Former Tesla, Lucid execs form new EV brand Longbow, whose first two models are sharp and ultra-light
A new niche EV brand, Longbow, has emerged into the public eye, hailing itself as ” the first-ever British electric sports car manufacturer. ” It has unveiled its first two featherweight models, inspired by British automotive icons and designed with real-road performance and the overall driver experience in mind. Despite debuting today, the limited hand-built production of these two featherweight EVs is expected to begin relatively quickly, and they start at a price that doesn’t just cater to the affluent.
You’re not alone if you haven’t heard of Longbow until today. The young brand was founded as recently as 2023 by Daniel Davey, Jenny Keisu, and Mark Tapscott – three industry veterans with a combined resume that cannot be ignored. Davey and Tapscott worked at Tesla during the development of the original Roadster, followed by senior positions at both Lucid Motors and BYD. Keisu brings experience and leadership from the electrified marine segment as she was formerly the CEO of X Shore – an electric boat developer no stranger to the Electrek homepage.
Although Longbow was only founded two years ago, its trio of founders say the EV brand is the realization of many more years of planning and preparation. They have since expanded their team to include an arsenal of engineers with backgrounds in road and motorsport, including former employees at Aston Martin, Formula E, Lotus, and Tesla.
The Longbow team has tasked itself with delivering world-class BEVs that are “spiritual successors” to the icons of British automotive, such as the Lotus Elise and Jaguar E-Type, reimagined for the modern world with bespoke EV platform technology and supreme dynamics. Their take on this legacy is a lineup of sleek vehicles designed, engineered, and built in the UK as Featherweight Electric Vehicles (FEVs).
The young company hit a milestone today, unveiling its first two EV models – the Longbow Speedster and the Roadster; check them out.
Longbow’s first two EVs set to arrive in 2026 under $93k
Per a press release from Longbow, this is the first look at its first two featherweight EVs, which include a Speedster convertible and a Roadster. As FEVs, both models will weigh under 995 kg (2,193 lbs) and achieve the automaker’s motto, “Celeritas Levitas,” or “the speed of lightness.” Per the company:
Development of the Longbow Speedster and Roadster has pursued a singular philosophy: simplify, focus on beauty and engagement, then relentlessly add lightness, until all that remains is sheer automotive intoxication. Antithetical to conventional notions of what a battery electric vehicle (BEV) can be, Speedster and Roadster are striking, light, nimble, balanced, and engineered for an unparalleled driving experience.
The Speedster and Roadster sit atop an aluminum chassis designed for maximum stiffness while offering as little necessary weight as possible. The EV frame is complimented by lighter and more compact motors and batteries (something Lucid Motors is constantly celebrated for). These design elements combine to deliver what Longbow calls “the world’s first ‘proper’ all-electric sportscar for the modern enthusiast.”
The open-topped Speedster weighs 895 kg (1,973 lbs) and can accelerate from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.6 seconds. It has a WLTP range of 275 miles. Longbow shared that the closed cockpit Roadster EV will follow the Speedster, weighing 995 kg while achieving the same 0-100k m/h time. It has a WLTP range of 280 km (174 miles)
As mentioned above, both models will be hand-built in the UK and are expected to hit the market in 2026. The Speedster will start at a price of ₤84,995 ($92,600), including VAT, and only 150 examples will be built. That build schedule will include 10 Luminary First Edition and 25 Autograph Edition models.
The Roadster’s starting price is ₤64,995 ($70,850), including VAT. It will include 50 Luminary 1st Edition models or 100 Autograph Editions. Reservations for both Longbow EVs are available now.
What do we think? Will these FEVs actually get made? Or is this another startup with cool designs that will run out of money before it scales? I hope it’s the former!
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China’s first all-solid-state production line is up and running. With the equipment in place, GAC Group becomes the first automaker ready to mass-produce the “holy grail” of EV batteries, promising to double range and cut charging time.
China advances all-solid-state EV batteries
It’s no secret by now that China is dominating the global battery market. CATL and BYD alone accounted for over 50% of global EV battery usage through September.
To stay ahead, Chinese automakers and tech leaders are advancing new battery technologies, including all-solid-state batteries.
GAC Group announced over the weekend that it has officially begun producing all-solid-state EV batteries, claiming to be the first in the industry to meet the conditions for mass production.
The milestone is significant, given that mass production is one of the biggest hurdles holding all-solid-state batteries from hitting the market.
Not only does it require new equipment, but all-solid-state batteries also use a solid electrolyte, which can be costly. GAC Group uses a dry process that combines slurry preparation, coating, and rolling into a single step, saving time and resources.
The production line is already producing EV batteries above 60 Ah. Experts say 60 Ah is needed to use in vehicles. Up until now, most have been around 20-40 Ah.
According to Qi Hongzhong, GAC’s R&D boss, the company plans to begin small-batch vehicle testing by 2026, with mass production scheduled between 2027 and 2030.
The new batteries are expected to provide over 1,000 km (621 miles) driving range, more than double the current 500 km (310 miles).
China established the All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform last year, which unites nearly all battery makers and automakers to bring the new battery tech into mass production.
SAIC Motor also announced over the weekend that it has completed the main production line for its all-solid-state batteries. BYD and CATL aim to begin producing all-solid-state batteries by 2027, with mass production closer toward the end of the decade.
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For the first time in what feels like forever, Tesla has put a hard date on the arrival of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in Europe. The automaker confirmed that the Dutch vehicle authority (RDW) has committed to granting national approval for the system in February 2026, which is just a few months away.
Update: RDW has denied that it has told Tesla it plans to grant approval in February.
This is a massive development for European Tesla owners who have been stuck with a severely neutered version of Autopilot for years due to restrictive regulations.
Tesla shared the update via its ‘Tesla Europe & Middle East’ account on X, stating that the RDW has “committed to granting Netherlands National approval” next February.
Rather than waiting for the slow-moving wheels of the entire European Union to turn simultaneously, Tesla is using a “national exemption” route. Once the Netherlands grants this approval, other EU member states can choose to recognize that exemption immediately, effectively creating a domino effect for an EU-wide rollout.
Tesla explained the regulatory hurdle they’ve been facing:
“Some of these regulations are outdated and rule-based, making FSD illegal in its current form. Modifying FSD to make it fully rule-compliant would make it unsafe and unusable in many cases.”
Instead of watering down the software, Tesla is seeking exemptions rule-by-rule. The company notes it has already driven over 1 million kilometers in internal testing across 17 European countries to prove the system’s safety to regulators. However, Tesla didn’t share disengagement data from these 1 million kms.
Tesla has been known to make misleading claims that FSD is safer than humans by releasing misleading crash data that relies on its own crash reporting from customer vehicles, while using police data for the broader comparison fleet, on top of road biases.
Furthermore, even with these flaws, it doesn’t prove that FSD is safer than humans, but that FSD plus humans is safer than just humans, as FSD still requires driver attention at all times. Drivers prevent an unknown number of accidents with the driver assistance system.
Update: RDW responded to Tesla’s announcement with a different view of the situation. The regulator claimed that it has only come up with a schedule for Tesla to be able to demonstrate FSD in February, and hasn’t committed to approving it.
We do not share details about ongoing applications from manufacturers, as this concerns commercially sensitive information. However, we can state that the RDW and Tesla have established a schedule, according to which Tesla is expected to demonstrate in February 2026 that FSD Supervised meets the required standards. Both RDW and Tesla are aware of the efforts needed to reach a decision on this matter in February. Whether this timeline will be met is yet to be determined in the coming period. For the RDW, (road) safety is paramount.
Electrek’s Take
While this is the most serious announcement from Tesla about FSD in Europe, we heard timelines in the past that didn’t pan out.
In early 2022, Musk said that Tesla would launch FSD in Europe that summer. It clearly didn’t happen.
In late 2024, Tesla said it should happen in early 2025, and that didn’t happen either.
Now, if RDW actually said that, it would give a lot more weight to this new timeline.
It should make the few Tesla owners in Europe who bought FSD on HW4 cars happy, but just like what happened in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, it is also likely to create a situation where the launch confirms that Tesla is not going to deliver its promises to the millions of HW3 owners.
Either way, I don’t think FSD saves Tesla’s freefalling sales in Europe.
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