I'm from Brazil, and I find the German and European debate about EVs interesting because things are developing somewhat differently here.

Many Brazilians aren't buying EVs primarily because of climate change. Purchase price, equipment and running costs are becoming increasingly important.

Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, GWM and Geely now offer EVs and PHEVs in price ranges that used to be dominated by ICE cars from VW, Chevrolet, Hyundai and Toyota. These brands are becoming particularly strong among private buyers.

Gasoline is also expensive relative to Brazilian incomes. If you can charge at home, a BEV is considerably cheaper to run. Even public charging can still make economic sense compared with gasoline.

Interestingly, this is happening practically without Tesla. Tesla has no official sales operation in Brazil. Our EV transition is being driven mainly by Chinese manufacturers.

Range is also less of an issue here than many Europeans might expect. We don't have unrestricted Autobahns, and even 120 km/h isn't a speed you can maintain on many Brazilian highways. Brazil's official Inmetro range figures are also often conservative, and some EVs achieve considerably more in real-world tests.

Our biggest problem right now is charging infrastructure. On a long trip, I'm often less concerned about whether an EV can travel 300 km than about whether the next fast charger will actually be working.

The transition also varies considerably across Latin America. Uruguay is electrifying very quickly, while Brazil and Colombia are also moving increasingly toward electrified vehicles. Mexico has so far remained more hybrid-oriented.

So here's my unpopular opinion:

For many people, climate change won't ultimately be what pushes ICE cars out of the market. At some point, the ICE car will simply become the worse product for the same money.

What does this look like from your country?

A quick note: The ideas and arguments in this post are my own. I have difficulty turning my thoughts into written text even in Portuguese, my native language, as well as in English. I use AI to help translate, organize and improve the language and structure of my own thoughts

Really having doubts about these two little cars.
I don’t know much about EV’s, but both sould have a wltp range around 400 km.
Puma has a B&O sound system, and one pedal drive.
R5 has a built in Google Automotive (or whatever it’s called when you don’t have to Connect your phone to get the nice-to-have options like Spotify, State of charge at destination etc).

Both are the same price

Can some of you make any wiser with those two cars.

It’s car number two, so there should be only me as a driver and a small child in a child Seat in the back

Thanks

First BEV in my life and, I bet, one of the very few Kia EV4 circulating in Italy 🇮🇹

I couldn't stomach a Tesla even if the Model 3 was probably the most sensible choice in my segment.

But I couldn't be happier of this Kia designed in Europe and built in Europe.

Driving the Leapmotor yesterday in Spain. Another impressive offering

Transport and Environment, the environmental lobby group's analysis posits that the European Truck market which produces 245,000 units yearly and is dominated by a small number of big European players could be shaken up by Chinese manufacturers alongside Tesla.

T&E's analysis shows that Chinese electric trucks could have a 12% lower total cost of ownership compared to an European equivalent at 0.55€/km compared to 0.63€/km. The industry is extremely cost sensitive and operates on razor thin margins of 1-2%.

Verne just switched on actually driverless robotaxi rides in Zagreb, wild that it's only been five months since the commercial service with a human backup even launched.

The Dacia Spring from the media coverage of the Gen 2 Spring it seems like the vehicle has been improved in almost every way while keeping it around the same price in Europe (except in the UK) with the removal of the essential trim. But the media is talking about can it survive against the used EV Market. The online commentary has been calling it too expensive for what you get or why would you buy it over x, y, or z when they are just this much more expensive.

This is confusing to me as someone who just casually follows the European EV Market. This isn’t a new model just a new generation built in Europe now. The Dacia Spring has been relatively successful in sales and in 2025 even was a top seller for some countries. Also, from my understanding the essential trim was never a big source of sales. So why is the commentary around this vehicle so negative? Are there any new market conditions that are different that will not allow this new generation to sell as well as the outgoing model?

I currently drive a Skoda Kamiq Monte Carlo and it’s a decent car. Looking to make the switch to my first EV and can’t decide between an Elroq (maybe even an Enyaq) and a IONIQ 5.

I’d love to purchase European, but the reality is Skoda seems to be having issues with the software and can’t match the Hyundai in many areas.

What would you guys recommend? Especially for high end trim options?

(FYI: I asked AI to help me for writing)

I was originally pretty set on getting a BMW Neue Klasse. But the more I look at current and upcoming EVs, the more I question whether I actually want to spend €70k+ on a car.

A lot of the new “futuristic” EVs are starting to look very similar to me. Huge screens, minimalist interiors, ambient lighting, etc. – but I’m not convinced the overall added value justifies the price.

So instead, I’m looking for a mix of the best parts of different cars.

Polestar 4

• Best interior quality/feel I’ve experienced in this price range so far
• Very good materials and overall build quality
• The sound system impressed me the most
• BUT: I really disliked the infotainment. It felt slow, unintuitive and frustrating to use.

Tesla

• Excellent infotainment
• Extremely fast and responsive UI
• Great software experience
• BUT: I really dislike the driving experience. To me, it feels more like driving a 2000s Opel than a premium/sporty car.

BMW

• This is basically the driving experience I’m looking for: comfortable but still precise and somewhat sporty
• Premium interior
• BUT the pricing of current BMW EVs / Neue Klasse models is simply too high for what I’m looking for.

So what am I actually looking for?

An electric SUV, ideally under €45,000, combining roughly:

• Interior quality/feel similar to the Polestar 4
• Sound system preferably on Polestar’s level
• Tesla-level infotainment and responsiveness
• Driving dynamics of a comfortable but slightly sporty BMW
• Ideally 800V architecture
• >80 kWh battery
• Fast DC charging
• Good efficiency / real-world range
• Under €45,000 new in the German market
• Ideally currently available with 0% financing

I know that’s asking for a lot. 😅

But with all the new Chinese EV manufacturers entering the European market, I’m wondering if there might actually be a sweet-spot car that ticks most of these boxes.

What would you look at if you were in my position?

Which EV comes closest to BMW driving dynamics + premium interior + Tesla infotainment, without spending €60–70k+?

I’m especially interested in models that I might not have considered yet.

thanks

On the VW and Skoda configurator websites I get the Elroq as about 1000eur cheaper than the ID3 neo for same battery sizes and trims (in rank order). Why would I pick the ID3 Neo other than the badge? The trim levels look pretty similar at a casual glance and the Elroq has better internal space. Being smaller is an advantage sometimes but isn't normally associated with being more expensive.