Reborn Lancia brand debuts a 435 mile range EV concept inspired by… Italian furniture?
We may still be a ways away from seeing the production intent design of the Ypsilion EV, which has been promised as the kickoff to legacy brand Lancia’s renaissance – but the Italian automaker has given us the design language that represents its 100% electric vision for the next decade in the form of a new concept called the Pu+Ra HPE. As the first vehicle inspired by the world of furniture, Lancia hopes its future customers will feel right at home inside its uniquely designed EVs.
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Lancia lives on to serve a new age of EV innovation
Lancia was originally founded in Turin, Italy, over 116 years ago as Lancia & C. Fabbrica Automobili and spent its first 60 years building innovative combustion vehicles like the first full-production V6 engine.
Fiat purchased Lancia in 1969, but the marque continued producing vehicles well into the ’80s, where it found a successful niche in rally car racing. When Fiat Auto became Fiat Group in 2007, Lancia again pivoted along with it before rebranding in 2011 to design new vehicles built by Chrysler. Under FCA in 2015, Lancia remained alive but sold just one model – the Ypsilon. That vehicle remains today but is only sold in Italy.
There was worry that the Lancia name would be wiped altogether when FCA morphed into Stellantis in 2021. Under the new conglomerate’s “Dare Forward 2030” electrification strategy, however, Stellantis shared it would breathe new life (and funding) into Lancia as an EV-centric marque.
Rather than deliver a concept or even a digital rendering to the public first, Lancia’s EV journey began with an automotive sculpture called the Pu+Ra Zero. Pu+Ra is short for “pure” and “radical,” which are two key design elements Lancia is keeping in mind as it looks to deliver a new breed of EVs with Italian luxury in its DNA.
Lancia has since left the art studio and moved into the design lab, publicly unveiling its next development milestone, a concept EV called the Pu+Ra HPE.
Lancia’s EV concept kicks off its next decade of design
While Pu+Ra HPE remains a mere concept for the latest era of the Lancia brand, the automaker says it represents its vision of what to expect within its production of EVs over the next decade, beginning with an all-electric version of the Ypsilon.
The concept’s “HPE” title stands for “high-performance electric” and is a modern spin on the “high-performance estate” initialism Lancia put on its vehicles in the 1970s. Lancia says the EV concept represents its future performance in delivering over 700 km (435 miles) of electric range, charging times under 10 minutes, and energy consumption under 10 kWh per 100 km.
Like the Pu+Ra HPE, Lancia says its future EVs will feature low roofs, slim digital wing mirrors, and advanced aerodynamics. The EV’s minimalist interface consists of the brand’s Sound Air Light Augmentation (SALA), which combines audio, climate control, and lighting functions into one system that can be controlled through a button or voice command.
Stellantis’ “Chameleon” technology debuts on the EV concept and is able to adapt the atmosphere of the passenger space in correlation with the vehicle’s external environment, adjusting the sound, air, and light accordingly.
As you’ll see from the images below, Lancia is working to deliver unique EVs – especially with interiors that are designed with sustainability and “a feeling of home” in mind.
Lancia wants to deliver the cozy feeling of home
To set the tone for its next decade of production EVs, Lancia partnered with interior and furniture design firm Cassina – a fellow Italian company – to capture the spirit of the country, combine respective traditions, and showcase respect for the environment – all within the concept’s interior. Per the release:
The interiors of Lancia Pu+Ra HPE express full coherence with the brand’s new, pure and radical design language, thanks to the use of iconic and simple shapes that eschew the typical automotive language. Inside the concept car, an eclectic space inspired by interior design, the atmosphere of contemporary homes, by fluid architecture with great attention to detail in an overall composition of pure forms.
In addition to possibly creating the world’s first car inspired by furniture, Lancia is also making up its own words to describe its new EV concept. The automaker explains that the Pu+Ra HPE represents sustainability with style, or “sustylenability.”
For instance, the concept EV’s door panels are made from MARM MORE – a soft, waterproof material made from up to 50% waste from marble dust and recycled fabric. The table in the Lancia concept is made from M49 BioAcetate Renew Mazzucchelli – a biobased cellulose acetate popular in fashion and eyewear.
Lancia states it has leveraged its partnerships with several “made in Italy” brands to implement sustainable materials throughout the interior, in line with its ten-year plan to have 70% of EV touchable surfaces come from eco-sustainable textiles.
When will we see a passenger EV from Lancia?
Looking ahead, Lancia already has three EV models in its production pipeline that should feature at least some of the design and performance technology showcased in the Pu+Ra HPE concept above.
The aforementioned Ypsilon is expected to kick off Lancia’s rebirth as an EV brand in 2024, although that it will also come available as a hybrid. That being said, the Ypsilon will be Lancia’s last combustion vehicle ever.
Lancia intends to follow up with a midsize fastback called the Gamma – a rebirth of its nameplate originally launched back in 1976. Lancia said the Gamma EV was previously referred to internally as Aurelia and should arrive in 2026. Lancia intends to be a 100% EV brand by 2028 when the Delta hatchback arrives.
We, unfortunately, have not seen any renderings of what those incoming EVs may look like, but we should have some hints from Lancia’s concept debut. To showcase the design process for an all-electric future, Lancia has created a short film called “Giving Shape to the Future.” Check out the trailer below:
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Environment
Uber launches true driverless robotaxi operations in the Middle East with WeRide [Video]
![Uber launches true driverless robotaxi operations in the Middle East with WeRide [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/Uber-Middle-East-WeRide.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Just over a year after Uber announced a strategic partnership in the Middle East with autonomous vehicle specialist WeRide, the companies have officially begun offering the public robotaxi rides without a driver or safety operator present on board.
Today’s latest milestone involving robotaxi operations in the Middle East dates back to September 2024, when Uber and WeRide initially announced a strategic partnership to bring autonomous rides to the UAE.
Three months later, the partner officially launched autonomous rides in Abu Dhabi, but with a safety operator present in the vehicle. At the time, Uber and WeRide said the supervised rides were “laying the groundwork” for a true driverless commercial operations planned for 2025.
That day has come.
WeRide and Uber have confirmed that commercial robotaxi operations are officially underway in Abu Dhabi without any safety operators on board – a first for the Middle East.
Uber rolls out Middle East robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi
Uber shared details of its latest milestone late this evening or in the afternoon in the Middle East, depending on where you are.
Beginning today (Wednesday) customers in Abu Dhabi can select an UberX or Uber Comfort ride that enables them to be matched with a fully autonomous WeRide robotaxi without a driver inside. Riders in the Middle East can also increase their chances of hailing one of these driverless rides by select the “Autonomous” option in the Uber app.
In order to qualify, the prosepctive rider’s route must be part of WeRide’s operating territory in Abu Dhabi and a dedicated WeRide GXR Robotaxi vehicle (seen in the featured image above) must be available.
Similar to Uber’s partnership with Waymo in Austin and Atlanta, the global rideshare network will oversee fleet operations for WeRide vehicles, handling end-to end rider support. It has tapped Tawasul Transport to facilitate vehicle cleaning, maintenance, inspections, charging, and depot management. WeRide will remain responsible for vehicle testing.
As you may recall last spring, Uber and WeRide announced an expansion to their strategic partnership beyond the Middle East (although Dubai will be the city for its next robotaxi rollout). Over the next five years, Uber and WeRide intend to deploy true driverless public rides in 15 additional cities, some of which will be in Europe.
As promised, here’s some b-roll footage from Uber showing how riders in Abu Dhabi can order a WeRide robotaxi:
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Metro Detroit is about to get a big boost of fast EV chargers, with more than 40 new ChargePoint ports set to come online across multiple sites owned by the Dabaja Brothers Development Group.
The first ultra-fast charging site just opened in Canton, Michigan. It’s owned and operated by Dabaja Brothers, who plan to follow it with additional ChargePoint-equipped locations in Dearborn and Livonia.
“We started this project because we saw a gap in our community – there was almost nowhere to charge an EV in Canton, and a similar lack of charging across metro Detroit,” said Yousef Dabaja, owner/operator at Dabaja Brothers.
Each metro Detroit site will feature ChargePoint Express Plus fast charging stations, which can deliver up to 500 kW to a single port, can fast-charge two vehicles at the same time, and are compatible with all EVs. The stations feature a proprietary cooling system to deliver peak charging speeds for sustained periods, ensuring that charging speed remains consistent.
The stations operate on the new ChargePoint Platform, which enables operators to monitor performance, adjust pricing, troubleshoot issues, and gain real-time insights to keep chargers running smoothly.
Rick Wilmer, CEO at ChargePoint, said, “This initiative will rapidly infill the ‘fast charging deserts’ across the Detroit area, allowing drivers to quickly recharge their vehicles when and where they need to.”
Read more: ChargePoint just gave its EV charging software a major AI upgrade
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Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging and Starbucks have officially opened their first DC fast charging hub together, off the I-5 in Red Bluff, California.
The 400 kW Mercedes-Benz chargers are capable of adding up to 300 miles in 10 minutes, depending on the EV, and every stall has both NACS and CCS cables – they’re fully open DC fast chargers.
Mercedes-Benz HPC North America, a joint venture between subsidiaries of Mercedes-Benz Group and renewable energy producer MN8 Energy, first announced in July 2024 that it would install DC fast chargers at Starbucks stores along Interstate 5, the main 1,400-mile north-south interstate highway on the US West Coast from Canada to Mexico. Ultimately, Mercedes plans to install fast chargers at 100 Starbucks stores across the US.
Mercedes-Benz HPC opened its first North American charging site at Mercedes-Benz USA’s headquarters in Sandy Springs, Georgia, in November 2023 as part of an initial $1 billion charging network investment. As of the end of 2024, Mercedes had deployed over 150 operational fast chargers in the US, but it hasn’t disclosed an official number of how many chargers are currently online.
Andrew Cornelia, CEO of Mercedes-Benz HPC North America, is leaving the company at the end of the month to become global head of electrification & sustainability at Uber.
Read more: Mercedes-Benz is deploying 400 kW US-made EV fast chargers with CCS and NACS cables
If you’re looking to replace your old HVAC equipment, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you’re finding a trusted, reliable HVAC installer near you that offers competitive pricing on heat pumps, check out EnergySage. EnergySage is a free service that makes it easy for you to get a heat pump. They have pre-vetted heat pump installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions. Plus, it’s free to use!
Your personalized heat pump quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. – *ad
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
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