Tag Archives: EVs

News

Why China Is About to Force EVs Back to Normal Steering Wheels

For a hot minute, the yoke steering wheel was the ultimate EV flex. It looked like something lifted from a Le Mans prototype, promised better gauge visibility, and told the world you’d finally escaped the tyranny of the circle. But in China—the world’s biggest car market—that experiment is about to end.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has published a draft of a new national safety standard, GB 11557-202X, that quietly but effectively bans steering wheels with a “cut-off” top. When it takes effect on January 1, 2027, every newly approved vehicle will need to comply. And that’s bad news for yokes.

Why China Is Cracking Down

On paper, the regulation is about crash safety, not design. The existing rulebook, written back in 2011, simply isn’t up to the job anymore. EVs are heavier, faster, and packed with new structures and airbag systems that didn’t exist a decade ago. So MIIT decided to rewrite the playbook—and it took inspiration from global standards like UN Regulation R12, which governs how steering systems behave in a crash.

The new Chinese rules tighten several key limits. The maximum horizontal force measured during dummy testing is reduced to 11,110 newtons, and the allowed rearward and upward movement of the steering column in a crash is more strictly capped. Even more important: every car, no matter what clever design it uses, must now pass full human-impact testing. No more exemptions.

And that’s where the yoke runs head-first into a wall.

A Shape That Can’t Be Tested

Under the new standard, regulators must hit the steering wheel rim in ten different locations during crash tests. Among them are two killers for yoke designs: “the middle of the weakest part” and “the middle of the shortest unsupported part.” A steering wheel that doesn’t have a top section physically doesn’t have those areas. Which means it cannot, by definition, satisfy the test procedure.

That’s not bureaucratic nit-picking—it’s about how a human body interacts with the wheel in a crash. According to Autohome, nearly half of all driver injuries in China—46 percent—are related to parts of the steering system. A traditional circular wheel spreads impact loads more evenly as the driver moves forward. A yoke, by contrast, creates a ledge that the body can slide over and then strike again, raising the risk of injury during secondary impacts.

Airbags Make It Even Worse

Modern steering wheels are also airbag delivery devices, and the new Chinese rules get very specific about what’s allowed around a deploying airbag. Hard or sharp elements that could be driven toward the driver are now banned.

With a conventional wheel, that’s relatively easy to validate. With a yoke—often made from complex molded plastic and metal reinforcement—things get unpredictable. When the airbag explodes out of the hub, pieces can fracture in strange ways. Regulators don’t like “strange ways.” They like repeatable, testable outcomes.

A round wheel gives them that. A yoke does not.

Real-World Driving Still Matters

Even if you don’t care about crash labs and dummy metrics, drivers have their own beef with yokes. Production cars, unlike race cars, need big steering angles for U-turns, parking, and tight city maneuvers. With no top rim to grab, one-handed steering becomes awkward, and drivers report accidentally brushing touchscreen controls while scrambling for leverage.

The yoke may look futuristic, but daily driving is stubbornly analog.

What Happens Next

Once the new GB 11557-202X standard takes effect in 2027, any newly homologated vehicle in China will need a compliant steering system. Cars already on sale will likely get about a 13-month grace period before they, too, must be updated.

For automakers, especially those chasing the EV trend with sci-fi interiors, the message is clear: the circle is back.

And honestly? Good. The steering wheel has survived more than a century not because it looks cool, but because it works—ergonomically, mechanically, and now, it turns out, legally.

Source: Autohome

News

Germany Becomes the World’s Second-Largest EV Producer

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

News

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

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