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There were several notable EU-centric EV debuts today during the Geneva International Motor Show, including an all-electric supermini from Renault called the 5 E-Tech. The French automaker has revived the nameplate for the all-electric age, with hopes it will soon dominate its class overseas.

Long before today’s debut of an all-electric version, the original Renault 5 was produced from 1972 to 1994, exceeding 5.5 million total vehicles produced. The supermini was wildly popular in its native country, reigning as France’s best-selling car from 1972-1986.

Following two generations of designs that included several variants, including an Alpine “hot hatch,” the last 5 rolled off Renault’s assembly lines 30 years ago. Renault proclaimed its original 1970s version of the 5 turned heads with its original, modern design as one of the first-ever superminis, offering consumers a compact, cost-friendly option.

To recapture those emotions for the all-electric future, Renault teased a show car of the 5 in January 2021, ahead of a production-ready design to come. Today, Renault unveiled the new all-electric supermini and donned the 5 E-Tech.

  • Renault 5 electric
  • Renault 5 electric
  • Renault 5 electric

Renault unveils all-electric 5 E-Tech in Geneva

The 5 E-Tech debuted today as an all-electric pillar in Renault’s “Renaulution” recovery strategy, in which the French automaker looks to regather a larger piece of the EU vehicle market and sell more locally made vehicles.

Renault Group and Ampere worked together to reimagine the 5, not as a vintage or nostalgic nod to the originals, but as a contemporary electric vehicle that delivers its own unique “retrofuturistic design” that evokes emotion and piques interest – much like the original did over 50 years ago.

The Renault 5 E-Tech is the first to be designed and built atop Ampere’s new B-segment EV platform, called AmpR Small. The bespoke platform allows for a flat floor, a 2.54-meter wheelbase, and a cargo capacity of 326 liters. All while maintaining a lower center of gravity and limited weight (1,500kg/3,300 lbs).

AmpR Small helped Renault cut the new 5 E-Tech’s development down to three years and enabled fresh technologies such as bidirectional charging, vehicle-to-grid (V2G), and Plug & Charge capabilities. Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo spoke about the automaker’s latest debut:

Renault 5 E-Tech electric is a car unlike any other. Its release coincides with a major shift by millions of Europeans towards a new mobility which is electric, connected, and sustainable. It also triggered the transformation of Renault Group into a next-generation automotive company.

To develop this car in just three years in France, to the highest technological standard, all our decisions had to be disruptive, and our organization as agile as possible. We were the first ones to make a bet on a 100% electric platform for a small European car, to optimize costs across the value chain, to relocate our industrial ecosystem… Only an iconic car could bring our teams together in this way and move the needle internally.

In the face of significant change in our industry, this car paves a new way for Renault. It’s at the heart of the battle to reinvent European industry against competition coming from the East and the West. With this vehicle, we’re proving that production in Europe, in France, really is possible!

Renault says the 5 E-Tech will become available in three different electric motor configurations, offering 70 kW, 90 kW, or 110 kW of power, and its max battery size of 52 kWh will deliver a WLTP range of up to 400km (249 miles). It can even tow a trailer with a capacity of up to 500kg.

Renault said its new electric spin on the 5 will start competitively priced at around €25,000 ($27,100). The EVs will be built in France and officially launch in September 2024. Watch the full debut at the Geneva International Motor Show in the video below:

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Greenlane launches a second long-haul EV truck corridor pilot

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Greenlane launches a second long-haul EV truck corridor pilot

Greenlane is firing up its second commercial EV truck charging corridor – this time connecting Southern California to Phoenix along Interstate 10. The move targets a major gap in electric freight infrastructure on one of the busiest shipping routes in the US.

Greenlane’s new electric truck corridor is backed by a strategic partnership with electric truck maker Windrose Technology, which has already proved the route’s viability. Its R700 Class 8 electric semi pulled off single-charge trips from Greenlane’s flagship Colton, California, site to Phoenix – nearly 300 miles – with a gross combined weight of 74,420 pounds and still had 12% battery left.

That’s no small feat for long-haul freight. Windrose also completed a Colton-to-Las Vegas run on I-15 under similar conditions. The trucks can charge fast, too – the R700 hit a peak 772 kW using dual-gun charging at Colton, cutting downtime for heavy-duty operations.

Windrose plans to build 2,000 electric trucks in 2026 and ramp up to 10,000 in 2027 worldwide. “Electric long-haul trucking isn’t just theory – it’s proven real-world performance,” said Windrose founder and CEO Wen Han.

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The I-10 corridor will link Greenlane’s Colton hub to new sites in Blythe, California, and Greater Phoenix, Arizona. It’s part of the company’s larger plan to create a nationwide public charging network for medium- and heavy-duty fleets.

Electric trucking carrier Nevoya will be among the first customers to run the corridor. The company will use the Colton site as a charging and driver support base while operating battery-electric trucks along both I-10 and I-15.

Greenlane’s Colton flagship opened in April and packs over 40 high-speed chargers, including 12 pull-through bays for semis and 29 bobtail lanes. The site also has restrooms, Wi-Fi, 24/7 security, carports, office space, and parking – the kind of amenities long-haul drivers need on the road.

Read more: Greenlane’s flagship electric charging truck stop is now online


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Rivian is working on a steer-by-wire system – and rear wheel steering (updated)

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Rivian is working on a steer-by-wire system - and rear wheel steering (updated)

Rivian has posted a job listing for a steering engineer, specifically mentioning work on a future steer-by-wire system for the company.

Update, Aug 11: Rivian has now specifically mentioned rear-wheel steering in a job posting.

Steer-by-wire is an automotive concept that has been around for a long time, but hasn’t yet reached mass adoption. The idea is to replace (or supplement) mechanical linkages between the steering wheel and the wheels with electronic actuators instead.

There are a number of potential benefits to this, like allowing more customizability or adaptability to a steering system, reducing mechanical complexity, or adding speed-sensitive variable steering ratios.

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Although there are also disadvantages, like a reduction in steering feel (although, since most cars are moving to electronic power steering, that was already gone anyway).

But few cars have implemented steer-by-wire systems, or at least not fully committed to them, given that mechanical steering racks are a relatively solved problem and the general inertia of the car industry which would rather stick with a solution they know than switch to something better (haven’t we here, at this EV publication, heard *that* one before…). There’s also the matter of regulations, which have often been written to require mechanical steering systems, and may need updating to allow for steer by wire.

But, steer by wire made it into mass production with the release of the Tesla Cybertruck. This was big news when Tesla committed to this – at the time, it was the only thing on the road to exclusively use a steer by wire system, though there are other cars with partial steer by wire (for example, mechanical front wheel steering, and steer by wire rear-wheel steering).

But it seems to have opened the floodgates, as a number of other companies are working on or have since released steer by wire systems (Lexus, for example).

And now, it looks like Rivian is one of those companies – though we don’t know if it’s for the front or rear. (Update: Well, now we know, it looks like they are at the very least developing a rear-wheel steering system, according to another job listing. Though the company might still be working on steer-by-wire for the whole vehicle, too)

The company posted a job listing for “Sr. Staff Technical Program Manager, Steering Actuator System,” based at its Irvine, CA headquarters (spotted by Rivianforums). This wouldn’t be so exceptional, except that the job posting also specifically points out that “you’ll have full cradle-to-grave ownership of the SBW subsystem.”

So – we know they’re working on steer by wire, to some extent.

But a few other EVs, particularly large EVs like the Rivian R1 platform is, use steer by wire just for the rear wheels – for example the Hummer EV and Rolls-Royce Spectre. These systems are particularly helpful for giant vehicles, because it allows them to be more nimble and make turns that otherwise would require a lot more… negotiation in a giant land yacht.

So it’s possible that Rivian is only working on rear wheel steer by wire here, but we’d like to think there’s a chance it’s working on steer by wire for the full vehicle.

We also don’t know if this would show up on all of Rivian’s vehicles, or only on certain models – the R2 and R3 are in development, with R2 in pretty late stages, and the R1 just got a big refresh. But, perhaps even more interestingly (and very speculatively), VW has invested heavily in Rivian for technology help, so we wonder if we might end up seeing this in VW group vehicles, or Scout vehicles eventually…


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BMW isn’t wasting any time discounting its new 2026 EVs

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BMW isn't wasting any time discounting its new 2026 EVs

Automakers are scrambling to push their EVs out the door before the $7,500 Federal tax incentive for EVs disappears — and BMW is no different, offering aggressive cash back, owner loyalty, and special financing rates on its just-released 2026 model year EVs.

BMW has a history of offering solid loyalty incentive programs on its EVs in early summer to clear the tail-end of the model year and make room for the incoming builds, but CarsDirect is reporting some unusual loyalty deals from the brand that seem to suggest BMW is keen to capitalize on a spike in EV sales ahead of the Federal tax incentive’s looming cancellation in September.

BMW dealers now have the choice of adding an additional $1,000 loyalty contribution on select 2026 EVs. The i5 and i7 are offered with $1,000 and $4,000 loyalty bonuses, respectively, meaning if you drive a BMW and your dealer opts to tack on the extra bonus, you could save $5,000 on a 2026 i7. These loyalty programs are good when buying or leasing.

There’s also a $1,000 conquest bonus available for drivers of eligible EVs and PHEVs from other brands. This program is stackable with other offers.

CARSDIRECT

Like other EV brands offering huge lease incentives, BMW customers will see the largest rebates on new BMWs when leasing. Now through September 30th, 2026 BMW i5, i7, and iX models are available with a stout $9,900 lease credit, while the bigger BMW XM comes in with a slightly lower, but still substantial $7,500 lease incentive.

Big deals on big BMW i7 sedan


BMW-suspension-1
BMW i7, via BMW.

People who prefer to own their vehicles once the payments are up can still score a great deal on an objectively excellent 2026 BMW i7 luxo-cruiser, thanks to the previously mentioned loyalty bonus if they’re previous customers plus a $7,500 Loan Credit that anyone can get when financing their new i7 with the brand’s captive financing company. BMW Bank offers financing rates as low a 3.99% for up to 60 months on the 2026 i5 and i7 sedans, as well as the iX crossover, as well as 4.99% APR 60-month rate on the high-performance XM plug-in hybrid.

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The BMW iX, of course, snatched the top spot in J.D. Power’s EV Satisfaction Survey last year, having taken the crown from its BMW i4 stablemate. You can find out what’s behind that score here, or experience it for yourself at a local BMW dealer near you. Click the link(s) below to get a uniquely tailored offer on the exact BMW you want (trusted affiliate links).

SOURCES: CarsDirect, J.D. Power; images via BMW.


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