Charging complexity risks bottlenecking EV fleets

Fleets have gone electric; now keeping track of all the charging sessions is becoming a logistical and strategic nightmareManaging an increasingly complex charging ecosystem has become a growing challenge for fleets as electric company cars move from pilot-scale deployments into mainstream use, ChargePoint has warned.
Ore Oluwatudimu, its solutions engineering director for Europe, told Autocar that fleets are no longer concerned about whether electric cars are fit for purpose but are i

Polestar's first EV, the 2, is Scandi-cool on wheels and now a £12k bargainAppearances can be deceptive.
The Polestar 2 might look like a high-riding saloon but it's not. It's actually a hatchback, so it's more practical than its closest rival, the Tesla Model 3, yet sleeker and more handsome than a Model Y.
Buyers here have certainly cottoned on to this Scandi-chic EV's charms, to the extent that the UK is its largest market. As a result, there is an abundance of used examples, starting f

Smart returns to its city car roots with tiny new #2, due next year as UK's smallest electric carSmart is putting the finishing touches on the new #2 ahead of its unveiling at October's Paris motor show.
The replacement for Smart's signature model, the Fortwo, marks the brand's return to its roots after launching a range of electric crossovers – including the #5, its largest model yet.
Due in UK dealerships next year, it has been designed to offer what Smart calls "uncompromised urban

Genesis Mint concept was revealed in 2019
Korean premium brand could channel 2019 Mint concept as it explores possibility of a plush small EVGenesis is open to launching smaller electric cars in the future as it continues to expand its range.
For now, its smallest is the 4.5m-long GV60 crossover, which leaves plenty of room below it.
It has experimented with a smaller model in the past with the Mint concept in 2019.
Now it's investigating future segments that it could enter i

Fleet operators are increasingly looking beyond manufacturer partners to keep their vehicles on the roadCompany car downtime dropped to a six-year low in the first quarter of 2026, as fleets diverted work away from franchised dealers amid ongoing pressure on repair lead times.
Data from Epyx's 1Link Service Network platform, which manages service, maintenance and repair bookings for 4.9 million company cars and vans, shows vehicles averaged around 1.5 days off the road for workshop visits i

Factory closures, model cancellations and job cuts on the cards as firm races to rebuild marginsThe Volkswagen Group is facing one of the toughest battles of its recent history as it scrambles to reduce costs and stay competitive in the face of Chinese rivals, while satisfying the demands of its heavily unionised workforce in Germany.
Company boss Oliver Blume came clean to staff last week about the need to cut as many as 100,000 jobs – around one in seven of its global workforce and 50,00

The new T-Roc has some best-selling shoes to fill, can it beat its rivals and do it again?A comprehensive waiting party for the new Volkswagen T-Roc would include upwards of 30 rivals, depending on at which point you stop your tape measure.
The small (although not the smallest) crossover market is perhaps the most burgeoning of all: its population is split between internal combustion, electric and hybrid competitors, and it's proving to be a merry hunting ground for fresh Chinese manufactur

Dacia Duster model was procured on Verpraet's very first press trip
The Jeep M&Ms are nice and I like my Polestar bottle - but gifts don't mean five-star reviewsThere’s an uncomfortable truth in motoring media that isn’t talked about very often: there are a lot of freebies going around. Some of them are necessary, of course. We can’t test a car properly without spending a decent amount of time in it, so it does mean getting a ‘free’ car for the week.
It’s

We take a look at the great cars that America has missed out on over the yearsUntil China took over in 2009, America was the world’s largest car market.This meant that all car makers did their level best to get a piece of the action. But there have long been substantial differences between the American market and those in Europe and Asia. And those differences tend to account for why certain models were never sold there.
But it does mean that America misses out on great vehicles like the B

A journey back in time to some of the UK's most excellent car companies, sadly now deceased
Car-making is hard.Profitable car-making is a whole lot harder, and for proof you only need take a look at the failed British car companies we’re looking at here.
Some were born close to the dawn of the car, when bicycle-makers saw money in the new-fangled horseless carriage. But it wasn’t easy. Car-making at the start of the 20th century was like internet projects at the end of it - plenty tr

Seven years of ownership has taught Peter Dietsch how to live with a '90s Italian supercarThe odometer in Peter Dietsch's right-hand drive, UK-registered Lamborghini Diablo reads 83,000, but that's kilometres, not miles.
Bizarrely, while the speedos in most pre-1999 Diablos were calibrated in both MPH and KPH, as required by law, their odos always displayed the distance the car had travelled in kilometres. That's why, when I ask Peter how many miles he has done in his, he replies, rather confusi

Racers blasting beyond 300mph never gets old - but there's much more to UK's most famous drag strip
If you like extremes, you'll love Top Fuel drag racing. Some numbers: 0-343mph in 3.6sec, 11,500bhp, fuel consumption of five gallons per second... To these can now be added '60' - as in 60 years of Santa Pod Raceway (1966-2026), the drag mecca in Bedfordshire. Or is it Northamptonshire? Both councils claim it but then nothing's normal in this sport, including Keith Bartlett, the Bernie Ecclestone

Why has the electric Ferrari attracted so much ire? It all started with a missing olive in 1987It's hard to pinpoint the precise moment when the continuous chipping away of nice things began. I think you could make a case that Robert Crandall is the poster boy for the movement - which you could call shrinkflation, or enshittification, or something else, as you prefer - because of what he did as American Airlines CEO in 1987.
Crandall realised that removing one olive from each salad served to pas

Kei car-based cutie escapes from Japan as Honda’s latest EV ventureThe Honda Super-N, along with the Renault Twingo, is one of the green shoots appearing in the scorched earth that was the previously thriving A-segment. Fun, affordable small cars have had a tough time with legislation and profitability, leaving them neither much fun nor very affordable. As battery prices are coming down, though, there’s now hope that A-segment cars can return as EVs.With the £18,995 Super

Kei car-based cutie escapes from Japan as Honda’s latest EV ventureThe Honda Super-N, along with the Renault Twingo, is one of the green shoots appearing in the scorched earth that was the previously thriving A-segment. Fun, affordable small cars have had a tough time with legislation and profitability, leaving them neither much fun nor very affordable. As battery prices are coming down, though, there’s now hope that A-segment cars can return as EVs.With the £18,995 Super

You can now get a sleeper train between the capitals of France and Germany. We decided to find out if it was easier to driveGermany's oldest drinking water reservoir is only a few metres behind me.
And because I'm a sucker for big bits of engineering, and old bits of engineering, I would love to walk around the dam - even though I'm terrified by large bodies of water in places they're not meant to be.
But I have no idea it's there. We're about to enter the small hours, my Kia EV4 Fastback is acc

We conclude our coverage of the Jeep Wagoneer today, and close out a series that began in February. Last week, we reviewed sales and pricing details for the SJ Wagoneer in its long run from 1963 to 1991. Today we take a look at the same information for other types of Wagoneers Jeep offered to various levels of success from 1984 through today. It seems that since the '80s, Jeep pretty consistently underestimated the attachment owners had to the SJ Wagoneer, yet overestimated the draw of the Wagon

Subscription fatigue appears to be reaching its zenith and select automakers seem to have noticed. Stellantis, which owns Jeep, Ram, Dodge, and Chrysler, has announced that it will soon be making numerous connected services free for 10 years.
Free trials are nothing new. In fact, they’re an essential component in helping automakers rationalize the pivot to connected features. Nobody would want to pay for formerly standard equipment as part of recurring fees.By making them temporarily free,

What happens when a die-hard Volkswagen enthusiast ditches premium gas for a used EV? In this episode, our friend Gwon explains why he left his 20-year history of driving VW GTIs, GLI and Alltrack to buy a 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited Edition for almost half the price of a brand-new one. 
We dive into a 6-month owner review, admire the Gravity Gold Matte paint, and put it side-by-side with the VW ID.4. We compare trunk space, the 800-volt versus 400-volt charging architectures, and wh

Even the most progressive politicians have a breaking point. For San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, that point was provided by brain-dead robotaxis turning the Fourth of July holiday weekend into a total traffic nightmare.Lurie, who famously pushed for San Francisco to become a ground zero for emerging vehicle technologies, is changing his tune. The mayor has officially sent a formal letter to the California Department of Transportation demanding a significant overhaul of the state's autonomous

Geely's European domination plans continue with a Renault 5-rivalling electric superminiGeely, the mothership of Volvo, Lotus, Smart and a bunch of others, is serious about becoming a mainstream player in the UK.Despite its first two models, the EX5 and Starray SUVs getting less-than-glowing reviews, it’s making good headway, having already sold over 6000 of them since the start of the year.Now it’s launching a third car, the Geely EX2, a small electric hatchback that’s m

There’s a particular kind of automotive magic that happens when two continents stop arguing and start collaborating.  America brings the engine — large, loud, and about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Italy brings the design — elegant, sculpted, and just dramatic enough to make you stare at it long after you’ve parked. When it works, you get something genuinely special. When it really works, you get something like the Iso Rivolta GTZ.
The TTAC Creators Series 

Retro city car becomes UK's third-cheapest EV, while Abarth 500 hot hatch now starts from £24kThe Fiat 500e has become one of the UK’s cheapest cars after being approved for the top band of the Government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG).
The ECG provides either £1500 or £3750 off the price of a new electric car based on several factors, including the emissions from the production of its battery and the full vehicle, as well as several warranty requirements. 
The new

Super-saloon will be offered with both electric and combustion power – and a manual is still on the cardsThe combustion-engined version of the next-generation BMW M3 has surfaced in tests at the Nürburgring – and the super-saloon could continue to offer a manual gearbox.
Speaking to Autocar at last week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, BMW M boss Frank van Meel said the division's petrol performance cars will offer manuals for “as long as possible”.
He highlighted

Autocar rendering imagines how the Polygon will translate into a production car
Peugeot will draw from heritage for a pair of era-defining concept cars and its next-gen superminiPeugeot is priming a new platform, design language and interior treatment for seven new models that it will launch by 2030 as part of a push to dramatically increase its sales volumes.
The French brand aims to increase global sales from 1.1 million last year to 1.5m in four years' time - a huge 36% increase. An onslaught

The official Honda museum in Motegi is a must for both automobile and motorcycle fansSituated about two hours north of Tokyo in the rolling hills and forests of Tochigi province is the Honda Collection Hall.Located at the Motegi Twin Ring complex, which can be a bit tricky to get to, the museum is a delight for all automotive fans. Built in 1990, the site includes impressive oval and road course race circuits, a hotel, go-kart track, hiking trails and camping areas as well the museum.
Featu

New Dreadnought 4x4 melds V8 Vantage looks, V12 power and – hang on, is that an airstrike button...?Aston Martin has revealed a wild new military off-roader as a virtual concept for the new Call of Duty videogame - but Autocar has been up close with the reeal thing. 
Making its debut at a gaming convention in New York, the Dreadnought is named for a revolutionary British warship from the early 20th century - which tallies with its hulking, functional design and battle-ready conception

A surprising number of car firms have been saved by a single model - these are the most famousMany car companies have come perilously close to the edge of financial ruin or reputational death only for a single model to save the day.Some of those cars have attained legendary status, while others have become staples of our motoring landscape.
The roles these cars played in saving their respective manufacturers from bankruptcy, obscurity, mundanity or all three cannot be understated. Here, we name

Sticking with only one car maker could cost you a fortune – but there are benefits, tooA rule of business is that it is cheaper to keep a customer than find a new one.
It's also a rule today's car manufacturers and their dealers ignore at their peril, especially now there are so many new car brands tempting previously loyal customers to switch. Not long ago, motorists stuck to one brand for almost their entire lives - motorists like David Franklin, who in 2022, and at the age of 84, b

Flagship SUV due imminently with Rolls-Royce-style doors, wooden floor and huge cinema screenGenesis's upcoming Range Rover rival will have Rolls-Royce-style coach doors as it makes a statement about the brand's luxury intentions.
The GV90 is just weeks away from launch and will become the flagship for the Hyundai sibling brand on the premium side of its model range.
It will arrive at a similar time to the GV60 Magma, the first in a series of high-performance models that will perform a simi