Tag Archives: EVs

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Germany Becomes the World’s Second-Largest EV Producer

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If there was ever any doubt that Germany could pivot from piston to plug, 2025 just erased it. According to fresh numbers from the Automotive Industry Association (VDA), Europe’s manufacturing heavyweight is now the second-largest producer of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids on Earth, trailing only China. And it didn’t get there by inching forward—it got there by flooring the accelerator.

Last year, German factories built 1.22 million EVs and PHEVs, a national record and a 15-percent jump over 2024. That surge mirrors what’s happening across Europe, where EV sales climbed nearly 30 percent to about 2.6 million vehicles. In other words, this isn’t a niche wave anymore—it’s the new tide.

Still, China remains the colossus in the room. With 16.1 million new-energy vehicles rolling out annually—including battery EVs, plug-in hybrids, range extenders, and hydrogen models—it’s operating on a scale that makes the rest of the world look like a regional supplier. But Germany’s rise to second place is no small feat, especially for a country whose identity has been built around mechanical precision and internal-combustion dominance for more than a century.

What makes the shift more impressive is that it’s happening without a collapse in overall production. German plants built 4.15 million passenger cars last year, a 2-percent increase over 2024. The real story, though, is what those cars are. Nearly 30 percent were fully electric, and when you add plug-in hybrids, about 40 percent of everything built in Germany now has a charging port. That’s not a transition—that’s a transformation.

At the brand level, Volkswagen continues to own the European EV conversation. In 2025, VW sold almost 275,000 electric vehicles, a 56-percent year-over-year increase that underscores how aggressively the group is pushing into the battery era. Tesla, meanwhile, had a rougher year on this side of the Atlantic, with European sales down 27 percent to 238,765 vehicles. The Model Y may still be a familiar sight on Autobahns and boulevards, but the competitive landscape is no longer a one-brand show.

Taken together, the numbers paint a clear picture: Germany isn’t just adapting to electrification—it’s shaping it. With nearly half of its production now electrified and volume growing, the country is positioning itself as Europe’s EV engine room, even as China sets the global pace.

For enthusiasts and industry watchers alike, it’s a strange but fascinating moment. The nation that gave us the Nürburgring and the flat-six is now just as defined by kilowatts and battery packs. And judging by the trajectory, Germany’s electric chapter is only just beginning.

Source: VDA

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Subaru’s Next EV Won’t Be Small—and It Won’t Be Alone

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Subaru is about to get a lot more serious about electric family hauling. After dipping its toe into the EV world with the compact Solterra, the brand is preparing to add something much bigger, bolder, and more suburban-friendly: a three-row electric SUV aimed squarely at the heart of today’s electric crossover boom.

And no, Subaru isn’t developing it from scratch.

Just like the Solterra is essentially a Toyota bZ4X in hiking boots, Subaru’s upcoming three-row EV will be a rebadged version of Toyota’s new all-electric Highlander-sized SUV. Toyota and Subaru first confirmed the shared project back in 2023, promising production would begin in 2025. That timeline has slipped, but Subaru of America COO Jeff Walters recently reassured Automotive News that the project is very much alive—and due to hit showrooms later this year.

Subaru is positioning the new EV as a second car for households that already have a garage and a charger. In other words, this isn’t meant to replace your Outback just yet—it’s meant to park next to it. It will slot above the Solterra and alongside Subaru’s other Toyota-derived EVs, the Uncharted and Trailseeker, forming the backbone of Subaru’s still-nascent U.S. electric lineup.

A Highlander in Subaru Clothing

If you’re expecting Subaru to dramatically rework Toyota’s design, don’t. History suggests we’ll see the usual playbook: a unique front and rear fascia, Subaru-specific trim pieces, and some brand-appropriate badges, but otherwise the same vehicle underneath. That’s been the story with the Solterra and Toyota bZ4X, and it’s how the Uncharted borrows heavily from the Toyota C-HR.

That said, Subaru could give this new three-row EV a slightly tougher look. The company has made a habit of leaning into its outdoorsy image when given the chance, and the Uncharted already wears more rugged styling than its Toyota counterpart. Expect plastic cladding, roof rails, and just enough visual muscle to convince buyers this thing might actually see a gravel road.

Underneath, though, it will be Toyota’s SUV through and through.

Toyota Finally Enters the Big-EV Fight

Toyota’s new three-row electric SUV is expected to closely follow the bZ Large concept it previewed a few years ago. If that show car was any indication, the production version will look like a stretched and slightly bulked-up version of the current Toyota bZ, with a clean, futuristic design and the proportions needed to challenge the big dogs of the segment.

And it needs to. The electric three-row SUV market is no longer empty. The Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9 have already planted their flags, offering real space, real range, and real family-friendly features. Toyota’s entry—along with Subaru’s clone—finally gives the Japanese brands something to fight back with.

A Lexus Version Is Probably Coming Too

Toyota won’t be the only one spinning this platform into something new. Reports suggest Lexus is also preparing a premium version of the same electric three-row SUV, likely called the TZ. It would serve as the electric counterpart to the gas-powered Lexus TX, further spreading Toyota’s EV architecture across multiple brands.

So from one electric SUV platform, Toyota will get a mainstream family hauler, Subaru will get a ruggedized version, and Lexus will get a luxury one. That’s modern automotive efficiency at work.

For Subaru, this three-row EV could be a turning point. The Solterra has struggled to stand out, but a practical, family-sized electric SUV—especially one that doesn’t cost luxury-car money—could be exactly what the brand needs to finally gain traction in the EV space.

And if nothing else, it proves one thing: Subaru’s electric future will be built not alone, but side-by-side with Toyota.

Source: Subaru

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Volvo’s Next EV Platform Might Finally Kill the “Electric SUV” Look

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For a company that once made its reputation on long-roof wagons and dignified, low-slung sedans, Volvo’s current showroom looks suspiciously like a luxury crossover dealership. Five of its six model lines are SUVs, and even the one that pretends not to be—the ES90 electric “sedan”—sits so tall it could borrow ground clearance from a Subaru Outback.

But that might finally be about to change.

Volvo’s new SPA3 electric platform, debuting under the upcoming EX60, has been engineered to do something no modern Volvo EV platform could do before: build a genuinely low car. And not “low for an EV,” but low like a proper S60 or V90—roofline, seating position, and all.

In other words, the age of Volvo’s electric baby SUVs might be coming to an end.

The Real Problem with Today’s EVs

The reason so many electric sedans look like lifted hatchbacks isn’t fashion—it’s physics. Most current EV platforms (including Volvo’s SPA2) are adapted from gas-car architectures. That forces the battery pack to live under the entire passenger cabin, which raises the floor, which raises the seats, which raises the roof, which turns everything into a crossover whether you like it or not.

That’s why the ES90 rides roughly eight inches higher than the old S90. The battery is basically a giant slab under the cabin, so everyone has to sit on top of it.

SPA3 fixes that.

Because it was designed as a pure EV platform from day one, Volvo’s engineers were free to move the battery, crash structure, and cabin around like chess pieces. And that changes everything.

Batteries That Don’t Dictate the Car’s Shape

The breakthrough is deceptively simple: SPA3’s battery doesn’t have to live only between the axles.

Volvo moved the front crash structure forward and reshaped it so battery cells can now sit ahead of the firewall, spreading part of the pack under the hood instead of under the rear passengers. That frees up space in the rear footwell, letting the floor drop lower—just like in a gas-powered car.

That’s how cars like the Porsche Taycan and Audi E-tron GT achieve their low seating positions, and now Volvo can do it too.

The result?
Rear passengers no longer sit on a battery pedestal. The roof doesn’t have to be taller. The windows don’t have to be stubby. The car can finally look like a sedan again.

Volvo Can Now Build Anything

According to Volvo CTO Anders Bell, SPA3’s design removes the one thing that has been holding modern EVs hostage: a flat, full-length battery slab.

Instead, battery cells can be added, removed, or repositioned depending on whether the car needs to be tall, low, wide, or sleek. Even the scuttle height—the base of the windshield—can be raised or lowered.

Volvo can build SUVs, wagons, sedans, MPVs, and sleek low-riders on the same bones.

And Bell didn’t hide what that really means.

“We can do low. We can do sleek. We can do high. We can do MPVs… It’s all in the cookbook.”

That’s engineer-speak for: we’re no longer trapped in SUV land.

The Return of the Electric S60 and V90?

Volvo won’t officially confirm an electric S60 or V90 yet, but the implications are obvious. SPA3 could easily support a low-slung sedan sibling to the EX60—effectively an electric S60 in everything but name.

And that matters.

BMW is working on a new i3. Mercedes has a C-Class EV coming. Audi is preparing the A4 E-tron. If Volvo wants to be taken seriously as a premium EV brand, it needs something that isn’t shaped like a refrigerator on stilts.

SPA3 finally gives Volvo the hardware to do it.

The Most Important Volvo Platform in a Generation

For the last decade, Volvo has followed the market into SUVs. SPA3 gives it a way back out.

It’s not just a new EV platform—it’s a reset button for what a Volvo can be. If demand exists, Volvo can now build cars that sit low, look elegant, and drive like real sedans and wagons again.

And for anyone who misses the days of S60s and V90s carving through traffic instead of towering over it, that might be the most exciting thing Volvo has done in years.

Source: Volvo