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Major car suppliers in Germany say they are struggling with the high upfront costs of shifting to EVs and “slow demand,” with companies looking to lay off thousands of workers, as much as 20% of total staff in some cases, in the coming years.

Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier for Ford, GM, Toyota, VW, and BMW, among others, said last week that as many as 1,200 employers in its software and electronics division would be fired by the end of 2026, and that 80% of those cuts would take place at the Stuttgart-based headquarters in Germany. Back in 2022, the company said it would spend €2 billion in retraining some of its more than 400,000 staff to be better equipped to work in EV parts production.

ZF Friedrichshafen, which makes transmissions, shock absorption systems, and chassis components for more than 55 auto brands and is Germany’s second-largest supplier after Bosch, said it could axe as many as 12,000 people in a “worst-case scenario” by 2030, reports The Financial Times. The company employs 165,000 people around the world. After the annoucement, some 3,000 ZF employees protested the cuts, marching the streets around the company’s headquarters in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

German car parts manufacturer Continental also said last November that it too was cutting thousands of jobs worldwide as part of a plan to save €400 million ($428 million) a year from 2025.

High inflation, increased raw materials, and soaring energy costs are all part of the reasons the companies are offering for the cuts, the FT reports. ZF adds that jobs will be inevitably lost because EV components require half the labor to produce compared to ICE vehicles. Automotive suppliers, too, have made hefty investments in the shift to electric, and now they are seeing their markets being hit due to slower uptake than expected and the fact that car sales are “historically low,” reports the FT. ZF reported a net debt of €11.5bn at the end of last June, which led to around 800 jobs being axed.

Last month, Volkswagen said it would cut thousands of jobs in Germany in an effort to slash $11 billion in costs. Volkswagen’s Zwickau site, which employs 10,000 and is the first to exclusively produce electric cars, has been shaving off jobs due to weakening production demands, starting with 500 temporary jobs being cut next year. At VW software subsidiary Cariad, 2,000 of 6,5000 people employed there will lose their jobs over the next two years.

Electrek’s Take

The German stalwarts – BMW, Volkswagen, and Mercedes, and the European-based suppliers for their vehicles – are in a tight position, struggling to adapt to EVs and keep up with the pace of innovation as Tesla takes over, and China moves in. More bad news too in that sweeping job losses leads to political instability, in that German unions are a crucial part of the political process. But for German automakers, there is still time to turn it around. BMW says it is now investing $711 million (€650 million) to convert its main factory in Munich to exclusively produce electric vehicles by the end of 2027, in hopes of pushing its next-gen Neue Klasse EVs forward. And speaking of unions, both Bosch and ZF will face lengthy negotiations with union representatives, which is required under German law, to sort out the details of the layoffs and restructuring plans.


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Surprise! London’s tax on polluting vehicles made everyone much healthier

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Surprise! London's tax on polluting vehicles made everyone much healthier

The city of London has released a report showing drastic drops in air pollution since it expanded its Ultra Low Emission Zone, an area within the city where polluting vehicles must pay a congestion charge to visit.

The London Ultra Low Emissions Zone is an area within London where vehicles that do not meet modern emissions standards must pay an additional charge to drive. The charge is £12.50 (~$16) per day, and the restriction is enforced 24 hours a day.

It was first established under current London mayor Sadiq Khan in 2019, though had previously been announced in 2015 by Boris Johnson during his stint as London mayor.

While the area covered by the zone only encompassed Central London in 2019, Khan went on to expand it in 2021 and 2023, and it now covers all of Greater London, where around 9 million people live.

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Each of these expansions met with resistance and the ULEZ became a flashpoint during UK elections, including specifically the London mayoral election. Previous UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took a pro-pollution stance in opposing the zone, despite it originally being proposed by his own party. In the end, despite the criticism, more Londoners supported the plan than opposed it, and Khan weathered the storm and was re-elected.

This zone is separate from London’s congestion charge zone, which covers Central London and applies to all vehicles that enter. ULEZ is intended to reduce pollution, while the congestion charge is intended to reduce traffic (though also has an effect of reducing pollution).

The ULEZ restrictions are actually not all that strict, especially from the perspective of us here at an electric vehicle publication – most diesel and petrol (gasoline)-powered cars made within the last 10 and 20 years respectively qualify, despite that they still create significant tailpipe pollution.

Also, there are exemptions available for delivery vehicles, buses and so on.

Nevertheless, despite these exemptions, a recent report released by the city of London shows how well the ULEZ has worked at lowering pollution in London and making everyone healthier.

Report finds massive drop in pollution after ULEZ implementation

The report points out that two of the most dangerous aspects of vehicle emissions – nitrogen oxides, which are responsible for smog formation, and PM2.5, which are tiny particles that irritate the lungs – have dropped by almost a third compared to if ULEZ hadn’t been implemented, in only the few years that the policy has been in place.

Specifically, NO2 is 27% lower and PM2.5 is 31% lower in outer London. Nitrogen oxides (which includes both NO and NO2) as a whole are down 14%.

Some areas have seen even more significant declines, like Central London, the most densely populated area. It has seen a drop in NO2 levels of 54%.

All in all, 99% of air quality monitors around London have showed a reduction in pollution, so the new rules have benefitted everyone.

This is important because prior to the report’s period, some 4,000 people died in London each year due to toxic air pollution. If the most toxic parts of air pollution have reduced by almost a third, that should mean over a thousand lives saved per year as a result of these policies – and the associated misery and health costs that come along with.

And those benefits have been seen most by the communities that need it. In “deprived communities,” which tend to see the most pollution in the first place, there’s been an 80% reduction in people exposed to illegal levels of pollution.

The policy has also led to an associated reduction in carbon emissions, as one might expect. In five years, total carbon reduction has equalled the amount of carbon put out by roughly 3 million individual air trips between London and New York.

EVs are quite popular in the UK, with almost 3 out of every 10 cars sold being electric in 2024. That number continues to rise significantly, partially as a result of these policies. But also, high adoption is what makes policies like this possible – if EVs are already available and popular, it’s much easier for individuals to comply.

All in all, between June 2023 and September 2024, London saw 58% fewer non-compliant vehicles on the road, showing a significant shift in transportation patterns in just one year. This was helped by a £200m ($258m) scrappage scheme which helped pay to get 15,232 old vehicles off the road.

Electrek’s Take

We’ve seen similar moves like this from other cities and countries, and each time, they seem to work quite well.

Congestion pricing, which again is not quite the same as ULEZ, has been popular in a number of countries and cities, and has definitely resulted in lower pollution, less traffic, and easier trips – and it works quickly, too.

And, despite what those who have fallen victim to oil propaganda like to say (feel free to check the comments on our articles or social media sometimes, sigh), sure enough, electric vehicles are helping to clean the air a lot.

We’ve seen real-world results that areas with higher EV adoption see lower pollution, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, except that, oil, one of the richest industries in the world with a lot of experience lying to you, has been trying to tell you otherwise.

And when temporary measures are taken by cities to transform their mobility systems, everyone seems to love it. When Paris kicked cars out and increased walkability and transport availability during the Olympics, the transformation got rave reviews. (We’ll see if Los Angeles can do the same in 2028).

It’s also unsurprising that when you disincentivize bad things, they go away. The world currently affords fossil fuels a subsidy of $7 trillion per year, and correcting for that subsidy by making them pay some of their fair share makes them less attractive to people. Maybe we should do more of that.

So it’s unsurprising to see London’s ULEZ working well, but it’s nice to have confirmation, particularly given the controversy around it at the time.

We’d like to see similar schemes elsewhere – like New York City, which recently implemented congestion pricing for the famously traffic-choked city (“no one in New York drives, there’s too much traffic“). Though, just like every other good idea, former New York resident and convicted felon Donald Trump has tried to block NYC’s congestion pricing plan, in his apparent quest to make literally everything worse.


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Honda launches 2025 Prologue deals: Here’s how you can snag some savings

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Honda launches 2025 Prologue deals: Here's how you can snag some savings

Honda’s electric SUV took the US by storm, becoming the top-selling EV in the US outside of Tesla in the final three months of 2024. This year, Honda is making the Prologue even more attractive, upgrading it with over 300 miles of range. With 2025 Prologue models now arriving at dealerships, Honda wasted no time launching new deals this week.

2025 Honda Prologue EV deals and offers

After the first models were delivered last March, the Honda Prologue quickly became one of the best-selling electric vehicles in the US.

In the second half of 2024, the Prologue was the second best-selling electric SUV, trailing only the Tesla Model Y. This year, it boasts even more driving range and power.

Since Honda didn’t raise prices, it’s essentially a free upgrade (well, sort of). The 2025 Honda Prologue (2WD) now has a “top-class” EPA rating of 308 miles, up 12 miles from the outgoing model. It also packs 220 horsepower (+8) and 243 lb-ft of torque (+7).

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The Prologue is still available in single-motor (2WD) and dual-motor (AWD) versions in three trims: EX, Touring, and Elite.

The AWD version now has a range of 294 miles (+13) for the EX and Touring trims and 283 miles (+10) for the Elite. It also now packs 300 horsepower (+12) and 355 lb-ft of torque (+25).

Honda-2025-Prologue-deals
Honda Prologue Elite (Source: Honda)

With DC fast charging speeds of up to 150 kW, the electric SUV can add 65 miles of range in around 10 minutes.

The 2025 Honda Prologue starts at $47,400, but with the $7,500 EV tax credit, prices could fall to under $40,000. And that’s for the EX single-motor version with up to 308 miles of range.

Honda-Prologue-2025-interior
2025 Honda Prologue Elite interior (Source: Honda)

On Honda’s website, the 2025 Prologue is listed with a promotional rate of 2.99% APR for up to 60 months. Lease prices for the base model are not yet available, but the 2025 AWD EX is listed at $599 for 36 months with $4,299 due at signing.

Although the deals on the 2025 models are not nearly as good as the 0% financing and leases as low as $269 per month for the 2024 Prologue, Honda had to make up for the upgrades somewhere.

Trim Drive Configuration Pricing EPA Ratings
MSRP After Federal EV Tax Credit Plus $1,450
D&H
Range Rating MPGe Rating
(City/Hwy/Combined)
EX Single Motor (2WD) $47,400 $39,900 $41,350 308 113 / 94 / 104
EX Dual Motor (AWD) $50,400 $42,900 $44,350 294 108 / 90 / 99
Touring Single Motor (2WD) $51,700 $44,200 $45,650 308 113 / 94 / 104
Touring Dual Motor (AWD) $54,700 $47,200 $48,650 294 108 / 90 / 99
Elite Dual Motor (AWD) $57,900 $50,400 $51,850 283 104 / 87 / 95
2025 Honda Prologue prices, range, and drive configuration by trim (Source: Honda)

Honda is sweetening the deal with a charging package included in the Prologue’s price. You can choose from a free Level 2 home charger, a portable charging kit, or a $750 public charging credit.

The 2024 Honda Prologue is selling out fast with ultra-low lease and financing rates, while the 2025 model promises even more. Ready to try it out for yourself? You can use our link to find deals on the 2024 and 2025 Honda Prologue in your area today.

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Block bets on lending expansion after stock slump

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Block bets on lending expansion after stock slump

In this photo illustration, the logo for the US tech firm “Block” is displayed and reflected in a number of digital screens on March 03, 2023 in London, England. 

Leon Neal | Getty Images

With its stock down more than 30% this year and revenue growth slowing, Jack Dorsey’s Block is going bigger in lending.

The company on Thursday said it secured approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to originate loans through its banking subsidiary, Square Financial Services, allowing it to offer small-dollar consumer loans directly rather than relying on external banking partners.

It’s an expansion of Cash App Borrow, the company’s short-term lending product. But it comes at a time of increased concerns surrounding consumer credit, with President Trump’s expansive tariffs and widespread government job cuts raising talk of a potential recession.

Transaction losses in Block’s lending segment jumped 39% last quarter, and while the company claims its underwriting model is strong, small-dollar lending is inherently risky.

“Cash App Borrow is designed to provide short-term cash flow in a simple and accessible way when alternatives are notoriously expensive and difficult for consumers to navigate,” Block said in the press release. The company added that the average Cash App Borrow loan was under $100 and about a month in duration.

Block didn’t immediately provide a comment.

In getting approval to operate the lending business out of its own bank, Block says it will be able to offer the product nationwide.

Last month, Block reported quarterly results that missed Wall Street expectations, with revenue growing just 4.5% from a year earlier. The stock plunged 18%, its worst one-day drop since 2020.

Around the same time, Block rolled out Afterpay, its buy now, pay later product, on the Cash App card. Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja told CNBC that the launch aimed to provide customers with more credit options, and positioned Cash App as a banking alternative for some customers. Block acquired Afterpay, which competes with Affirm, for $29 billion in early 2022.

Also this week, Block announced a big investment plan in artificial intelligence.

The company said on Wednesday that it will deploy Nvidia’s AI systems with its latest Blackwell chips to power open-source AI research. Block didn’t say what specifically it’s looking to achieve through its AI buildout, but noted in the press release that it will “start exploring novel solutions for our customers.”

WATCH: Block shares drop after earnings

Block shares drop after reporting earnings and revenue miss

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