Volvo is on a roll with another round of impressive EV sales
In the wake of what feels like gloomy news for the EV economy, Volvo has pulled out yet another round of impressive EV sales numbers, especially coming from a legacy automaker. Volvo reports that its fully electric car sales jumped by 29% in October globally compared to last year, accounting for 18% of all of its cars sold in the month.
On the flip side, and a signal toward its all-electric future, plug-in hybrids saw a slight decline of 8%, with 10,864 units sold during the same period.
In the US, Volvo sold 1,240 fully electric vehicles last month, with a 49% increase from October 2022. Plug-in hybrids account for 1,801 units, with a 6% increase from last year.
The biggest gains in overall units sold were in Europe, with 7,009 EVs and 6,654 plug-in hybrids sold last month, compared to 6,172 EVs and 8,115 plug-ins in October last year. Comparing January-October 2023 to that same time frame last year, Volvo reports a 123% jump in fully electric vehicles in Europe. Sales in China report the lowest number of electric vehicles, with 237 EVs and 929 plug-in hybrids.
In October, Volvo’s top seller was its XC60 crossover hybrid, which sold 20,212 units worldwide, followed by the XC40 with 17,022 cars. The XC90 accounts for 7,961 cars.
Back in March 2021, Volvo was one of the first legacy automakers to commit to an all-electric future by 2030, and has been working to phase out ICE and hybrid vehicles, with solid results. In September, the automaker also reported all-electric sales rising by double digits in every region, with EV sales increasing 631% in the US.
Year-to-date, Volvo has sold 569,019 vehicles total – and those numbers are expected to rise as the company rolls out the EX30 crossover. The new entry-level EV is poised to be a major bestseller with its affordable pricing – it is expected to start at €36,590 in Europe and $34,950 in the US. The larger of its two models comes with a 69 kWh battery and a 268 horsepower rear-mounted electric motor, and an EPA-estimated range of 275 miles.
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Environment
Kia’s electric van was spotted in the US again, but this time it looks a little different
Is Kia’s electric van finally coming to the US? The Kia PV5 was caught testing with a unique design, hinting it’s destined for the US.
Is Kia’s electric van coming to the US?
Although Kia has yet to announce it publicly, all signs point to the PV5 launching in the US. In February, the electric van was first spotted charging at a station in Indiana.
A few photos and a video sent to Electrek confirmed it was indeed the Kia PV5. The sighting came somewhat as a surprise, as the only official statement from Kia said the PV5 would arrive in Europe and South Korea this year, followed by “launches in other markets” in 2026, but no mention was made of the US.
After another PV5 was spotted in Arizona, rumors that Kia’s electric van was coming to the US began to surface again.
Kia still has yet to confirm or deny a US launch, but another sighting hints at the PV5’s imminent debut. The latest spotting, by KindelAuto, appears to be of the US-spec 2026 Kia PV5.
It looks about the same as the Kia PV5 Passenger, which is already available in parts of Europe and South Korea. However, although it’s not very clear, Kia’s electric van appears to have added side marker lights, a requirement in the US.
Following its launch in the UK earlier this year, the Kia PV5 Passenger is now being introduced to new European markets.
In the UK, it starts at £32,995 ($44,000) on the road. In Germany, the PV5 Passenger is priced from €38,290 ($45,000) or €249 per month.
Kia’s electric van is available in two variants: Passenger, for everyday driving, and Cargo, for business use. The PV5 Passenger is available with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh and 71.2 kWh, providing WLTP ranges of 183 miles and 256 miles, respectively. Meanwhile, several more variants are on the way.
During its PV5 Tech Day in July, we learned that Kia plans to launch seven PV5 body types, including a Light Camper, a premium “Prime” Passenger model, and an open bed version.
We’ll have to wait for the official word, but there’s still hope Kia’s electric van will make it to the US. We should find out soon. Can we get the EV5 too? That might be pushing it.
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A new review of US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data by the SUN DAY Campaign reveals that in July, solar-powered electricity shot up by over 30%, while wind grew by almost 14% in the US.
Solar continues to break records in July
EIA’s latest monthly “Electric Power Monthly” report (with data through July 31, 2025), once again confirms that solar is the fastest growing among the major sources of US electricity.
In July alone, electrical generation by utility-scale solar (i.e., >1-megawatt (MW)) surged by 36.9% compared to July 2024, while “estimated” small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar PV increased by 12.7%. Combined, they grew by 30.4% and provided 9.4% of US electrical output, up from 7.5% year-over-year.
Moreover, utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 37.4%, while generation from small-scale systems rose by 11.0% during the first seven months of 2025 year-over-year. The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 29.9% and was 8.9% (utility-scale: 6.7%; small-scale: 2.2%) of total US electrical generation for January to July – up from 7.0% a year earlier.
As a consequence, solar-generated electricity year-to-date (YTD) easily surpassed – by over 54% – the output of US hydropower plants (5.7%). In July alone, solar-generated electricity more than doubled the output of hydropower. In fact, in both July and YTD, solar produced more electricity than hydropower, biomass, and geothermal combined.
And for the first time ever, 4% more electricity was generated in July by utility-scale solar (33,119-GWh) than by wind farms (31,831-GWh). Including small-scale systems, solar outproduced wind by over 35% during the month (43,092 GWh).
Wind is still on a growth trajectory
US wind turbines produced 10.8% of US electricity in the first seven months of 2025, an increase of 3.5% year-over-year, and they almost doubled electrical generation by the nation’s hydropower plants.
In July alone, wind-generated electricity was 13.8% greater than a year before.
Wind + solar are beating coal, nuclear
During the first seven months of 2025, electrical generation by wind plus utility-scale and small-scale solar provided 19.6% of the US total, up from 17.8% during the first seven months of 2024.
Further, the EIA reports that the combination of wind and solar provided 19.1% more electricity than did coal during the first seven months of 2025, and 14.1% more than nuclear. In fact, as solar and wind grew rapidly, nuclear-generated electricity dropped by 1.0%.
Renewables are still on the rise
All renewables combined (wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal) produced 9.9% more electricity between January and July than they did a year ago and provided 26.7% of total US electricity production compared to 25.1% 12 months earlier.
Electrical generation by the combination of all renewables grew three times faster than total US electrical generation (9.9% vs. 3.3%). Renewables’ share of electrical generation is now second to only that of natural gas, which saw a decline in electrical output by almost 3.5% during the first seven months of 2025.
“Notwithstanding enactment of the anti-renewables provisions in the Trump megabill, solar and wind continue to power ahead,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director, Ken Bossong. “Meanwhile, the electrical output YTD by the Republicans’ preferred technologies – nuclear power and natural gas – has actually fallen.”
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Lucid Motors (LCID) delivered the first Gravity Robotaxi EV to Nuro on Wednesday, marking a milestone in its partnership with Uber.
Lucid delivers the first Gravity Robotaxi EV to Nuro
In July, Lucid announced a partnership with Uber and Nuro to deploy 20,000 autonomous Gravity SUVs over the next six years.
The alliance is already on the move. Lucid announced that it delivered the first Gravity EV to Nuro on Wednesday, which will be used for the Uber robotaxi fleet.
Lucid’s electric SUV will be equipped with Nuro’s Level 4 self-driving tech, including the sensors and other hardware.
Starting in 2026, Uber aims to launch “20,000 or more” Lucid robotaxi’s over the next six years. The vehicles will join Uber’s network and will be available to use through the Uber App. To help kick-start the alliance, Uber is investing $300 million into Lucid.
Lucid said delivering the first vehicle, “marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter,” teasing that more is to come soon.
Although Gravity production at its plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, was limited due to supply chain issues earlier this year, Lucid said it has mostly resolved the problems.
Lucid’s interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, said during an interview with Brew Markets on Tuesday that the Gravity has “so many orders” that the company will honor the $7,500 EV tax credit until the end of the year.
Introducing our Robotaxi Engineering Fleet.
Lucid has delivered the first @Uber-exclusive robotaxi engineering vehicle to @nuro for integration with the Nuro Driver.
This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter—stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/It5rWqFHS2— Lucid Motors (@LucidMotors) September 24, 2025
According to Winterhoff, Lucid doesn’t “want to tell order holders, you know what, you’re out of luck, we didn’t deliver in time.
Despite many of its luxury rivals, including Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, pulling back on electrification plans, Winterhoff said Lucid will remain a pure EV company.
Winterhoff said the loss of the federal $7,500 EV tax credit will have a limited impact on sales due to Lucid’s market position and pricing.
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