The Duck CurveVehicles
EVs and everything else that moves on electrons: charging, fleets, aviation, shipping, rail.
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Australian BEV share eases to 24.2% in September on FCAI's count
Battery-electric vehicles took 24.2% of Australia's new vehicle market in September 2026, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said on October 6, below the record 24.9% it reported for August and up from 11.3% in September 2025. The Driven counts 26,087 EVs against 26,018 petrol cars, a second straight month ahead of petrol.
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Renew Home, now Everyday Electric, buys connected-car platform Smartcar
Renew Home renamed itself Everyday Electric on October 6, 2026, introduced a whole-home Everyday VPP with HVAC, EV, EVSE, storage and solar OEM partners, and said it acquired connected-vehicle platform Smartcar for managed charging in utility programs, without disclosing terms. It claims 6+ GW of capacity and a five-year goal of over $5 billion in household savings that counts avoided system costs for all households its energy provider partners serve.
Ampol agrees to buy Evie Networks and its 1,031 charging bays for A$225M
Ampol agreed on October 1, 2026 to buy Fast Cities Australia (Evie Networks) for A$225 million, adding more than 1,030 public charging bays for a combined network of about 1,425 bays at over 400 sites. Ampol anticipates breakeven EBITDA for the combined charging business in 2028 and targets annualised EBITDA of $30 million, including synergies, from Evie and its Energy Solutions unit within three years of completion, which is targeted for the first half of 2027 subject to ACCC clearance.
Honda and Taisei test in-road wireless charging built for 20-ton trucks
Honda and Taisei said on October 5, 2026 that Honda R&D, Taisei Corporation and Taisei Rotec have developed the underlying technology for a magnetic coupling wireless charging road for moving EVs, with ground units and pavement built to withstand vehicles of approximately 20 tons gross weight, tested at Taisei's T-FIELD/SATTE test road. Taisei says the system is designed for up to 150 kW; neither company reports a measured power level. The team is one of two scheduled for NEXCO East's roughly 300-meter Tateyama Expressway trial from fiscal 2027.
BMW opens Irlbach-Straßkirchen plant to assemble Neue Klasse batteries
BMW Group opened its around €1 billion Irlbach-Straßkirchen plant in Bavaria on October 1, 2026, starting two-shift series production of sixth-generation high-voltage batteries for the new BMW i3 built in Munich. The plant assembles packs from cells BMW says come from leading cell manufacturers, which the release does not name; at full operation it expects around 1,600 employees and several hundred batteries a day on two lines, with no GWh capacity given.
Germany's MiSpeL rules let home batteries mix grid and solar power
Germany's Bundesnetzagentur adopted the MiSpeL determination on October 1, 2026, letting batteries and bidirectional EV charge points store grid power alongside solar while keeping the EEG market premium on the solar share and levy relief on stored grid power. The premium requires direct marketing, the flat-rate option for arrays up to 30 kWp awaits EU state-aid approval, and until September 30, 2027 use needs grid and meter operator consent.
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Norway's new vans were 74.6% electric in September after a tax increase
Electric vans took 74.6% of Norway's 2,036 new van registrations in September 2026, a share the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) calls a record. New diesel vans fell 70% from September 2025, to 468, after the one-time registration tax on combustion-engine vans rose on September 1, 2026, while new electric vans rose 22% to 1,518. Of the 526,284 vans on Norwegian roads, 85% are diesel, and nearly nine in ten vans that changed owners in September were diesel.
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Tesla Q3 2026: 486,532 deliveries, 13.7 GWh of storage, no Semi figure
Tesla said on October 2, 2026 that it delivered 486,532 vehicles, 478,237 of them Model 3/Y, produced 464,391 and deployed 13.7 GWh of energy storage in the third quarter of 2026, against 12.5 GWh in Q3 2025. By The Duck Curve's arithmetic deliveries were down 2.1% from Q3 2025, which Tesla's October 2, 2025 release called a record for both deliveries and deployments; the release gives no figure for the Semi, a truck The Verge describes as in volume production as of April 2026, and scopes its vehicle production and delivery numbers to passenger vehicles sold to customers.
Ultium Cells to make LMR prismatic EV cells at Spring Hill, Tennessee
Ultium Cells, the GM and LG Energy Solution joint venture, said in a September 28, 2026 release that it will upgrade its Spring Hill, Tennessee plant to make LMR prismatic cells for future GM EVs: modifications begin in 2026, completion is expected in 2028, 500 projected jobs join 1,200 employees, and combined investment with the plant's LFP storage-cell program and facility improvements will reach $1B by 2030. It expects Spring Hill to be first in the world to mass produce prismatic LMR cells, with the potential, it says, for 33% higher energy density than LFP at comparable cost.
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FedEx orders 2,000 Harbinger electric trucks, valued at over $300 million
Harbinger announced on September 30, 2026 an order from FedEx for 2,000 of its all-electric trucks, with a total order value Harbinger says exceeds $300 million. Delivery is planned by the end of 2027 across FedEx pickup and delivery operations in the United States and Canada; Harbinger calls the transaction "believed to be one of the largest binding orders for electric medium or heavy-duty trucks in history."
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EIA: light-duty EV electricity use grew 8% in 1H26 after 13–24% half-years
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on September 30, 2026 that light-duty electric vehicles in the United States consumed 8% more electricity in the first six months of 2026 than in the second half of 2025, down from the 13–24% growth it recorded in six-month periods in recent years, with the modeled estimate at nearly 14 billion kWh for 1H26, more than double 1H23. EIA says the slowing followed a decline in sales after federal tax credits expired in September 2025: new EV sales in 1H26 were down 19% compared with 2H25.
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NHTSA final CAFE rule sets standards without counting EV fuel economy
NHTSA's final SAFE Vehicles Rule III, published September 30, 2026 and effective November 30, 2026, sets CAFE standards for model years 2022 through 2031 that it says are based solely on gasoline- and diesel-powered light-duty vehicles, including non-plug-in hybrids, with EV fuel economy and PHEV electric operation not considered. NHTSA estimates the average of manufacturers' requirements at about 34.9 mpg by MY 2031 against about 49.3 mpg under the 2024 standards; inter-manufacturer credit trading ends beginning with credits earned in MY 2028; crossover reclassification starts in MY 2030.
Boston sues DOT over $20M RAISE grant withdrawn for EV charging stations
The City of Boston sued the US Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration, Secretary Sean Duffy and FTA Acting Deputy Administrator Matthew Cahill in the District of Massachusetts on September 28, 2026 (case 1:26-cv-14419), asking the court to vacate DOT's September 9, 2025 withdrawal of a $20 million FY2022 RAISE award for three Roxbury street corridors. The complaint says DOT's letter gave the project's EV charging stations, less than 1% of the grant, as its single reason, and that Boston offered on October 8, 2025 to remove them.
Geely agrees to take 30% of NIO Power for Yiyi Power plus RMB640 million
NIO Inc. said in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing on September 28, 2026 that, subject to closing conditions, a Geely Holding Group subsidiary will subscribe for newly issued equity of NIO Power with its 100% stake in Yiyi Power plus RMB640 million in cash, holding 30.0% at completion at a post-money valuation of approximately RMB16 billion; NIO China keeps a controlling 63.6%. Under the same conditions, NIO China will take 10.0% of Geely's charging arm, Haohan Energy. The filing calls plans for battery swapping on Geely consumer-facing models and commercial mobility businesses preliminary.
LA Metro board approves 220 electric buses from ENC, gates 1,600 options
LA Metro's board on September 24, 2026 authorized a $337,698,727.58 base contract with ElDorado National (California), Inc. for 220 forty-foot battery electric buses and raised the project's life-of-project budget to $434,355,185; deliveries begin in spring 2028, per the board report. A Bass amendment makes any purchase of the up to 1,600 option buses subject to board approval, in increments not to exceed 300, and lets the board decline or rebid options. Metro's July 2026 update counted 140 zero-emission buses, 6.46% of its fleet; Streetsblog LA puts the post-purchase share at over 20 percent.
BETA flies over 1,300 nautical miles on North Carolina medical test routes
BETA Technologies said on September 23, 2026 that its ALIA CTOL has flown more than 1,300 nautical miles of routes in North Carolina since September 17 under the DOT and FAA eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, with simulated deliveries of healthcare cargo alongside NCDOT, Metro Aviation and healthcare partners including ECU Health and WakeMed. In a DOT statement that day, BETA's Kyle Clark said its aircraft flew more than 16 medical and disaster response missions in the week to September 23. The operations will use a Charge Cube installed at Raleigh Executive Jetport in 2024, per BETA.
Tesla Semi launch event names customers, gives no production rate or price
Tesla Semi's account on X said on September 24, 2026 that it is launching high volume production, as Tesla streamed a rollout event from its Semi factory in Sparks, Nevada; The Verge dates volume production to April 2026 and PepsiCo pilot units to 2022. Per The Verge, Tesla named customers including PepsiCo, US Foods, DHL and Einride, said first deliveries began in the week of September 21 and claimed 50,000 trucks a year of capacity; per Automotive World, it disclosed no official pricing or production volumes. Its Q2 2026 update lists the Semi line's capacity as blank, status Commissioning.
Geely says new station peaks at 2,250 kW, test cars took 4.5 minutes to 70%
Geely Auto Group said on September 23, 2026 it introduced Geely Smart Charging, an AI-managed charging system, alongside a fifth-generation Geely Smart Charging Station it says delivers peak charging power of up to 2,250 kW. In tests it calls real-world, the battery used in the Lynk & Co 10 and Zeekr 001 charged from 10% to 70% in 4 minutes 30 seconds and from 10% to 97% in 8 minutes 40 seconds. The release names no pack capacity, test temperature or price; CnEVPost puts BYD's flash charger at a maximum of 1,500 kW per connector and its network at 11,586 stations in China as of September 24.
PG&E and GM Energy bundle charger at no additional cost, $15 monthly credit
PG&E and GM Energy said on September 23, 2026 that their Smart Charge Bundle gives buyers of a new Chevrolet, GMC or Cadillac EV a GM Energy home charger at no additional hardware cost plus a $15 monthly PG&E bill credit through the EV Charge Manager program. The bundle page limits participation to single-family or detached homes with an active OnStar plan with location services enabled; as of September 23, 2026 PG&E's page for the general EV Charge Manager program calls that program fully subscribed, and neither page says whether the bundle track is affected.
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Colorado awards $23.2M in fast-charging grants from NEVI and state funds
The Colorado Energy Office and the Colorado Department of Transportation said on September 22, 2026 that $23.2 million in Direct Current Fast-Charging Plazas grants, funded by the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program and the state's Community Access Enterprise, will fund what the release counts as 270 fast-charging ports at 35 locations. The release's own awardee list names 34 locations, and the awards sheet it links shows 34 sites with 260 ports requested for the round, with the sheet's NEVI, CAE and BESS EI columns summing to $23,195,000.
2,500 electric Class 8 trucks ordered through ZET SCALE, Tesla primary OEM
Catalyst Mobility and the Smart Freight Centre said on September 22, 2026 that their ZET SCALE shipper-carrier alliance has enabled an order for 2,500 battery-electric Class 8 trucks, which the release calls the largest electric truck order to date in the United States and says nearly doubles the US electric Class 8 fleet; the dashboard it links puts cumulative US zero-emission HD-truck deployments at 2,509 through December 2025. Tesla is primary OEM for the initial 2,500, with Kenworth, RIDE and Volvo as secondary OEMs; ZET Financial issues the purchase order and will lease the trucks.
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Käppeli Logistik orders its first Tesla Semi at IAA, 2027 delivery planned
Käppeli Logistik AG said on September 15, 2026 that it placed the official order for its first Tesla Semi at IAA Transportation in Hannover, with contract signing to follow and delivery planned for 2027, seven years after a pre-order placed at Tesla's Fremont plant in 2019. Käppeli says the tractor is to have around 1,020 PS and up to 550 km of range; Tesla Europe's September 11 post on X puts the European Semi at up to 550 km at 40 t fully loaded, with a Megacharger at up to 800 kW and a 9,100 kg curb weight, among other figures, and gives no price or delivery date.
Newsom signs six EV bills on charger permits, fees, and battery labels
Governor Gavin Newsom's office said on September 20, 2026 that he signed SB 969, SB 1283, AB 1820, SB 1213, SB 1267, and SB 615. Per the Legislative Counsel's digests, SB 1283 extends California's expedited charger permitting to supporting infrastructure; AB 1820 caps Level 2 charger permit fees at multifamily housing from July 1, 2027 (January 1, 2028 in jurisdictions under 200,000 residents); SB 615 requires a permanent label on new vehicle traction batteries from July 1, 2028. As of September 20 each bill's history page still ended at "Enrolled and presented to the Governor."
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BYD Sealion 7 joins Amber's ARENA-backed V2G program in Australia
Amber Electric and BYD Australia announced on September 18, 2026 that the Sealion 7 joins Amber's vehicle-to-grid program, which Amber calls Australia's largest live V2G program, scaling to 1,000 households with A$13.6 million more from ARENA (May 29, 2026). The release says Sealion 7 owners in the program will have their EV battery covered under BYD's warranty support and that participants will be able to buy eligible Atto 3 or Sealion 7 variants at six per cent off the base RRP; as of September 20, 2026 the eligibility list and discount offer on Amber's program page name only the Atto 3.
First Student says trenchless NYC bus charging cut build costs 13%
First Student and Con Edison said on September 15, 2026 that the first phase of an electric school bus project serving the New York City Department of Education is complete in Brooklyn and Queens, on First Student's above-ground First Charge equipment, which it says cut infrastructure construction costs by 13% by avoiding trenching; First Student plans 40 more electric buses for the department. The release names no dollar figures, no count of buses now operating, no charger count, no depot address, and no baseline for the 13%; the smart energy hub promised in 2024 is now under consideration.
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NYC picks it's electric for its 600-point curbside charging expansion
it's electric said on September 15, 2026 that New York City and the New York Power Authority selected it to build the city's permanent curbside EV charging network, replacing the current pilot infrastructure over three years. NYC DOT's August 4, 2026 release set the expansion at 600 new curbside charging points, which it counts with the existing 88 Level 2 points as nearly 700 and the company's release calls 700. Gothamist, citing the DOT, reports contracts of $55.3 million for installation and $4.9 million for operating; DOT says it will keep operating the existing stations.
UL Solutions opens V2G certification under new UL 1741 Supplement SC
UL Solutions Inc. announced on September 14, 2026 a certification program for vehicle-to-grid equipment: bidirectional EV supply equipment tested to UL 1741 Supplement SC, which the Vehicle-Grid Integration Council says UL Standards & Engagement published on May 21, 2026 for EVs with SAE J3072 onboard inverters, plus a second route pairing UL 1741 multipiece DER requirements with UL 9741. Its borrowed figures: a GM Energy-funded E3 study's 2030 model (V2G 5 to 15 times managed charging per vehicle) and a 2020 EPRI Journal projection (about 90% of EVs will be parked at any given time).
Alstom signs over €1.2bn of contracts for 29 TransPennine battery trains
Alstom said on September 11, 2026 that it signed contracts worth more than €1.2 billion with TransPennine Express for 29 battery-electric trains plus maintenance, depot provision and charging infrastructure; the trains are to be built at Derby Litchurch Lane Works from 2028, per Alstom's expected start, and delivered from 2032. TransPennine Express and the Department for Transport put it at £1 billion. Alstom will install charging at Hull, Scarborough and Saltburn; Rock Rail funds the trains, replacing part of the Class 185 fleet. None of the four releases gives battery capacity or range.
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NCDOT awards $14.4M in NEVI funds for 14 corridor charging sites
The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced on September 11, 2026 its second round of National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure awards: $14.4 million to eight businesses to build and operate charging stations at 14 locations along major travel corridors, including Asheboro, Columbus, High Point, Kinston, Raleigh, Wadesboro, and Weaverville. NCDOT's awards page puts the round at $14,405,524 and lists five round-one stations under construction, after nine conditional awards announced in September 2024; in January 2026 NCDOT cut its planned second-round corridor sites from 41 to 16.
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Tesla says Cybertruck Powershare now backs up homes with a Powerwall 3
Tesla's official Cybertruck account said on X on September 10, 2026 that a Cybertruck and a Powerwall 3 can now power a house together, which it says extends home backup by over 3 days, equivalent to 9 additional Powerwalls. Tesla had told owners in October 2024 the Powerwall pairing would be enabled in 2025, and a December 2025 email to customers, published by Drive Tesla, rescheduled it to mid-2026. Electrek puts the truck's pack at 123 kWh and says Powershare delivers up to 11.5 kW to the home, the maximum shown on the post's app screen.