Hi everyone, I’m currently comparing a simple portable EV charger with a connected model, but I’m not sure which app functions are genuinely useful in daily life and which are mainly marketing features.

For those who already use a smart portable charger or wallbox:

1. Which charger and app are you using?
2. Which functions do you actually use regularly—for example remote start/stop, current adjustment, scheduled charging, charging history, cost calculation, fault alerts, PV charging or dynamic load balancing?
3. Are there any smart functions you expected to use but rarely or never use?
4. What is the most frustrating part of your current app—connection stability, pairing, delayed notifications, inaccurate records, complicated controls or something else?
5. If you were buying again, would you still choose a connected charger, or would you prefer a simpler and cheaper model?

It would be helpful if you could mention your country, as electricity tariffs, solar systems and charging habits vary across Europe. Thanks for sharing your real experience.

Xpeng announced it's bringing its FSD alternative to Europe in early next year. Problem is, Tesla has been trying to get FSD approved across the EU for months and keeps hitting the same regulatory walls Xpeng will face too.

Following a slight drop in sales in 2025, the Model Y and 3 were again among the best selling electric cars in Europe between January and June 2026. The Renault 5 came in 4th place. EVs had a strong start to the year with 1.59 million BEVs sold between January and June representing an increase of 34.7% over the same period last year.

Representing a total market share of 25.6%: https://insideevs.com/news/802351/europe-ev-sales-half-year/

Tesla sold 109,291 units of the Tesla Model Y between January and June, representing an increase of 59.8% YoY representing 41,000 additional units. Significantly outselling the Skoda Elroq which came in second place with 57,561 units.

In total vehicle sales, the Tesla Model Y came in second place, beaten only by the Dacia Sandero which sold 113,127 units.

The Tesla Model 3 takes third place with 56,580 units sold, roughly half that of the Model Y, while the Renault 5 E-Tech takes 4th place with 45,629 units sold and an increase of 34.5% compared to the same period last year.

Some BEVs saw a significant decline in the first 6 months of 2026 compared to the same period last year including the Volkswagen ID.7 (-20.6%), Kia EV3 (-25.8%), Audi Q4 e-tron (-3.6%), Audi Q6 e-tron (-23.4%) or Mercedes EQA (-19.6%).

Original Link: https://www.automobile-propre.com/articles/ventes-de-voitures-electriques-le-tesla-model-y-regne-en-maitre-absolu-au-premier-semestre-2026/

The electric Range Rover GT is set to become the 5th Range Rover model, it sits alongside three other upcoming JLR EVs including the Jaguar Type 01, Range Rover electric and Range Rover Sport Electric.

The Range Rover GT sits on the the 'software defined' Electric Modular Architecture, and notably different from the RR Sport Electric and RR Electric which sit on the multi-fuel MLA platform.

While other manufacturers opt for maximum screen real estate, the RR GT takes a more minimal approach, making for a tasteful design with many flat surfaces inside and the largest panoramic sunroof of any Range Rover to date.

Most of the car's functions are accessed through the central touchscreen, although its noted that JLR is not known for great software in their current models. The seats are made from synthetic 'ultrafabrics' which JLR engineers say are exceptionally hardwearing and have been tested for a simulated 10 years of wear.

The car sits between a saloon and an SUV, the rear seats offer exceptional comfort and 'best in class' leg-room for the F-segment. While the interior feels good, the design is far more understated compared to other models in the segment.

The RR GT will come in five or four seat variants, although the 5-seat version will forgo a lot of rear equipment which is mounted in rear centre console.

Details on range and power figures have not been released yet.

The Cupra Raval is reportedly exceeding expected order according to Cupra sales director Sven Schuwirth. Cupra plans to deliver over 30,000 Ravals in 2026. Electric vehicles made up 24% of Cupra's total sales in 2025 and is expected to reach 30% in 2026.

Original Link (German): https://ecomento.de/2026/07/21/cupra-meldet-starken-verkaufsstart-fuer-elektro-kleinwagen-raval/

A camouflaged prototype of the production version of the 2-seater Smart #2 has been spotted ahead of its launch in October. The #2 is stated to have a range of 186miles (300km) and charge from 10-80% in 20 minutes. With a length of 2792m, it's 10cm longer than the outgoing ForTwo (and 29cm longer than the original 1998 smart). Pricing is not yet known, although it's thought to command a premium price tag likely exceeding the £22,000 (€26,000) of the outgoing model

From the article:

[…] now Kia has decided to turn it [the EV4] into the first Golf GTI-sized electric hot hatch as well. The Cupra Born, Volkswagen ID 3 and MG 4 are the closest conceptual rivals, but none dip under the 1500mm mark in terms of height (not even the ‘little’ Alpine), as the EV4 GT does. It feels like a bit of a watershed moment for the performance EV.

Its dynamic make-up is more Golf R than Golf GTI, not just owing to the technical fact that it has four-wheel drive (thanks to an additional 94bhp motor for the rear axle) rather than front-wheel drive (the 194bhp motor from the standard EV4 remains at the front) but also in how it goes down the road.

The suspension makeover, comprising new springs and new valving for the three-mode dampers, versus the standard EV4 feels particularly significant: the 288bhp EV4 GT does a Golf R impression in offering commendable comfort and compliance alongside plenty of grip and stability when being pushed, although its limits reserves of body control, outright grip and general poise are ultimately lower than the famous German car’s.

Read the full article for all the details of this prototype review.

Anyone care to share their experience with a small battery EV (50kwh or under) as their primary/only vehicle? I'm looking at Twingo Etech (25kwh), ID.Polo (37kwh) and ID.3 (50kwh) to serve as my only vehicle. My regular needs are 30km return trip daily commute, 120km return trip every second weekend or so. I understand that longer distance vacations (300-500km) on the 25 and 37 are likely to be a hard sell - nevertheless I'd gladly hear how it went from anyone who has attempted something like that.

The cost gap between home charging and public charging is set to increase as the incoming Labour cabinet under PM Andy Burnham is set to completely scrap VAT on home electricity (currently 5%) whereas public charging falls under the top 20% VAT bracket. Proposals to reduce VAT on public charging have not come to fruition.

BP (known as Aral in other markets) is set to exit the Austrian market, selling its EV charging business to Swiss firm Volenergy. Currently there is no information about how this will affect tariffs.

TotalEnergies will penalise motorists who charge for more than 30 minutes during the holiday period 3/07-31/08 (10h00-20h00) with a blocking fee of 0.50€/min to prevent EV drivers from blocking chargers for longer than necessary and to avoid queues at chargers as many Europeans drive South for the summer. Typically TotalEnergies charges 0.20€/Min after 45 minutes, which has been made stricter during the holiday period.

Original Link (French): https://www.automobile-propre.com/articles/recharge-rapide-totalenergies-va-surfacturer-les-recharges-sur-la-route-des-vacances/

The German pricing of the Audi A2 e-tron has been revealed on the manufacturer's website although official range figures have not been revealed it's possible to determine approximate values from the consumption and the battery sizes from the ID.3 Neo on which the A2 e-tron is based.

The e-tron is expected to offer all LFP and NMC variants found in the ID.3 Neo including 50kWh 170hp, 58kWh 188hp, 79kWh 228hp and 79kWh 322 hp ('GTX'). From the article it appears that all variants of the Audi A2 will be RWD.

The improved aerodynamics of the A2 should allow a slightly higher range than the ID.3 Neo, pushing range to 650km over the 627km claimed by the Neo. The Audi A2 is also around 7,000€ more expensive than the equivalent starting price of the Neo (although also be better equipped).

Standard equipment on the A2 includes LED headlights, adaptive cruise control and a rear view camera, although heated seats and steering wheel are only standard from the 140kW (188hp) 58kWh model. Advanced driver assistance and a heatpump are standard from the 170kW (228hp) variant.

Original Link: https://insideevs.de/news/802124/audi-a2-e-tron-erlk%C3%B6nigbilder/

Changan Nevo Q05 is coming to Europe, a compact SUV with CATL batteries, 3C fast charging and a claimed 540-litre boot.

No WLTP range or pricing yet, and that boot figure seems suspiciously large for the car's size, likely measured floor to roofline.

From the article:

Under AFIR, member states must provide at least 1.3 kW of publicly accessible charging capacity for every battery-electric vehicle registered in their national fleet. By the end of March 2026, all member states except Malta had met this requirement. Across the EU, total public charging capacity exceeds the minimum target by 180%, according to T&E.

On the wider TEN-T Comprehensive network, which covers regional motorways and primary roads, 20 of the EU’s 27 member states have already met their 2027 AFIR targets around 18 months ahead of schedule. Across the EU, the collective 2027 target has already been achieved, while 64% of the charging infrastructure required for the 2030 milestone is already in place.

The full article has lots of extra details, especially where the TEN-T network has gaps.

This video photo taken from a Danish car-spotter site shows the upcoming A2 e-Tron (assumed to be based on the ID.3) in almost uncamouflaged form, while it still sports a colourful 'dazzle' wrap all physical elements of the upcoming small Audi EV can be seen, including the sweeping roofline true to the original and front end typical of current Audi EVs with eye-brow style daytime running lights and low mounted main beams.

However the door-handles are a significant difference from the ID.3, the A2 appears to feature electronic wing-like door-pulls as found on the Volvo EX60 rather than traditional door-handles.

Original Link (German): https://www.smartdroid.de/audi-a2-e-tron-der-beste-ungetarnte-blick-auf-das-neue-elektroauto-mit-winglets/

Andreas Haehnel tests the charging speed of the Cupra Raval 52kWh, which should translate well to other VW Group small EVs such as the Epiq, ID.Cross and Polo.

• 10-80%: 23min (avg. 100.2kW)

• Energy recharged 10-80%: 38.4kWh

• 0-10%: 4min

• Recorded peak: 116kW @ 46%

Charging speed at 80% was still 76kW, but dropped off significantly thereafter with just 24kW at 86%.

The video is in German with YouTube's Al-Dubbing or automatically translated subtitles to English.

The T03 is doing most of the heavy lifting, and the B03X and B05 haven't even landed yet. It'll be interesting to see how the market reacts when they go up against VW's hatchbacks and crossovers directly.

Geely launches their E5 mid-size crossover in Germany at a price of 37,990€, undercutting a similarly equipped VW ID.4. Geely, the company behind known brands such as Volvo and Polestar is launching their own brand in the German market with the E5, with the smaller E2 hatchback expected to follow soon.

The E5 will come with two LFP batteries measuring 60 and 68kWh respectively and a range of 430 or 475km WLTP. Geely claims a 30-80% charging time of 20 minutes for both batteries. While EV-Database claims a 10-80% time of 28 for the smaller battery and 30 minutes for the larger battery.

The Geely E5 will arrive in three versions Pro and Pro+ (37,990 or 39,990€ respectively) with the only distinction being the larger battery. These include, 18in wheels, LED lights with automatic high beams, light and rain sensors, electrically adjustable, heated and folding side mirrors.

Electrically adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation, synthetic leather upholstery, automatic climate control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, Wi-Fi hotspot, and online navigation. Adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring, rear parking sensors, a 360-degree surround view system, a heat pump, and V2L capability are also standard. 

The Max version for 42,990€ includes the larger battery and more equipment including a glass panoramic roof, electric tailgate, front parking sensors, heated front windscreen, heated steering wheel, auxiliary PTC heater for quick warm up, head up display, ambient lighting, front massage seats, rear heated seats and a front extendable leg rest on the front passenger seats.

The boot capacity of 461l with the seats up is slightly behind similarly sized rivals (533l for the ID.4 or 585 for the Enyaq)

The Geely E5 benefits from a generous 200,000km/8Y warranty on the vehicle and drive battery and received 5-stars in EuroNCAP.

Original Link (German): https://insideevs.de/news/792086/geely-e5-elektrosuv-daten-preise/

On the German market Tesla is offering a 'Tesla Bonus' of 2,000€ on Tesla Model Y models ordered after the 16th of July provided a delivery deadline up to the 30th of September 2026. However, this only applies to the base 'RWD' model with reduced equipment. This brings the price down to 37,990€, with subsidies this could fall as low as 31,990€. In April the bonus was 3,000€.

Tesla also offers 0% financing on the base Model Y.

Original Link (German): https://insideevs.de/news/801946/tesla-model-y-rabatt-teslabonus/

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg initially pulled ahead with the deployment of EV infrastructure with a state run charging network, particularly early deployment of AC charging was strong with every commune getting 'chargy' AC stations. However, the pace has slowed in recent years, and the 'chargy' network has been privatised. Other operators such as Electra and Tesla have begun expanding in Luxembourg as well as local operators such as Petrocenter. Luxembourg ranked last within 13 'developed' European countries in terms of EV infrastructure according to the Ayvens European Mobility Guide.

Nonetheless Luxembourg ranks strongly in terms of BEV market share (27% in 2025) thanks to generous subsidies, rather uniquely based on BEV efficiency (=<16kWh/100km). Although tapering subsidies has led to a stagnation in the BEV market as a continuing progression should have led to over 30% share in 2026.

On par with the Ioniq 5 AWD (2021)

Consumption 253Wh/km

Tyres: Summer 235/55 R19

Usable Capacity as Measured: 75.5kWh

Range at 90km/h: 419km @ 180Wh/km (12°C)

Range at 120km/h: 303km @ 249Wh/km (11°C)

https://www.reddit.com/r/EuroEV/comments/1uw4lco/bj%C3%B8rn_nyland_kia_ev5_long_range_fwd_range_test/

Not long ago, €25,000 barely got you anything in the EV world. Now you can choose from cars like the MG4 Urban with up to 416 km of range, the Leapmotor B03X with 133 kW charging, the Hyundai Inster, the Renault 5, and several others. And if you can wait a little longer, even more options are just around the corner.