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Ford made a huge announcement Monday, revealing the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center is officially open for business. The new EV center is Ford’s first carbon-neutral plant and will be the home for its next-gen EVs, including the electric Explorer and an upcoming sports crossover EV.

Founded in 1930, Ford’s assembly plant in Cologne, Germany, has built nearly 18 million vehicles. Monday’s announcement marks a new era for Ford’s European operations.

As its first carbon-neutral assembly plant, the Cologne assembly plant will play a key role in the automaker’s transition to a sustainable future with EVs.

Ford first revealed it was planning to transform the facility, one of its largest manufacturing centers in Europe and home of Ford Europe, in 2021. The transition included winding down Ford Fiesta production to make room for its first “European-built, volume all-electric passenger vehicle” starting this year.

Since then, Ford invested $2 billion to transform the plant to prepare for the future of the auto industry – electric vehicles.

The first up will be the electric Explorer, based on Volkswagen’s MEB platform. Ford says the new mid-size electric SUV “combines German engineering with striking American style.”

Ford officially unveiled the electric Explorer in March, a five-seat family SUV expected to start at under $48,500 (€45,000). It will be the first EV produced at the facility, followed by an electric sports crossover, as it works to transform its brand in the region.

Ford plant opening a “fresh start” for EVs, auto industry

Federal Chancellor Olaf Sholz said the new EV plant “represents a fresh start,” adding, “This is good news for Cologne, for the auto industry in Germany, for e-mobility, and for the new era.” Bill Ford, executive chair, added:

Opening the Cologne EV Center is the start of a new generation of clean manufacturing and electric vehicles in Europe. This facility will now be one of the most efficient and environmentally responsible plants in the entire industry. I am thrilled to continue working toward a zero emissions future for our children and grandchildren.

The Cologne plant is expected to play a key role in hitting Ford’s target of building two million EVs annually by the end of 2026 with 250,000 annual EV production.

According to Ford, the Cologne EV center utilizes machine learning, autonomous transport systems, robots, and augmented reality to enhance production efficiency while improving over time.

Ford is also using new processes, machinery, and technology to achieve carbon neutrality in addition to reducing energy use and overall emissions.

Ford-plant-EVs-1
Source: Ford

All electricity and natural gas required to operate the plant are carbon-neutral, with 100% certified renewable electricity and biomethane.

The heat is also carbon-neutral, with the local energy provider offsetting the emissions on Ford’s behalf. Ford says the heat is generated by an external power plant and waste incineration plant and supplied to Ford in a dedicated stream network.

According to Ford, the local energy provider plans to reduce operating emissions for heat delivery by around 60% in 2026, eliminating them entirely by 2035.

Once complete, the new EV center will be independently certified as carbon neutral, with audits on a regular basis.

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New GM, Porsche and Honda EVs boost US sales: Here’s a look at the top sellers in Q1

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New GM, Porsche and Honda EVs boost US sales: Here's a look at the top sellers in Q1

With new models rolling out from General Motors, Porsche, Honda, and several others, US EV sales increased by over 10% in the first three months of 2025. Nearly 300,000 EVs were sold in the first quarter of 2025. These were the top-selling models.

New EVs drive US sales growth in Q1 2025

Electric vehicle sales showed mixed results in the first quarter. Although Tesla is the center of attention as it continues to lose market share, several new EV models made an impressive debut.

With over 30,000 EVs sold in the first quarter, more than double the number sold last year, GM surpassed Ford and Hyundai Motor, placing second behind Tesla. GM’s Chevy is now the fastest-growing EV brand in the US, with the new electric Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado arriving.

GM sold 10,329 Chevy Equinox, 6,187 Blazer, and another 2,383 Silverado EVs in Q1. Thanks to its partnership with GM, Honda had an impressive sales quarter, selling over 14,000 EVs, including its luxury Acura brand.

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The Prologue SUV remained one of the top-sellers with 9,561 units sold in the first quarter, while the Acura ZDX added another 4,813.

Q1-2025-EV-sales-US
New Entries: EV sales volume in Q1 2025 (Source: Cox Automotive)

According to Cox Automotive, Honda led EV sales growth for new entrants in Q1, followed by Acura, Jeep, and Dodge.

Jeep sold 2,595 Wagoneer S models during the quarter, its first electric SUV sold in the US. Dodge, another Stellantis-owned brand, sold 1,947 Charger EVs, or what it calls the world’s first electric muscle car.

Although Chevy’s Equinox EV made a statement in Q1, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E remained the top-selling non-Tesla with 11,607 models sold.

Rank EV model Q1 2025 sales
1 Tesla Model Y 64,051
2 Tesla Model 3 52,520
3 Ford Mustang Mach-E 11,607
4 Chevrolet Equinox EV 10,329
5 Honda Prologue 9,561
6 Hyundai IONIQ 5 8,611
7 Volkswagen ID.4 7,663
8 Ford F-150 Lightning 7,187
9 BMW i4 7,125
10 Tesla Cybertruck 6,406
Top 10 best-selling EVs in the US in Q1 2025 (Source: Cox Automotive)

After introducing the upgraded 2025 IONIQ 5 (which now has even more range and an NACS charging port), Hyundai sold 8,611 electric SUVs in Q1, an increase of 26% from last year.

Porsche had the highest EV sales volume growth after launching the electric Macan. With 3,339 units added, the Macan EV made up for Porsche Taycan sales falling 18% to just 1,019.

Q1-2025-EV-sales-US
EV sales volume change by brand Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024 (Source: Cox Automotive)

As Cox Automotive Analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty noted, “The year certainly started strong, but the road ahead will be anything but smooth.”

Trump ending federal incentives and introducing new tariffs will “pose a monumental challenge for many automakers,” according to Valdez Streaty. Despite several new models arriving and significant incentives being offered (at least for now), the rest of 2025 “will likely be a volatile one for EV sales in the US.”

Ready to score some savings while they are still here? We can help you get started. You can use our links below to find deals on the top-selling EVs in your area.

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Electric concrete pump truck can drive 30 miles, pump 65 cubic yards [video]

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Electric concrete pump truck can drive 30 miles, pump 65 cubic yards [video]

Based on a capable Volvo FM Electric 8×4 chassis, Putzmeister revealed one of the world’s largest all electric concrete pump trucks at the bauma equipment expo in Munich, Germany this week. The zero-emission concrete pumper can up to 50 km and pump approximately 50 cubic meters of concrete on a single charge.

50 km (a little over 30 miles) and 50 cubic meters (about 65 cubic yards) may not seem like impressive numbers, but consider this: a single cubic yard of concrete weighs a little over 4,000 lbs. (2 tons). A bit of simple math later, and you’ve got a quiet, vibration-free machine blasting (65 cu. yds ×4,100 lbs./yd = 266,500 lbs.) of construction material nearly 140 feet (42 meters) in the air.

That’s over 130 tons of construction material moved a really long way, and that’s (of course) without the use of diesel or gas.

“Volvo Trucks is the innovator when it comes to new technologies in combination with electric trucks. After presenting electric concrete mixers and heavy applications for mining, we are proud to show yet another world-class innovation for the construction segment here at bauma,” says Christoph Fitz, Head of Sales at Volvo Trucks in Germany. “With this electric pump truck, customers can have a zero-exhaust emission solution, low-noise operation and an efficient process thanks to the work-while-charging capacity.”

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The Volvo FM Electric-based concrete pump is motivated by a pair of electric motors developing a continuous 330 kW (442 hp) of output through the company’s proprietary I-Shift gearbox. The truck’s four battery packs add up to 360 kWh of capacity, which can DC fast charge at speeds up to 250 kW or operate continuously (pumping even more material) with grid power or PU500 remote power connection.

Electrek’s Take

There will surely be a few nay-sayers who’ll try to cite the relatively short-sounding range of trucks like this, or the 100-ton Tadano mobile electric crane, but the range is typically more than enough to operate in urban environments and motivate the asset across even the largest job sites. Additionally, the ability to plug in to grid power and operate 24/7 makes all of that quieter, safer, cleaner … and moot.

SOURCES | IMAGES: Putzmeister; Volvo Trucks.

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Wheel-E Podcast: China tariffs killing e-bikes, USB-C e-bike charging, more

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Wheel-E Podcast: China tariffs killing e-bikes, USB-C e-bike charging, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes an analysis of how the Trump tariffs will affect e-bike pricing in the US, USB-C chargeable e-bikes launched by Ampler, Specialized e-bike recall, Juiced Bikes revived as a brand, kayak camping with the JackRabbit XG Pro, Walkcar’s new device that does the walking for you, and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 9:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:00 a.m. ET):

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