Episode Details

It's ev.news Briefly for Friday 07 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.

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FORD FATHOM STARTS AT $29,945 DELIVERED
Ford has named its affordable electric pickup the Fathom, priced from $28,350 for the standard-range model, or $29,945 including the mandatory $1,595 delivery fee, and it is the first vehicle on Ford's new Universal EV Platform, which uses megacasting and an "assembly tree" process at Louisville Assembly Plant to cut parts count by 20% and process workstations by 40%, alongside prismatic LFP cells from BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan and an expected range of at least 300 miles (480km). Every trim gets a large touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, BlueCruise, bidirectional charging, a digital key, a native NACS port and the first embedded Apple Maps navigation, with pre-orders and the full reveal due in early 2027 and customer deliveries later that year.

CALIFORNIA'S MYFIRSTEV REBATES START PAYING OUT
California's MyFirstEV programme has begun paying out $3,500 off a new EV and $1,750 off a used EV at the point of sale, funded by $135.5 million from the state matched by $135.5 million from manufacturers for a $271 million pot that could support more than 73,000 clean vehicles, with new vehicles capped at $50,000 MSRP, used at $25,000, and buyers required to attest they have never owned an EV. The caveats are significant: the price caps do not apply to California-headquartered makers Lucid and Rivian, carmakers choose which models and trims qualify, CARB judges eligibility on base-trim MSRP so pricier variants like the Model Y Performance still qualify, and used EVs must be certified pre-owned from franchised dealerships and at least two model years old.

BMW STARTS I3 PRODUCTION IN MUNICH
BMW began series production of the i3 at Plant Munich on 6 August, making it the second Neue Klasse model to reach series production after the iX3, with orders opening in mid-June and demand forcing an unusually steep ramp-up curve. Plant Munich head Peter Weber said the launch cuts manufacturing costs by a further 10% through forward planning, supplier collaboration, targeted automation, digitalisation and the Neue Klasse architecture, with the First Edition priced at €75,340 ($87,100) and the later base i3 50 xDrive at €65,900 ($76,180).

ŠKODA STARTS PEAQ PRODUCTION IN MLADÁ BOLESLAV
Škoda Auto has started series production of the Peaq, its largest and most expensive electric model, at Mladá Boleslav, where it shares a line with the electric Elroq, electric Enyaq and combustion Octavia Combi, allowing output to shift between powertrains as demand changes; the model went on sale in June and had almost 8,500 orders by the end of July. Batteries are assembled on site, with a 91 kWh gross/86 kWh net pack offering more than 640 km (398 miles) of range and a smaller 63 kWh gross/59 kWh net pack starting at €49,990 (about $58,000).

CHINESE BRANDS GAIN GROUND IN GERMANY
Chinese brands took 3.8% of German registrations in the first half of 2026, up from 2.2% in 2025, achieved in Europe's largest car market while overall demand stayed flat. Research from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand found Korean-brand owners most open to switching, with nearly one in two considering a Chinese model and one in five certain to buy, against nearly one in three of Japanese-brand owners and roughly one in four German-brand owners, though the German figures are not presented on a comparable basis and stated intent does not prove actual defection.

ROYAL MAIL HITS 9,