Yet another big name in auto is pulling back on its EV plans, blaming slower than expected demand for electric vehicles.

Porsche drops in-house EV battery plans

Volkswagen’s luxury sports car brand, Porsche, announced this week that it no longer plans to build EV batteries in-house.

Cellforce, Porsche’s high-performance EV battery company, will shrink and only focus on research and development, rather than production.

In a statement, Porsche blamed “the slower ramp-up” of EVs and “challenging market conditions” in its biggest markets, the US and China, for the changes.

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CEO Oliver Blume, confirmed the news, saying “For volume reasons and a lack of economies of scale, Porsche is no longer pursuing its own production of battery cells.” The staff reductions, will be handled in “a socially responsible matter,” Porsche said. Volkswagen’s battery unit, PowerCo, will take on several former employees.

Porsche plans to continue to continue offering internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid, and all-electric options across every segment “well into the 2030s.”

Following the Taycan and Macan Electric, Porsche is still planning to launch the all-electric Cayenne and 718 models. The German automaker promises future models will still “bring trend-setting technologies in electromobility into series production.”

A separate report from German magazine WirtschaftsWoche claimed on Wednesday that Porsche is on the hunt for a new CEO to replace Oliver Blume.

German automaker Opel drops EV commitment plans

Porsche isn’t the only German automaker adjusting EV plans. Opel is one of the many brands under the Stellantis Group, alongside Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, and several others.

Although it was one of the many automakers to commit to offering an all-electric lineup, it’s now backing off its promise.

During Stellantis’ EV Day in 2021, Opel announced its intention to transition to all-electric vehicles by 2028, accompanied by a slate of new models. Former CEO Michael Lohscheller, now chief executive at Polestar, said, “As of 2028, Opel will only offer electric cars in our core market Europe.”

On Monday, the German auto giant abandoned its plans for an all-EV lineup, saying it will continue to focus on its current “multi-energy” strategy.

Opel is the first German auto brand to offer a fully electrified model for every vehicle in its lineup, including electric (EVs), plug-in (PHEVs), and even internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

In response to media reports claiming it has changed its strategy, the company said in a statement, “This does not have to be limited to 2028 if the demand side requires otherwise.”

Although the company will continue to focus on EVs in specific regions, like the UK, France, and Germany, it will also offer other powertrain options based on demand.

Opel, alongside British sister company Vauxhall, is one of the top-selling brands in Europe. In Germany and the UK, Opel and Vauxhall ranked first in the ever-expanding B-hatch segment through the first half of the year.

The German auto giant becomes the latest brand to scale back EV plans or shift to hybrids, following Volvo, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, and others.

As it gears up to unleash an “avalanche” of new EVs, a top Kia official is warning against changing policies. Not only would it be a setback for the industry, but it would also cost the company a fortune.

Kia is warning against changing policies for EVs

Unlike some automakers (looking at you, Mercedes-Benz), Kia believes it’s best for Europe to stick to its plan to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2035.

“We have an avalanche of electric cars coming,” Kia’s top executive in Europe, Marc Hedrich, said (via Automotive News). Kia’s European boss warned that if the company were to suddenly stop launching EVs, “it would cost us a Fortune.”

Hedrich’s comments come as pressure builds from other automakers, especially in Germany, to reverse the ban on new ICE cars.

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Meanwhile, just a week ago, Kia’s first European-made electric vehicle, the EV4, rolled off the assembly line. The EV4 is Kia’s first electric hatchback. Unlike the sedan model, which is made in South Korea, the hatch variant is assembled at Kia’s Zilina plant in Slovakia.

Kia invested over 100 million euros ($125 million) to upgrade the facility for EV production. Next year, Kia will begin building the EV2, its new entry-level electric car that will sit below the EV3.

Hedrich’s warning is a stark contrast to Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius, who criticized the EU’s policy earlier this month.

Kallenius said that the policy would handicap European brands, which are already struggling to compete with Chinese automakers. Instead, he is calling for tax incentives and cheaper power prices to support the transition to EVs.

When asked about Kallenius’ comments, Hedrich took a slight jap, saying, “That is the same guy who a few years ago promised his company would only sell EVs in Europe by 2030.”

EU President Ursula von der Leyen is set to meet with several top European automotive executives to devise a plan to ensure the sector remains competitive.

Kia does not support a delay, Hedrich made clear, with several EVs set to arrive over the next few months. After launching the EV3 and EV9 in 2024, Kia opened orders for the EV4 (hatchback and sedan variants) earlier this year. The company’s EV5 SUV is set to launch later this year, followed by the smaller EV2. Both the EV2 and EV4 will be assembled in Slovakia to expedite deliveries.

Electrek’s Take

The EV3 is already the best-selling electric vehicle among retail buyers in the UK and sixth in Europe through the first half of the year.

With the EV4 and EV5 joining the lineup this year, followed by the EV2 in 2026, why would Kia support going backwards? And that’s not to mention Kia’s new PBV electric van business, which kicked off with the PV5 this year.

Even investing in new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) technology at this point seems a little late to the party.

As Hedrich put it, “PHEVs are definitely a transition technology which is highly dependent on local government rules.” Since the rules vary by region, “it’s extremely difficult to build a business case” around them, he added.

Kia’s European boss believes the EU’s ban on ICE vehicles could help German automakers. However, more competitive models are needed to boost demand, he predicted.

Do you agree with Kia? Chinese brands like BYD are quickly winning over market share with lower-cost, often more advanced EVs. And European automakers are almost entirely dependent on Korean or Chinese battery makers. If automakers continue delaying the inevitable transition to EVs, they will only fall further behind in the global market.

Tesla has reportedly begun testing self-driving features in the Boring Company’s single-lane tunnels in Las Vegas, but it is still “ways off,” according to the Las Vegas Convention Center, which owns the tunnels.

Yet, Elon Musk believes Tesla’s self-driving will cover half of the US population by the end of the year.

The Boring Company, a startup founded by Elon Musk, aims to construct single-lane tunnels beneath cities in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion.

In 2021, it began operating its first Loop, ~1.7 miles (2.7 km) of tunnels underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), with Tesla vehicles ferrying passengers between three stations around the convention center.

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LVCC was the first to trust the Boring Company to deploy its ‘Loop’ and the service has been underwhelming so far, but The Boring Company did expand the network a bit in Las Vegas, connecting the LVCC Loop to a few hotels with new tunnels.

Elon Musk stated that the ultimate goal was for self-driving Tesla vehicles to transport people through these tunnels at high speeds.

Many people noted that a controlled environment with single-lane tunnels, devoid of other vehicles or pedestrians, would be the easiest environment to deploy self-driving technology. However, four years after launching the LVCC Loop, The Boring Company is still using Tesla vehicles with human chauffeurs.

Steve Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), confirmed to Fortune that The Boring Company started testing Tesla’s autonomous driving in the Vegas Loop, but he believes it is still “ways off”.

He shared some details about the testing so far:

Thus far, all of the initial testing has been done with the standard Full Self-Driving (FSD) software that consumers can get in their personal Tesla vehicles, and with a Boring Company safety operator in the driver’s seat, according to Hill, who awarded the Boring Company its first transportation contract and who has overseen all of Boring’s initial construction and tunneling in the broader County thus far. Hill said that Boring Company is operating the vehicles, but was unsure of Tesla’s exact role in the testing apart from furnishing the vehicles and the self-driving software. There have been no scrapes or accidents thus far, though safety drivers have “periodically” had to intervene and take control of the vehicles, Hill said.

Nonetheless, Hill believes that the loop will eventually become autonomous, but he is unsure when this will happen.

While they are still working on making self-driving work in those single-lane tunnels, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla’s Robotaxi service will cover half of the US population by the end of the year.

Electrek’s Take

As I previously stated, there’s no way that Tesla could cover half of the US population with an actual Robotaxi service by the end of the year.

But the fact that it doesn’t actually operate any real Robotaxi service changes things.

In the Bay Area, Tesla claims to have launched its “Robotaxi”, but it is essentially using its Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature with Tesla employees supervising the vehicles from the driver’s seat.

This is basically the same thing as an Uber driver who has a Tesla with FSD.

Therefore, technically, Tesla could cover half of the US population by recruiting a few drivers in all 40 biggest metro markets in the US to drive around in Tesla vehicles with FSD and claim that its “Robotaxi” covers half of the US population.

It would be a ridiculous thing to do and only celebrated by the most cultish of Tesla fans, but at this point, I wouldn’t be shocked.

My personal opinion is that the right thing to do is to deliver on what you promised: unsupervised self-driving in consumer vehicles built since 2016 and the promises made to other customers, such as the Las Vegas Convention Center.

If your self-driving technology is not working in a single-lane tunnel without other road users, it will not work on surface streets.