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Audi unveils compact EV in bid to revive European sales
Premium German carmaker Audi has unveiled a new compact electric vehicle as it seeks to strengthen its presence at the smaller end of the European market, where Chinese automakers are rolling out more affordable models and intensifying competition. Sales at Audi, a unit of Volkswagen, have declined for two consecutive years and fell 7% in the first half of 2026, as fierce competition in China and U.S. tariffs weighed on demand. "In Europe, we need compact and efficient cars for the future," Audi CEO Gernot Doellner was quoted as saying in a Reuters story. "Premium cannot just mean more - more power, more resources - it has to mean using resources more intelligently." The new A2 revives a nameplate used by Audi in the early 2000s, but features updated technology, including power consumption of 12.8 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometres, making it the most efficient model in the brand’s history, Audi said. The vehicle has a maximum range of 646 kilometres (401 miles). “The A2 e-tron is more than a new model: It represents Audi’s renewal. It shows how we are rethinking premium for Europe: using resources more intelligently without compromising on quality, technology, or customer experience. "Developed for the needs of
EVs
Tesla shares go into reverse despite sales growth
Tesla has comfortably beaten forecasts with record second-quarter vehicle deliveries, but its shares dropped sharply amid greater focus on its longer-term artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving ambitions. The electric vehicle (EV) and solar energy group said it delivered 480,126 vehicles in the three months to 30 June, up almost 25% from the previous corresponding period and well ahead of the company-compiled analyst consensus of about 404,000 vehicles. Tesla also produced 451,758 vehicles during the quarter and deployed 13.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy storage products. "Thank you to all of our customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and supporters who helped us achieve these results," the company said in a press release. Tesla shares (NASDAQ: TSLA) closed $31.85 (7.49%) lower at $393.45 on Thursday (Friday AEST), capitalising the company at US$1.23 trillion (A$1.77 trillion). The strong result was led by a rebound ‌in Europe, feeding hopes that in 2026 the EV maker can end its two-year streak of annual declines, according to Reuters. Tesla's recovery in Europe was aided by a surge in fuel prices, government EV incentives, faster electrification of corporate fleets, and easing of the consum
EVs
EV sales overtake petrol cars for first time
Electric vehicle sales have outpaced petrol car sales for the first time in Europe. A new report from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) found that completely electric vehicles had sold more than completely petrol ones in the European Union in December of last year. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) crept in past petrol vehicles at 22.6% and 22.5% respectively. However, hybrids remain the most dominant option, comprising over 33% of the EU market in the same month. For the entirety of 2025, BEVs accounted for 17.4%, while petrol and diesel cars fell to 35.5%, down from 45.2% in 2024.
EVs
Tesla's brand value dips by 36% in 2025
The value of the Tesla brand dropped by around 36% in 2025, marking the third annual decline according to research and valuation consultancy Brand Finance. Brand Finance CEO David Haigh said the US$15.4 billion loss in value could be attributed to a lack of innovation, the high price of Tesla’s products compared to the rest of the market, as well as Tesla CEO’s “overreach” in geopolitics, pulling his attention from the auto business. According to Brand Finance, the company now stands at an estimated $27.61 billion. This is a decrease from $43 billion at the start of 2025, $58.3 billion in 2024 and its peak of $66.2 billion in January 2023. Brand Finance Valuation Director Lorenzo Coruzzi said that Tesla lost out on key measures like “reputation, recommendation, trust, and coolness”, particularly in Europe and Canada. The EV maker’s recommendation score in the U.S. reached a new low of 4.0 out of 10, a far cry from its previously high score of 8.3 out of 10 in 2023. However, loyalty scores rose from 90% to 92% in the U.S. in 2025, indicating that pre-existing customers are likely to keep driving Teslas for the next 12 months. The company’s most significant rival, BYD in China, gained around 23% to about $17.29
EVs
Women falling behind in the EV market
New data shows that women are slower to adopt the EV trend than men. According to Smart’s latest quarterly report, leases on new EVs have doubled since the start of the year, but the gender gap has widened. Smart had 80,000 novated leases under management at the end of June 2025, an increase of 15,400 from the same time in 2024. During the third quarter of 2025, 53.3% of males who took out a SmartTM lease on a new vehicle opted for an EV, compared to 38.8% of women. “Based on some of the conversations we've had with customers, common trends tend to be things like upfront costs, access to charging infrastructure, range anxiety and knowledge gaps,” Smart customer education specialist Sophie Mussared tells Azzet. Mussared also says perceptions of a higher entry cost have also turned women off buying EVs. “Sometimes true, but that's not always necessarily the case,” she says. “Government incentives and discounts via innovative leasing can make it more accessible for all different people.” This is despite the sale of BEVs growing again in Australia during the third quarter. In the three months to 30 September, the number of BEV sales jumped to 29,298 from 29,244, marking five consecutive quarters and the high

EVs
Michael Burry says he isn't shorting Tesla
Renowned investor Michael Burry has said he is not shorting Tesla shares after the electricity vehicle (EV) maker published its delivery estimates. In a post to X, the Scion Asset Management founder responded to a user asking if he would bet against Tesla, saying, “I am not short.” Shorting is where an investor profits from the fall in the value of a stock by borrowing it, selling it and buying it later at a lower price. Burry is best known for betting against the U.S. housing market in 2008. In a Substack post, “The Big Short” investor said that Tesla is a “ridiculously overvalued stock” and wanted to say that “shorting it has been dangerous”. This came shortly after Tesla took the unusual step of publishing a lower-than-expected delivery outlook. The EV maker was also recently dethroned by BYD as the biggest EV seller. Tesla posted its second consecutive year of sales declines, falling to 1.64 million in 2025 from 1.79 million in 2024. Despite this, Tesla shares rose 12.30% for the whole year and notched an all-time closing high of US$489.88 after a collapse in first-quarter shares spurred on by competition and Musk’s political opinions. At the time of writing, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stocks were down 2.59%
EVs
Lucid SUV tops best car lists despite challenges
Lucid Motors' new SUV is already gaining traction as a top-performing, luxury electric SUV, but is facing a lack of demand in the market. Lucid, an Arizona-based electric vehicle maker, has a focus on high-tech, luxury cars, with its latest offering, the Gravity, looking to blend that with a family-friendly SUV, offering three rows of seats alongside its usual prestige design. But despite increasing production and being listed on the Car and Driver’s 10 Best List for 2026, Lucid has only managed to sell a few units of the Gravity this year so far, as the broader EV market is starting to slow down. The U.S. market has been hit with the loss of the $7500 federal tax credits for EVs, and Tesla also continues to dominate competition. Third quarter earnings for Lucid were a mixed bag, with impressive year-on-year increases for revenue growth and deliveries, but a lowered production guidance. The company said it also expects “a significant increase in deliveries” of the Gravity in the fourth quarter. The Gravity also got hit with its first safety recall this month, after a labelling mistake on back seat covers which could prevent side airbags from operating correctly. Approximately 66 vehicles were impacted, with al
EVs
Rivian doubles down on AI and custom chips
While United States electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) has taken a bold step into the next era of autonomous driving, unveiling its own custom AI chip, a fresh suite of self-driving software and long-term robotaxi ambitions, the market’s initial reaction was far from enthusiastic. Rivian used its first Autonomy and AI Day to outline a sweeping plan: replace Nvidia chips with an in-house processor, roll out a more affordable driver-assistance package, and eventually introduce Level 4 autonomous vehicles capable of operating without human input in certain conditions. CEO RJ Scaringe positioned the new chip as a multi-year commitment aimed at boosting performance while cutting costs by several hundred dollars per vehicle. That combination, he stressed, is “rare” in the industry. The custom silicon, manufactured by TSMC, uses multi-chip module packaging and delivers extremely high memory bandwidth, which is essential for real-time AI processing of data from cameras, radar and, soon, lidar sensors. But despite the technical promise, Rivian’s shares slid sharply during and after the event. The stock initially ticked upward when the chip was announced, but finished the day down more
EVs
EV maker Rivian pivoting to AI, affordable models
Electric car company Rivian plans to emphasise artificial intelligence and more affordable vehicles amid repeated losses and weakness in its share price. The company will host its first Autonomy and AI Day for investors tomorrow, where it could unveil its reported new AI assistant. It is also set to start production on its R2 SUV, which will be its cheapest vehicle. Rivian hopes for its EVs to be increasingly autonomous, according to CEO RJ Scaringe. “You can own a car, but it can drop you at the airport, it can pick your kids up from school, it can go get things from the store for you.” “We want all that to happen behind the scenes and all that to be powered through AI.” Rivian does not currently produce self-driving cars. Its chief software officer, Wassym Bensaid, said last year that it would target incremental experience improvements powered by AI rather than full self-driving abilities. It has been developing an AI assistant that it will integrate into its vehicles, TechCrunch reported. Rivian’s new US$45,000 R2 will launch in 2026, the company said. This will follow fellow EV maker Tesla, which revealed low-cost models of its Model 3 and Model Y cars in October. The company posted its first-ever gross pr