EV News for the week ending July 11, 2025

VW - IS RECALL, NOT HALT

A story from Germany's "Handelsblatt" business journal as retold by Wards Auto reports Volkswagen denies a halt order was placed on ID.Buzz vehicles headed to the U.S.

A Volkswagen spokesperson speaking to Wards Auto said there has been no offical call for a halt, and confirms ID.Buzz vehicles remain in transit to the U.S.

The spokesperson also mentioned that U.S. spec ID.Buzz vehicles are under a recall due to a rear bench seat that exceeds the permitted width allowed by U.S. Safety regulators.Source

RIVIAN QUAD ORDER BOOK

On Thursday, Rivian announced the order book for the flagship Quad First Edition pickup truck and SUV is open for orders.

The Quad R1T features include:

* four motors, one for each wheel

* 1025 hp and 1198 lb-ft of torque

* zero - 60 in 2.5 seconds

* an EPA estimated 374 miles of range and 400 miles in 'Conserve' mode

Both the R1T and R1S will get:

exclusive wheels, colors, and NACS charging ports.

Pricing for the R1T starts at $119,990

and $125,990 for the R1S.Source

AUDI LAUNCHES 26 Q6

Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron annouced

On Friday, Audi realeased images and specs on the latest e-tron family member.

The Q6 Sportback e-tron will derive from Audi's Premium Platform Electric architecture and feature EPA estimated 319 miles range from a thermal managed 100kwH battery pack on an 800-volt electrical system allowing for 10-80% charges to complete in 21 minutes with optimal conditions.

The Q6 Sportback e-tron will be available in two flavors, a Q6 Dual Motor quattro with 456 hp and a SQ6 Dual Motor quattro sporting 509 hp.

Both models will go on sale by the end of July.Source

FINE MATTER AT DC FAST CHARGERS

A recently published study by researchers from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and UCLA Samueli School of Engineering found that Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFC) emit more potentially harmful particulate matter than locations without DC FCs installed.

The team performing the study surveyed the air quality around 50 DCFCs run by a variety of operators around Los Angeles County.

The findings were compared with gas stations and other types of sites without DCFCs.

Researchers discoverd higher than normal levels of PM2.5 . PM2.5 are particulate matter measuring around 2.5 micrometers or less.

The stations surveyed showed average daily concentrations ranging between 7.3 to 39.0 micrograms per cubic meter. The same tests run at a variety of non-EV charging sites revealed levels around 3.6 to 12.4 micrograms per cubic meter.

A UCLA Fielding scholar and first author of the study, Yifang Zhu, suggests the cause may be attributable to cooling systems within the cabinets 'resuspending' the particulates during the charging process or by the cooling systems used to keep the internal compenets cool may be drawing air, dust, and dirt from inside the cabinet and expressing this material externally via the cooling fans.

Lead author of the study and professor in the UCLA Fielding’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yifang Zhu notes how EV charging is vital to California acheiveing its climate goals and said “To fully deliver on its health promises, we must also address unintended emissions from DCFC stations to ensure that clean transportation truly means clean air for all.”Source

ROVE DIGS COSTA MESA

Costa Mesa, CA will have a new full-service charging location this Winter when Rove completes construction on it's latest charging stop.

The new location will host 28 NACS, 12 CCS, and two CHAdeMo connectors. All covered by a solar canopy and offering fresh hot food at the ReCharge by Gelon's also going in at the location.

This Rove location, like the live site in Santa Ana will host station attendant to assist you if you encounter issues during your visit. A link to our video on the Santa Monica location is available in the description.Source

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