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ev.news Briefly: Rivian, VW, Hyundai & more | 07 Sep 2026
Published 3 days, 18 hours ago
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It's ev.news Briefly for Monday 07 September 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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RIVIAN OS 2 REACHES BOTH R1 GENERATIONS
Rivian began rolling out update 2026.31 on Friday, extending RivianOS 2 to R1T and R1S models from both R1 generations alongside R2, adding a vertical status bar, quick controls and media player placeable on either side of the centre display, a rebuilt Settings 2 app with universal search, Real-Time Route Alerts for speed cameras and police presence in Google Maps navigation, and Rivian Unified Intelligence behind a "Hey Rivian" assistant that can control vehicle functions. Hardware still divides the platform: R2 and second-generation R1 vehicles run Unreal Engine 5 for real-time 3D visualisations while first-generation R1s stay on Unreal Engine 4 to preserve screen responsiveness, reflecting the first-gen's 17 electronic control units against the 2024 second-gen's seven-unit zonal architecture, dual Nvidia Drive AGX Orin processors and roughly ten times the processing power.
Rivian began rolling out update 2026.31 on Friday, extending RivianOS 2 to R1T and R1S models from both R1 generations alongside R2, adding a vertical status bar, quick controls and media player placeable on either side of the centre display, a rebuilt Settings 2 app with universal search, Real-Time Route Alerts for speed cameras and police presence in Google Maps navigation, and Rivian Unified Intelligence behind a "Hey Rivian" assistant that can control vehicle functions. Hardware still divides the platform: R2 and second-generation R1 vehicles run Unreal Engine 5 for real-time 3D visualisations while first-generation R1s stay on Unreal Engine 4 to preserve screen responsiveness, reflecting the first-gen's 17 electronic control units against the 2024 second-gen's seven-unit zonal architecture, dual Nvidia Drive AGX Orin processors and roughly ten times the processing power.
REPORTED ID. POLO ORDERS TOP 30,000 BEFORE LAUNCH
More than 30,000 orders for Volkswagen's ID. Polo, priced from €24,995 (about $29,000), have reportedly been placed across Europe before the hatchback's official sales launch, with pre-sales open since late April, demand strongest in Germany and most buyers ordering without having seen or driven the car. A major VW dealer group says the range is effectively sold out with waits of at least ten months, while Volkswagen attributes the delays to strong demand and capacity planned in advance at its Martorell plant in Spain, where it is progressively increasing production.
More than 30,000 orders for Volkswagen's ID. Polo, priced from €24,995 (about $29,000), have reportedly been placed across Europe before the hatchback's official sales launch, with pre-sales open since late April, demand strongest in Germany and most buyers ordering without having seen or driven the car. A major VW dealer group says the range is effectively sold out with waits of at least ten months, while Volkswagen attributes the delays to strong demand and capacity planned in advance at its Martorell plant in Spain, where it is progressively increasing production.
HYUNDAI OPENS STARIA ELECTRIC ORDERS IN EUROPE
Hyundai has opened European orders for the Staria Electric from €57,450 (about $66,800) for the German Trend nine-seater, using an 84 kWh battery, a 160 kW (218 hp) front motor, up to 430 km (267 miles) WLTP range and an 800V architecture that charges 10-80% in about 20 minutes at 350 kW, plus internal and external 16-amp V2L. At 5,253 mm it is 200 mm longer than the IONIQ 9 and larger than the Kia PV5 and VW ID. Buzz, with up to 1,303 litres of luggage space in nine-seat form, a Prime version adding electric sliding doors, powered tailgate, Highway Assistant 1.5 and a 230V socket, and a Calligraphy seven-seater from €66,950 ($77,800) with Nappa leather, BOSE audio and reclining second-row seats.
Hyundai has opened European orders for the Staria Electric from €57,450 (about $66,800) for the German Trend nine-seater, using an 84 kWh battery, a 160 kW (218 hp) front motor, up to 430 km (267 miles) WLTP range and an 800V architecture that charges 10-80% in about 20 minutes at 350 kW, plus internal and external 16-amp V2L. At 5,253 mm it is 200 mm longer than the IONIQ 9 and larger than the Kia PV5 and VW ID. Buzz, with up to 1,303 litres of luggage space in nine-seat form, a Prime version adding electric sliding doors, powered tailgate, Highway Assistant 1.5 and a 230V socket, and a Calligraphy seven-seater from €66,950 ($77,800) with Nappa leather, BOSE audio and reclining second-row seats.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES OUTSELL PETROL CARS IN AUSTRALIA
Fully electric vehicles outsold petrol cars in Australia for the first time last month, with 27,078 EVs registered against 25,824 petrol and 23,608 diesel vehicles, taking one in four new-car sales. Including plug-in hybrids, battery-powered vehicles reached 36% of the market while petrol and diesel together fell below 50%, a shift BYD's Paul Ellis put down to falling reluctance and an influx of cheaper Chinese models, leaving public charging capacity as the open question.
Fully electric vehicles outsold petrol cars in Australia for the first time last month, with 27,078 EVs registered against 25,824 petrol and 23,608 diesel vehicles, taking one in four new-car sales. Including plug-in hybrids, battery-powered vehicles reached 36% of the market while petrol and diesel together fell below 50%, a shift BYD's Paul Ellis put down to falling reluctance and an influx of cheaper Chinese models, leaving public charging capacity as the open question.
UK ELECTRIC VAN SHARE HITS RECORD 16.3%
UK electric van registrations rose 25.9% to 2,395 units in August, a record 16.3% share of the light commercial vehicle market, with battery-electric vans at 11.0% of new LCV registrations in the year to August. August is traditionally a low-volume month ahead of September's numberplate change, so the share gain may overstate the trend and September will be the clearer test of sustained fleet demand.
UK electric van registrations rose 25.9% to 2,395 units in August, a record 16.3% share of the light commercial vehicle market, with battery-electric vans at 11.0% of new LCV registrations in the year to August. August is traditionally a low-volume month ahead of September's numberplate change, so the share gain may overstate the trend and September will be the clearer test of sustained fleet demand.
US DIESEL AVERAGE REACHES $5.85 A GALLON
US diesel hit a record national average of $5.85 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA data cited by the New Y
US diesel hit a record national average of $5.85 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA data cited by the New Y
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