Electrek

As last week’s relentless heat wave strained power grids, critics feared that the record number of electric vehicles on the push them over the edge. Instead, the opposite happened: EVs helped utilities keep the lights on and the AC running by feeding the electricity stored in their batteries back into the grid.

It’s been a year since this piece on home batteries becoming one of the most important tools we have for keeping the lights on during hurricanes, heat waves, and other extreme weather events was published. Since then, the case for VPPs has only gotten stronger, with more utilities than ever putting big money behind distributed batteries and virtual power plants to keep the grid stable during periods of record energy demands.

Kalmar began building its 45-ton ERG450 electric reach stackers at a Shanghai manufacturing plant back in 2023, aiming to bring heavy-duty cargo handler closer to potential customers across the Asian market. That investment appears to be paying off, with the company announcing four new orders from to close out Q2.

The CATL-backed Choco-SEB battery swap network deployed its 2,000th swapping station June 30th, wrapping up another month of incredibly rapid growth that’s seen the company average more than 200 deployments in each and every month of 2026. (!)

GM raised plenty of eyebrows when it announced that its resurrected 2027 Chevrolet Bolt – one of the lowest-priced, most capable new EVs in North America – would only be built for a single model year. Despite the limited-time offer and solid sales, dealers are still sitting on 118 days’ of inventory, far more than the 60-day supply the industry considers healthy. That begs the question: did GM overestimate demand, or is this all part of the plan?

The Washington, DC, metro area is getting its first en-route overhead pantograph electric bus chargers.

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the launch of the Tesla Model YL, BMW iX5, and EV sales results for the second quarter.

The IONIQ 5 is steadily carving out a spot among the most popular EVs in the US. Hyundai moved over 20,000 IONIQ 5s in the first half of 2026, putting it ahead of much of the pack.

The Volkswagen ID. Tiguan is expected to debut later this year, bringing much more than just a new look and name.

It’s now July, which means schools from around the world are making final preparations for the Electrek American Solar Challenge 2026, and this year is going to be an especially notable one! A record 42 teams from colleges in the US, Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands are registered to compete in the Formula Sun Grand Prix pre-qualifier track event in less than two weeks.

This is a big deal for teams. Apart from FSGP being a competition in its own right, it’s the opportunity for students to prove their hand-built solar car has what it takes to hit the open road and trek 1,500+ miles across the United States for the renowned American Solar Challenge.

Here’s everything you need to know about both competitions, the teams, and the schedule.

British battery-electric vehicle registrations jumped 38% in June to 64,440 units, pushing EVs to nearly 30% of the new car market — their strongest monthly performance outside seasonal peaks, according to New AutoMotive data released Friday.

The overall market grew 15% year-over-year to 215,921 units, but EVs did the heavy lifting, and Tesla posted a 42% rebound that signals it may finally be climbing off the floor in Europe.

We’re ending this week with a special 4th of July Green Deals edition, led by the Bluetti Summer Power Sale on power stations that benefits from two of our exclusive bonus savings codes, including the ongoing low price for the new FridgePower Station + bundles starting from $807, among others. Right behind it we have Hiboy’s July 4th EV Sale with up to 58% discounts on e-scooters and e-bikes, including the restocked EX11 Full Suspension Electric Bike at its $1,300 low, as well as the final EcoFlow extended Prime Day flash sale lineup from $1,149, and a bunch of our favorite ongoing holiday promotional savings, too! Of course, there are also all the hangover deals we’ve collected at the bottom of the page for you, like yesterday’s Velotric and Heybike 4th of July e-bike sales, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

The PV5 is proving again why it’s the ultimate people mover. Kia converted its electric van into an off-grid racing simulator rig with a massive 55″ screen.

Tesla has mapped out a Robotaxi service area in Miami, publishing a geofence that covers only a small slice of the metro — mostly West Miami and a strip stretching toward Doral and Sweetwater.

It’s the latest city Tesla has drawn a box around, but the announcement lands with a thud when you consider what’s happened in Texas over the past year.

Harris County prosecutors have charged the Tesla driver who crashed into a Katy, Texas, home and killed a 76-year-old woman with manslaughter, alleging he overrode Full Self-Driving to floor the car to 73 mph in a residential cul-de-sac.

The charging document also reveals something new: in the weeks before the crash, the driver had been Googling that FSD wasn’t aggressive enough.

The Trailseeker was Subaru’s best-selling electric SUV last month. Starting at under $40,000, the “go-anywhere, rugged SUV” offers a spacious interior, standard AWD, and a combined 375 horsepower.

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes new e-bikes from Gazelle, Amflow, and Monarc, the CPSC wants to clamp down on e-bike safety regulations, DeSantis vetoed an e-bike safety bill in Florida, and more.

Volvo CE announced its first-ever electric articulated haul truck at last year’s Bauma construction expo; less than a year later, the first examples of Volvo’s new A30 Electric are in customers’ hands, doing real work.

Eurobike, the annual bicycle tradeshow that takes over Germany for several days each summer, always brings with it a fun array of new bikes and bike-related goodies. While the show wasn’t as big as it had been in previous years, there were still plenty of fun treats for the eyes and for the riding.

Check out the selection of fun takeaways below, in no order other than how they came out of my camera.

Tesla told staff it will impose a $200-per-week limit on employee AI spending starting July 6, according to an internal memo reported by The Information (paywall).

The cap lands just months after Tesla pushed employees to use AI more aggressively, a sign that even companies betting their future on the technology are struggling to control its costs.

Spanish renewable energy and electricity giant Iberdrola is constructing its first battery energy storage project in the US as utilities race to add more storage to strengthen the grid.

The IONIQ 3 is a high-tech, fully electric hatch that the US will miss out on. It can drive over 300 miles on a single charge and is Hyundai’s first vehicle in Europe to use its new Pleos Connect infotainment system.

Moment Energy has officially opened what it says is the world’s largest second-life EV battery factory, bringing new battery energy storage manufacturing capacity online just six weeks after announcing the project.

On the back of the Commerce Department’s incredibly stupid move to ban Polestar from selling EVs in the US, the Polestar 4 is now nearly the cheapest EV in America after a $25k discount, and the Polestar 3 has a pretty great discount applied too.