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GAC plans to have GoMate in experimental use in some industries in 2025 and small-scale production in 2026. (Image credit: GAC) GAC Group has unveiled its humanoid robot, as local car companies become more interested in the field. The Chinese auto giant unveiled GoMate at an event in Shanghai today, calling it the third generation of its in-house developed embodied artificial intelligence robot. GoMate demonstrated motion control, navigation and localization, and autonomous decision-making capabilities at the event. It is a full-size, wheeled humanoid robot with 38 degrees of freedom (DoF). The humanoid’s form can be switched between quadrupedal and bipedal…

In what couldn’t have been more on-the-nose timing, a group of local California newspapers published an editorial on Christmas Eve calling for the end of a generous $2,000 voucher program intended to help low-income Californians afford electric bicycles for transportation. The editorial was provided by the Southern California News Group, a collection of California newspapers owned by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital. In it, the writers air a number of grievances against the program, which recently closed its first round of applications intended to provide around 1,500 e-bike vouchers of between US $1,750 to $2,000 each. The vouchers can…

Vinfast recalled 4,888 VF 8 electric SUVs The center airbag mounted to the driver’s seat could deploy improperly Vinfast will replace the airbag free of charge Vinfast is recalling certain VF 8 electric SUVs because of faulty airbags that could injure drivers. The recall includes 4,888 vehicles from model years 2023 to 2025. The center airbag mounted in the driver’s seat in these vehicles “may deploy improperly” during a side impact, striking the driver’s arm and potentially causing injuries, according to the NHTSA. Vinfast estimates that 100% of the recalled vehicles have this defect, which the automaker said it became…

In recent months, more and more automakers have started selling North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapters to allow owners of their electric vehicles to access the vast Tesla Supercharging network. Ford will sell you one for $200, Polestar and Volvo will hook you up for $230 and General Motors will do it for $225.  But there’s even better news if you drive a Hyundai: you’ll be able to get a NACS adapter for zero dollars next year. That means that owners of the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona Electric will be able to use Tesla’s Supercharger network at no…

Eve Energy has added one battery cell production line for the P7+ one month after the model’s launch, and may add 2 additional ones next month. (Xpeng P7+. Image credit: Xpeng) Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) is seeing deliveries of its new electric sedan P7+ accelerate as supplier Eve Energy adds battery cell capacity. Eve Energy provided three battery cell production lines for the P7+ during the model’s initial launch, auto blogger Zhu Yulong said today on Weibo, citing the battery maker’s management. Due to the model’s sales exceeding expectations, Eve Energy added one battery cell production line for the P7+ one…

Dodge, perhaps alone among contemporary automakers, has seen immense success in translating the archaic 20th-century Muscle Car formula into the 21st. It has done this by stuffing increasingly outrageous iterations of its modern Hemi V8 into nearly every vehicle in its product line. Its fervent Hellcat-ing has been enough, surprisingly, to maintain steadily vigorous sales of its Challenger coupe and Charger sedan, 20-year-old cars aping 55-year-old designs and riding on platforms developed more than 30 years ago. But those vehicles are finally going away. They will be replaced by flexible-powertrain two- and four-door models, both called Charger, that will be…

General Motors and ChargePoint on Wednesday announced plans to deploy up to 500 DC fast chargers before the end of 2025. Using GM Energy branding, the chargers will be supplied by ChargePoint, according to the companies. Many of the chargers will use ChargePoint’s Omni Port to allow electric vehicles with Combined Charging Standard (CCS) or North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports to charge at the same station without any adapter. ChargePoint Omni Port GM and ChargePoint promise power rates of up to 500 kw, surpassing those of the automaker’s current partnership with EVgo, which goes back to 2020 when GM…

The CPCA expects China’s retail sales of NEVs to reach 1.4 million units in December, the fifth consecutive month above 1 million units. China’s passenger car new energy vehicle (NEV) sales are poised to reach a new high this month. In December, retail sales of passenger NEVs in China are estimated at 1.4 million units, up 47.8 percent year-on-year and up 10.4 percent from November, according to estimates released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). This means that monthly retail sales of Chinese NEVs are expected to exceed 1 million units for the fifth consecutive month. China’s NEV…

Smog over Los Angeles. Photo: Steven Buss on Flickr The US government is ready to approve California’s emissions rules which would end gas-only car sales within the state by 2035, according to a report by the Washington Post. The Post spoke with anonymous sources stating that California’s “Advanced Clean Cars 2” light-duty emissions rules, which were finalized in 2022, are going to be approved by the federal government in the coming days. California has requested waivers for several other emissions rules – and has received some of them in recent years – but the sources did not comment on whether any…

The 2026 Mercedes CLA EV gets true one-pedal driving Mercedes put a focus on efficiency and energy recuperation with the CLA EV Mercedes hasn’t said how much the 2026 CLA EV will cost; it debuts in 2025 Up until now, many automakers have chosen to dial back regenerative braking in EVs because of concerns over stability on slick roads.  Mercedes-Benz is breaking from that thinking in its future EVs, starting with the next-generation system that will debut in future EVs starting with the CLA EV.  During a brief ride in a 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA EV prototype in the Austrian Alps,…