First flying electric ferry completes passenger test flights, starts serial production
The Swedish electric boatmaker Candela has just announced the successful completion of test flights for the Candela P-12. The flying electric ferry is now headed for serial production ahead of its upcoming commercial rollout.
Candela’s electric hydrofoil pleasure crafts are already well known, often seen flying over the surface of the water around European waterways and even in several locations in the US. The Candela C-8 electric speedboat, the company’s most advanced model to date, has set world records for endurance thanks to its incredibly efficient design.
By using computer-controlled hydrofoils to lift its boats out of the water, Candela can reduce the energy used by over 80%. That means the boats can go the same distance with just 1/5th the battery, or 5x as far with the same battery as many larger and more powerful electric boats.
The hydrofoil operation also has another advantage in that it leaves no wake behind the boat. In areas like Venice where boats are required to travel slowly in order to not create wakes that erode canal edges and buildings, Candela’s boats are permitted to travel at higher speeds.
The new Candela P-12 uses the same hydrofoil technology as the company’s other boats, but supersizes it to fit up to 30 passengers. That makes the P-12 ideal for commercial use in ferry operations while solving the main issue that has hampered the spread of commercial electric boats: reduced range.
The P-12 has a range of up to 100 km (62 miles or 54 nautical miles) from its 252 kWh battery. That’s more than enough range to cover most coastal transport needs. But more importantly for commercial ferries, it can also recharge quickly with DC Fast Charging, as we’ve seen employed by Candela’s other vessels on their record-setting endurance runs.
Candela’s boats also only require a typical automotive-style DC charging station, similar to the ones you’d find in a car parking lot. That means they can use existing dock infrastructure and lower-cost chargers, unlike most commercial electric ferries that require astronomically-priced megawatt-level chargers. With a more affordable charger and the ability to use existing dock infrastructure, it makes it easier for operators to switch to electric ferries with minimal infrastructure investment.
The P-12 is so efficient that it can have a turnaround time of under two minutes per ferry stop while still using existing dock infrastructure with its own extendable boarding ramp. That quick turnaround time is thanks to the thrust vectoring of Candela’s pair of C-POD motors, developed in-house to offer a combined 340 kW (456 hp) of peak power. The thrust-vectoring provides for nimble maneuvering, even moving sideways when necessary.
According to Candela, “the P-12 is engineered to offer similar or lower initial investment costs for operators while boosting profits compared to traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vessels.”
The Candela P-12 is now entering serial production, after which it will sell for €1.7 million. That’s in line with the current cost of combustion engine-powered ferries today and significantly less than competing electric ferries, according to the company. Furthermore, the lower operating expenses means that the vessel is expected to cut operators’ costs per passenger kilometer by around 50%, similar to how hybrid and electric buses have helped transportation companies significantly reduce operating costs.
As Candela’s Director for Commercial Vessels Erik Eklund explained, “With the P-12, we’re not just offering a faster, more comfortable electric alternative to fossil fuel-powered vessels. We enable operators to make the switch to sustainable vessels that are cost-effective and profitable, a crucial step towards clean oceans and lakes.”
You can see the P-12 in action in the video below.
The new vessel will be available in three variants: the P-12 Shuttle, P-12 Business, and P-12 Voyager.
The Shuttle configuration can seat 30 passengers and sets a new benchmark for sustainable commuting with the lowest operational costs in the industry. It also features space for bicycles, strollers, and wheelchairs to encourage the integration of cycling with public transport.
The Business version of the P-12 features a premium interior with seating for 12 to 20 passengers along with extra room for their luggage, and the highly adaptable Voyager version offers customers flexibility in interior design, catering to both private leisure and commercial clients.
Electrek’s Take
This is some James Bond stuff, if I’ve ever seen any. It looks like it should have been in the last movie. I know it’s meant to shuttle us average Joes around affordably, but that business version should be someone’s waterborne lair.
On a serious note though, I’m loving the proliferation of hydrofoil electric boats. It just makes so much sense to cut your energy requirements by over 80% simply by lifting the boat out of the water. I mean, I say “simply,” but of course the magic that makes this work is anything but simple. Hats off to the folks at Candela who have made it look this easy though. As some of my readers may remember, I’ve tested a few Candela hydrofoil electric boats in Sweden, and I can confirm that it really is bizarrely easy to pilot them. The testing video is below, for proof.
Taking this electrically-powered hydrofoil watercraft technology to commercial operators is the obvious next step and I’m glad to see it finally happening.
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California’s ambitious statewide electric bicycle incentive program is officially dead – and it didn’t even get a funeral. After years of buildup, delays, and surging public interest, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has quietly ended the program, rolling the remaining $17 million of the original $30 million budget into its “Clean Cars 4 All” initiative without even making an official announcement.
The California E-Bike Incentive Project was originally hailed as a groundbreaking effort to make electric bikes affordable for low-income residents. Vouchers – not rebates – were designed to let buyers walk into a participating shop and ride out without covering the full price upfront. Base vouchers were worth $1,000, with up to $2,500 available for those purchasing cargo or adaptive e-bikes in priority communities. It was a model that other states were watching closely.
But from the outset, the program was plagued by setbacks. Years of delays meant the first vouchers weren’t distributed until late 2024, and even then, only after a chaotic launch that saw the website crash under the weight of tens of thousands of applicants vying for just 1,500 vouchers. A second launch attempt in April 2025 failed completely, locking out eligible users. While a final distribution round in May went more smoothly, an estimated 90% of eligible applicants were turned away due to limited supply.
To make matters worse, the program’s administrator, Pedal Ahead, came under fire for questionable practices in San Diego, further undermining confidence.
Now, with no formal announcement or update on the program’s official website, CARB has quietly absorbed the funds into its Clean Cars 4 All program.
Electrek’s Take
This is an enormous letdown.
The California E-Bike Incentive Project had the potential to reshape car-heavy communities by giving low-income Californians access to clean, affordable micromobility. Instead, it was starved by mismanagement and then cannibalized to prop up car-centric policy.
It’s not that electric cars don’t deserve support, but this move reflects a broader failure of imagination. If we want a future with fewer cars, not just cleaner ones, then we need to start funding real alternatives. This was a huge missed opportunity to invest in a more livable California.
via: Streetsblog
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The Kia EV4 will be “delayed until further notice” in the US, according to a Kia rep and reported by InsideEVs. Kia said the change is because “market conditions for EVs have changed.”
The EV4 was expected to be released in 2026 at a price in the ~$30k range, entering Kia’s model like alongside the existing EV3 as the smaller, more affordable electric models below the EV6 and EV9. The EV4 will have the style of a boxy sedan, while the EV3 is a small SUV.
The EV3 is already available in Korea, Europe and other territories, but has not made it to the US (and may not ever).
The EV4 is not on the roads yet, but its release is imminent. And it seemed likely to make its way to the US. We saw the concept EV4 at the LA Auto Show in 2023, and the model was officially unveiled in the US at the New York Auto Show this April.
Bringing that car to a US auto show with an official reveal suggested that the US would get access to this smart, more affordable Kia. And Kia said that the car would hit US roads in early 2026, which would have been just a few months from now.
Kia abruptly “delays” EV4’s introduction to the US
But now, a Kia rep has confirmed that the car won’t come to America after all, at least until further notice. Kia gave a statement to InsideEVs, saying:
“Kia’s full range of vehicles offers meaningful value and inspiring performance to customers. However, as market conditions for EVs have changed, the release of the upcoming EV4 electric sedan will be delayed until further notice.”
We reached out to Kia to confirm, and received the same statement back.
The reversal is a bit of a surprise, and we’re not sure why we’re hearing this today in particular. Heck, we wrote a story about the EV4 GT’s interior just a couple hours ago.
So, unfortunately it looks like Americans will have one less potential choice to get away from the land-yacht disease currently infecting our populace. For what it’s worth, the EV4 is still listed as “coming 2026” on Kia Canada’s website.
We’ve seen models get delayed suddenly before, and while Kia did not directly say that the model will never come to the US, the fate of other “delayed” EV models in the past does not give us significant hope. Usually, a “delay” like this ends up meaning that the car just won’t ever make it to US roads (see: VW ID.7, Gen 2 Kia Soul EV, Ram 1500 EV, and others).
While Kia did not state a specific reason for the reversal, it’s not hard to guess what some of the influences are.
Electrek’s Take – EV4 likely delayed due to US policy changes favoring higher costs, dirty air
Since the EV4’s April reveal, republicans have continued their all-out assault on clean air, as in July a republican Congress passed a $4 trillion giveaway to wealthy US elites which also inflated the price of EVs by $7,500. Regulatory changes focusing on raising your costs and making your air dirtier are in progress, trying to force more gasoline and pollution on Americans and restricting access to cleaner, better EVs.
In addition to these actions opposing clean air, republicans are raising your costs in other ways as well. Unwise tariffs on basically every country in the world, which have been haphazardly implemented (due to the ignorance of the person unconstitutionally implementing them) and seem to change day-by-day, have increased prices for Americans and made business more difficult.
These tariffs would apply to the EV4. While Kia just started EV4 production in Europe, the US model would have come from Kia’s Korean factories. The ignoramus squatting in the US Oval Office did just ink a trade deal with Korea today, but given the lack of follow-through on previous trade deals, we wouldn’t be surprised if the terms of that change.
The difficulty of doing business in America has been in focus especially for South Korean firms, after a high-profile ICE raid at a Hyundai plant in construction in Georgia, which saw South Korean businessmen with visas detained and resulted in delayed construction on the plant and a swift popular pushback against US products in Korea. Kia and Hyundai are partner companies with a complex corporate relationship, so it stands to reason that Kia’s business decisions would be intertwined with Hyundai’s.
Many companies have recently cited a claimed but not substantiated lack of EV demand in the US as reasons for delaying their EV ambitions. To be clear, EVs have seen a long string of consistent sales growth in the US, stretching back more than a decade (with only a few interruptions to that growth, the largest being the start of COVID).
In the meantime, gas car sales peaked globally in 2017, and will never again reach that level of sales. This fact has been consistently underreported by media, alongside false headlines claiming EV sales are falling.
However, despite the record EV sales quarter the US just went through, it’s expected that the next year or so will see drops in EV demand. This is because of the pull-forward in sales experienced due to tax credit expiration, which caused a sales rush in Q3. Although, as has happened in other countries that suddenly ended purchase incentives, we’d expect perhaps a year of depressed sales before they begin to rise again.
But this likely drop in demand is hitting right around the same time the EV4 was supposed to launch in the US, so it’s not unreasonable for Kia to look at a market in a temporary downswing, especially when considering all the other factors laid out above (and the country’s current hostility to foreign investment, specifically investment from Kia’s partner company Hyundai), and wonder why they’ve gotten cold feet right now of all times.
While Kia didn’t lay out these reasons above in its statement, it sure seems likely that each of them could have had an effect on this decision.
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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New data from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) shows that the US solar supply chain has been fully reshored, with manufacturing capacity growing across every part of the solar and storage sector.
A US solar system from start to finish
With Hemlock’s new ingot and wafer facility coming online in Q3 2025, the US can now produce every major solar component domestically, from polysilicon to modules. According to SEIA, 65 new or expanded solar and storage factories have come online this year, bringing $4.5 billion in private investment to US communities.
However, SEIA warns that more than 100 factories and $31 billion in the pipeline could be at risk if the Trump administration continues its attacks on solar energy.
Solar manufacturing is booming – for now
The SEIA Solar & Storage Supply Chain Dashboard reports major capacity growth across every segment since late 2024. As of October 2025, US module production capacity has surpassed 60 gigawatts (GW), a 37% increase from December 2024. Solar cell production has more than tripled, jumping from 1 GW to 3.2 GW.
Battery cell manufacturing for stationary storage has climbed to over 21 gigawatt-hours (GWh), which SEIA says is enough to power the city of Houston from sunset to sunrise.
“This growth is a testament to the power of American innovation,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO. “We’re building factories, hiring American workers, and showing that solar energy means made-in-America energy.”
Inverter manufacturing, which converts solar power into usable electricity, has jumped nearly 50% since the end of 2024, rising from 19 GW to 28 GW of capacity. Mounting system production is also up 14%, with 23 new factories added since 2024.
A pipeline under political threat
The US solar pipeline remains strong, with 23 GW of new module capacity, 34 GW of cell capacity, 25 GW of inverter capacity, and 95 GWh of battery cell capacity either under construction or announced. But SEIA says that Trump administration policies, regulations, and trade actions are creating uncertainty that could hurt progress.
“We’re seeing strong growth today, but that momentum isn’t guaranteed,” Hopper said. “If the administration continues down this path, they risk driving investment overseas, stifling job creation, raising costs on consumers, and handing America’s manufacturing advantage to our competitors.
“If the administration does not reverse its harmful actions that have undermined market certainty, energy costs will rise even further, and the next wave of factories and jobs could be at risk.”
Read more: The Trump administration just killed the US’s largest solar project
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar 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.
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