Will the Range Rover Electric be “the most capable electric luxury SUV” to hit the market? That’s what the company is promising. As final testing wraps up, Range Rover’s first EV is already outperforming the iconic gas-powered model. Here’s our best look yet at the luxury electric SUV.
The most capable electric luxury SUV?
Known for its signature luxury design and unrivaled capabilities, Range Rover is preparing for a new era. With its first electric SUV about to hit showrooms, Range Rover is putting the flagship model through the paces.
Prototypes are currently undergoing “the most intensive testing any Range Rover vehicle has ever endured” in the United Arab Emirates. According to Range Rover, its first EV is already surpassing expectations.
The SUV endured Range Rover’s most grueling hot-weather testing, with “merciless temperatures” of up to 122F (50C) and 90% humidity. Despite the extreme conditions, the Range Rover Electric “delivered impressive results, surpassing the thermal testing performance recorded of any Range Rover vehicle on sand.”
According to Thomas Müller, Range Rover’s executive director of product engineering, the EV is even outperforming its iconic gas-powered models. Müller said:
Our tests have shown that in this climate, repeatedly driving the equivalent of 328 feet (100 meters) uphill on fine sand, Range Rover Electric matches the performance of its ICE equivalents; in some instances, even surpassing them.
The added performance is due to new traction control and thermal management systems specifically engineered for the electric model.
Range Rover Electric SUV prototype (Source: JLR)
Range Rover’s first luxury EV outperforms during testing
Range Rover’s new Intelligent Torque Management system feeds power to each individual electric drive control. The company claims its new tech reduces torque reaction time at each wheel from around 100 milliseconds to as little as 1 millisecond.
The electric SUV tackled the 300-foot “Big Red” dune in the heart of Sharjah’s Al Badayer desert, completing the feat “with flying colours.”
Range Rover’s first EV will finally hit showrooms in 2025. Ahead of its official debut, the company continues to “refine and craft the epitome of Range Rover luxury.”
At the end of October, the Range Rover Electric had over 48,000 clients on the waitlist. Range Rover said its new in-house electric powertrain will help push the brand to “exceed its already renowned performance on low-grip surfaces, ensuring all-terrain, all-weather, and all-surface capability.”
It looks like the SUV is already living up to its promise. With an expected wading depth of 33.8″ (850 mm), Range Rover’s first EV can wade through deeper water than the monstrous GMC Hummer EV at 32″.
Range Rover is expected to launch a smaller Sport model following the flagship luxury electric SUV. With its debut around the corner, the Range Rover Sport EV was caught testing at the Nurburgring (see the video here).
After that, another compact electric SUV, likely the Range Rover Velar, will hit the market. The expected Velar EV was also recently spotted on a transporter near JLR’s Nurburgring test facility.
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Tesla has announced that it is launching Cybertruck in South Korea, only the fourth market where the electric pickup truck becomes available and the first outside North America.
While Tesla took reservations worldwide when unveiling the Cybertruck in 2019, the automaker never confirmed plans to launch the vehicle outside North America.
The Cybertruck is currently only available in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
By any metric, it has been a total commercial flop.
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Tesla had accumulated over 1 million reservations for the vehicle and planned for a production capacity of 250,000 units per year, with CEO Elon Musk saying that it could be increased to 500,000 units.
This quarter is expected to be better due to the end of the tax credit in the US pulling demand forward, but it could prove extremely difficult to move the Cybertruck in North America starting in October.
Tesla is now turning to South Korea to try to sell some Cybertrucks.
The American automaker has told South Korea reservation holders to confirm their orders over the next week, as it will start converting reservations into orders – something it hasn’t done since expanding into Canada and Mexico last year.
The announcement was made via X:
Bold Future Luxury, 한국 상륙
혁신과 스타일의 새 지평을 연 Tesla Cybertruck이 드디어 한국에 출시됩니다.
Cybertruck을 예약해 주신 고객님께서는 아래 기간 내 Tesla 계정에 로그인하시어 주문을 확정해 주시기 바랍니다. 고객님만의 대담한 여정의 시작을 기원합니다.
South Korea might sound like a strange, relatively small, distant market for the first expansion of the Cybertruck outside North America, but Tesla is extremely popular in South Korea.
In July, it sold a record number of more than 7,000 vehicles in a single month.
Tesla also has an extremely strong shareholder base in the country.
However, in South Korea, the Cybertruck is going to start at 145 million South Korean won, which is approximately $104,000 USD – making the Cybertruck about $24,000 more expensive than in the US.
It should not be easy to sell in significant volumes despite Tesla’s popularity in the market.
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Hyundai wants to sell more vehicles in the US. The South Korean auto giant is investing an additional $5 billion to ramp up production. With billions more on the table, Hyundai will build a new robotics facility while ramping up production of Hyundai and Kia vehicles in the US. Here’s what’s coming next.
How Hyundai’s $26 billion investment will boost US sales
Have you noticed more Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles on the road lately? Over the past few years, the South Korean automakers have grown significantly in the US.
In the first half of 2025, Hyundai and Kia sold more vehicles than in any first half since entering the US market nearly 40 years ago.
Hyundai has no plans of slowing down after announcing another $5 billion investment on Tuesday, “significantly expanding the Group’s footprint in the US market.” The new funds will be used for several new projects, including a new state-of-the-art robotics facility and steel plant in Louisiana.
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The new funding is in addition to the $21 billion investment Hyundai announced just a few months ago, bringing the company’s total to a whopping $26 billion.
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Hyundai)
Hyundai will use the investment over the next three years (2025 – 2028) to boost production, including Kia and Genesis vehicles.
It’s also building a new robotics innovation hub to design, manufacture, and deploy vehicles. Hyundai expects the advanced new facility will create about 25,000 jobs in the US over the next four years. It will have an annual production capacity of 30,000 units.
2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 (Source: Hyundai)
EVs and hybrids are driving growth
The new investment comes after Hyundai and Kia hit a milestone, selling a combined 1.5 million “eco-friendly” vehicles cumulatively in the US this week.
Hyundai’s Tucson Hybrid and the Kia Niro Hybrid are the brand’s top-selling eco-friendly cars. Meanwhile, the all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5 remains one of the top-selling EVs in the US and is the brand’s fourth most popular eco-friendly vehicle.
Hyundai and Kia eco-friendly car sales in the US since 2011, including EV, hybrid, PHEV, and FCEV (Source: Hyundai)
With leases starting as low as $159 per month, the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 is one of the most affordable, efficient EVs on the market. Hyundai has upgraded its best-selling EV with more range (now up to 318 miles), a fresh new style, and a built-in NACS port, allowing you to recharge at Tesla Superchargers.
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Limited (Source: Hyundai)
Hyundai’s new three-row IONIQ 9 is listed for lease as low as $299 per month, and that’s for a nearly $60,000 SUV.
Both the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 9 are built at the massive new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia. Kia’s EV6 and EV9 are assembled at a separate plant in Georgia.
Looking to check one out for yourself? We can help you find vehicles in your area. You can use our links below to view Hyundai and Kia models near you.
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In a move that underscores the growing instability in international e-bike trade, premium electric bike maker Riese & Müller has paused all e-bike shipments to the United States, citing unpredictable steel tariffs as the final straw.
The German brand, known for its high-end urban and cargo e-bikes, informed US dealers this week that it is halting exports for the foreseeable future. While the company pointed to the recent reinstatement of a 50% tariff on certain steel components from overseas, including Germany, the broader issue here seems to be the chaotic and ever-shifting tariff landscape surrounding e-bike imports.
“We need to take a few days to carefully evaluate this situation and its implications before proceeding with further steps,” explained the company in an email to its dealers in the US, according to Bicycle Retailer.
This isn’t the first time tariffs have disrupted the flow of electric two-wheelers into the US. The Trump administration’s Section 301 tariffs targeting Chinese goods initially shook up the industry during the administration’s first term, hitting Chinese-made e-bikes and components with 25% duties before being temporarily suspended. Those tariffs whipped back and forth as exclusions came and went, then became a double whammy after the Trump administration’s “reciprocal” tariffs added even more hardships to e-bike importers in the US. And now, as of July 1, additional steel tariffs have expanded the uncertainty.
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What’s unusual in Riese & Müller’s case is that most e-bikes – even expensive ones – use relatively little steel compared to aluminum. Frames, forks, wheels, and most structural components are increasingly made from aluminum alloys or carbon fiber. But with the tariff code system as vague and inconsistently enforced as it is, it seems R&M simply doesn’t want to take the risk of unexpected import costs – or the administrative mess that comes with it, including having to account for how much of a bike is produced from steel components and what the value of those components proves to be.
The impact on the US market will likely be minor in volume; Riese & Müller is a premium but somewhat boutique brand with a loyal yet small customer base. Still, this is a canary in the coal mine. If even premium brands are choosing to step away from the US market over tariff unpredictability, what happens when larger, mass-market brands start running into similar issues?
For now, dealers in the US are being told to sell through existing stock and not take additional orders until the company can determine whether it will be able to continue importing e-bikes into the US. But if the trade war tariffs contineu, this may not be the last premium brand to throw in the towel – at least temporarily.
Electrek’s Take
This isn’t just about one German e-bike brand putting things on pause – it’s a red flag for the industry. While Riese & Müller may be small in terms of US volume, their decision shows how unpredictable tariffs, even on seemingly minor components, can create enough uncertainty to shut down an entire market channel. Most e-bikes are made primarily from aluminum, not steel, but when customs enforcement can interpret tariff codes in vague or inconsistent ways, no brand wants to gamble on a five-figure shipment getting hit with a surprise 25-50% fee.
What’s more concerning is that this adds to a growing stack of trade policy hurdles facing e-bike makers: China-focused tariffs, broader “reciprocal” tariffs, battery import duties, and now steel restrictions hitting European brands too. There’s no coherent strategy here, just a patchwork of protectionist measures that hurt importers, confuse dealers, and raise prices for consumers. If the US wants to promote micromobility and clean transportation, it’s going to need smarter policies than this.
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