC off. The run happened in the scorching heat of Kuwait, under independent supervision by Lotus Al Ghanim, the marque’s local distributor. In other words, this is a record achieved where batteries typically beg for mercy.

A New Number to Beat: 443 kW

Hooked up to Lotus’s own 450-kW ultra-fast DC charger, the Emeya peaked at an eyebrow-raising 443 kW. That places it squarely in hyper-charging territory, a place currently occupied by only a handful of ultra-modern EVs.

Lotus targeted the most realistic and widely used charging window—10 to 80 percent—because that’s how actual EV drivers top up on the go. And in this window, the Emeya didn’t just perform; it redefined what’s possible on today’s public grid.

How Lotus Pulled Off the Lightning Pit Stop

This isn’t magic. It’s engineering—very modern engineering.

1. 800-Volt Architecture

Like the Eletra SUV, the Emeya rides on an 800V electrical system. That high-voltage backbone dramatically reduces electrical resistance, allowing the car to swallow electrons at extreme rates without overheating or wasting energy.

2. Cell-to-Pack Battery Structure

The battery uses a cell-to-pack (CTP) layout, letting Lotus cram roughly 20 percent more cells into the same physical footprint compared to older modular packs. The result: more energy, less mass, and better thermal uniformity.

3. Next-Gen Thermal Management

Fast charging is as much about cooling as it is about power delivery. Lotus says the Emeya uses a new cooling architecture designed to keep the pack’s temperature in the Goldilocks zone—whether you’re cruising or dumping half a megawatt into it.

Together, these systems unlock one truly eyebrow-lifting stat: 310 km of range added in 10 minutes (WLTC). With efficiency rated at 18.7 kWh/100 km, the Emeya can travel up to 610 km WLTP on a full charge.

An Ecosystem to Match the Hardware

Charging performance is only half the story. Lotus has built an integrated EV ecosystem spanning the Lotus Cars app and its in-car system, HyperOS. It uses smart routing to locate and recommend chargers based on real-time battery status, not just map pins.

Think of it as a co-pilot that actually understands how EV road trips work: less anxiety, less wasted time, and more predictable travel.

Lotus Wants to Build the Infrastructure It Needs

The British brand isn’t waiting for the world to catch up. Lotus has already begun rolling out its own 450-kW chargers across Europe, starting in Germany, with more markets coming online. The company’s message is clear:
Battery technology is ready. What we need now is charging infrastructure that can keep up.

The Big Picture

The Emeya’s record sets a new bar for EV long-distance usability. We’re officially entering an era where charging an electric grand tourer may soon take less time than stretching your legs—or checking your messages.

The future of fast charging is here, and it wears a Lotus badge.

Source: Lotus

News

Charged for Charging: The EV Tax That Could Stall the Revolution

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. The Government’s finally realised that as Britain’s roads fill with silent, battery-powered chariots, the Treasury’s piggy bank is sounding suspiciously empty. No petrol, no diesel, no fuel duty. And so, in a move that feels equal parts inevitable and ill-timed, ministers are sharpening their pencils and scribbling a new entry into your motoring expenses: a 3p-per-mile tax on electric vehicles.

Yes, you read that right. The same EVs we’ve been urged to buy to save the planet are now getting their own version of the fuel duty sting. Because apparently, saving the world doesn’t exempt you from paying for it.

According to The Telegraph, BBC, and Financial Times, this new “VED-plus” charge is pencilled in for 2028, pending a consultation. It’ll sit neatly beside the £195 annual Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) that EV owners will already be paying by then. Do the maths: if you cover 8,000 miles a year in your whisper-quiet hatchback, that’s about £435 a year in road charges. Congratulations — you’ve just electrified your fuel bill.

The Treasury reckons it could raise a tidy £1.8 billion a year by the early 2030s — which, funnily enough, is just about what’s missing from the government’s revenue as more drivers swap petrol pumps for plug sockets.

The Industry’s Response: “Are You Mad?”

Predictably, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) isn’t impressed. They’ve called the proposed move “entirely the wrong measure at the wrong time.” Their argument? It’ll scare off would-be EV buyers just when the UK needs them most to meet its zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate targets.

They’ve got a point. EV adoption is still fragile — 1.3 million electric cars on the road sounds impressive until you remember there are roughly 33 million cars in the UK. The market’s barely out of nappies, and now the government wants to tax the baby formula.

SMMT chief exec Mike Hawes (and the entire automotive industry, quietly) is basically shouting: “Don’t tax what you’re trying to sell.” Introducing a complex, costly new tax system before the EV transition has fully taken root risks sending buyers straight back to petrol forecourts — and investors straight to Germany or the US.

Enforcement: The Mileage Guessing Game

The plan, as reported, is for EV drivers to estimate their annual mileage when paying VED. If you drive more than you guessed, you pay extra. Drive less? You get credit next year.

So… honesty boxes for motorists, then. That’s going to end well.

No one seems to know how the government plans to verify mileage. Annual MOT readings? Mandatory tracking apps? A charming HMRC inspector checking your odometer over tea? The details are as fuzzy as a first-generation reversing camera.

The AA and Industry Voices: Proceed With Caution

Even the AA’s usually diplomatic president, Edmund King, has urged the government to “tread carefully.” Meanwhile, James Court from Octopus Electric Vehicles called the idea “self-defeating,” warning that “now would be far too soon.”

And they’re right — the EV market is growing, but it’s not yet robust enough to shrug off this kind of hit. Buyers are already wary of high upfront costs, patchy charging infrastructure, and residual value anxiety. Add a pay-per-mile tax on top and you’ve got a recipe for range anxiety of the fiscal variety.

Let’s be clear: road taxation does need reform. EVs shouldn’t be permanently tax-free; roads don’t repair themselves. But this feels like a knee-jerk policy dressed up as fairness. Instead of a smart, progressive system based on emissions, efficiency, or actual road wear, we’re getting a glorified electricity meter strapped to your number plate.

If the government really wants to plug its revenue gap without short-circuiting the EV revolution, it needs to work with the industry — not against it. Create a clear, fair, and future-proof system that doesn’t punish early adopters for doing the right thing.

Because right now, the message from Westminster seems to be: “Thanks for going green. That’ll be £435, please.”

Source: SMMT