logo
Volkswagen unveils electric successor to Up model

Volkswagen unveils electric successor to Up model

Yahoo05-03-2025

Volkswagen presented a design for an all-electric successor to the former Up hatchback model on Wednesday.
Europe's largest car manufacturer presented the ID. Every1, whose design is based on the Up, which was discontinued in 2023.
The new series is set to be available in 2027 and will cost around €20,000 ($21,500).
"The ID. Every1 is the final piece of the puzzle on our way to the broadest selection of models," brand boss Thomas Schäfer said at the launch at the Düsseldorf Congress Centre.
VW is rounding off the bottom end of its electric range despite a drop off in electric car sales being partly blamed for the company's recent woes.
A new software developed through a partnership with US firm Rivian is being used for the first time in the new model. VW had discontined the Up because it no longer met cybersecurity regulations.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Amazon Eyes AI-Powered Humanoid Robots for Last-Mile Edge
Amazon Eyes AI-Powered Humanoid Robots for Last-Mile Edge

Yahoo

time5 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Amazon Eyes AI-Powered Humanoid Robots for Last-Mile Edge

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock popped about 2.7% yesterday after word got out that the e-commerce giant is quietly building a humanoid park in San Francisco to experiment with AI-powered robots for deliveries. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Sign with AMZN. Instead of relying solely on its 750,000 warehouse bots, Amazon is now eyeing humanoid prototypessome coming from China's Unitreethat can literally hop out of a Rivian (RIVN) delivery van to drop packages at your doorstep. Right now, engineers are fine-tuning navigation, object handling and safety systems in a mock urban environment, complete with a single Rivian van parked among obstacles. Meanwhile, over at Amazon's Lab126 in Sunnyvale, a fresh agentic AI team is working on getting these robots to understand and act on natural language commandsimagine telling a bot, Pick up that package and leave it by the back door and having it do just that. All of this is part of Amazon's broader push to shave billions off its fulfillment and delivery bills (which topped $60 billion last year) and stay a step ahead of rivals like Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and FedEx (NYSE:FDX). While timelines are still fuzzy, CEO Andy Jassy hinted that pilot tests could roll out in select cities later this year. Investors should care because if these humanoid bots make it from test park to real-world routes, Amazon could cut costs, boost delivery speeds and create a new benchmark in last-mile logistics. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

A Little Bad News for Rivian and Lucid
A Little Bad News for Rivian and Lucid

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

A Little Bad News for Rivian and Lucid

Survey results suggest cooling sentiment toward EVs. Consumers still hesitate when it comes to price and public charging infrastructure. The Trump administration is currently trying to pull back support for EVs. 10 stocks we like better than Rivian Automotive › Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Lucid Motors (NASDAQ: LCID) entered 2025 in different gears. Rivian was entering a year with no major vehicle launch, stagnating deliveries, and a lack of any visible catalysts, while Lucid has strung together six consecutive quarters of record deliveries and is ramping the production of its new Gravity SUV. One thing they both have in common is a growing, albeit more slowly than hoped, electric vehicle (EV) market. Here's the bad news: Some recent data says that the EV market sentiment looks to be souring. Tesla changed the game when it made EVs "cool" for the first time. Since then, the hype surrounding EVs as the future of transportation has swept the globe, in some countries (like China) faster than in others. But according to a recent survey, that hype could be in decline in the U.S. Interest in EVs spiraled to its lowest level since 2019, according to a consumer survey commissioned by AAA. Only 16% of respondents reported being "likely" or "very likely" to purchase an EV as their next vehicle, signaling consumer caution. The percentage of respondents who indicated they would be "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to purchase an EV as their next vehicle jumped from 51% to 63%, the highest mark since 2022. The percentage who believe that most cars will be electric within the next decade fell from 40% in 2022 to 23% this year. Not only is interest in EVs down, there's also the lingering pessimism surrounding battery repair costs, total costs, and charging infrastructure -- a story as old as EVs themselves. More specifically, 62% of respondents noted high battery repair costs as a main reason for avoiding going electric, while purchase price was cited by 59% of respondents. The hesitation when it comes to purchase price is understandable. The average transaction price for a new EV in March was $59,205, far higher than the overall average transaction price of $47,462, according to data from Cox Automotive. As far as consumer concerns go, 56% of respondents had the fear of running out of charge while driving, and 55% noted a lack of convenient public charging stations. The waning consumer sentiment goes hand in hand with the Trump administration's effort to pull support from the EV industry. House Republicans passed a budget bill on May 22 that will reduce federal incentives for battery manufacturing, as well as other clean energy projects. If the Senate approves it, it would cut the section of the bill that provides the $7,500 EV tax credit. The administration took it a step further, as the bill also institutes a new tax of $250 for EV owners and $100 for hybrid owners. The tax contributes to the Highway Trust Fund to support infrastructure. Investors would be wise to temper growth expectations for the EV industry this year, especially with tariff uncertainty hanging over the automotive industry. That's especially true considering that first-quarter data could give a different impression. EV registrations grew 16%, according to S&P Global Mobility, and market share rose from 6.9% to 7.7%, year over year. There was a demand pull-ahead effect due to people predicting that the tax credit would soon disappear. Rivian, which is currently waiting anxiously for the R2 launch, lacks momentum in 2025 and could use broader industry strength to boost its stock price. Investors who believe in Rivian long-term should keep their eyes open for a buying opportunity this year. For Lucid investors, while this decline in consumer sentiment isn't ideal, the company has plenty of self-driven momentum thanks to quarters of record deliveries. The company is currently ramping up production and deliveries of the new Gravity SUV EV, which will continue driving total deliveries higher throughout the year. For these two young automakers, the broader industry's health is important. The simple truth is that people aren't taking to EVs in the U.S. as quickly as investors had hoped. Before you buy stock in Rivian Automotive, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Rivian Automotive wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Daniel Miller has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. A Little Bad News for Rivian and Lucid was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Ford's Hot Hatch Is Now Officially History
Ford's Hot Hatch Is Now Officially History

Miami Herald

timea day ago

  • Miami Herald

Ford's Hot Hatch Is Now Officially History

The end is here for Ford's last hot hatch as the company confirmed to Motor1 that every factory build slot for the Focus ST is spoken for. "All Focus ST factory orders until the end of production have now been reserved," European communications manager Finn Thomasen said. Dealers across the Continent may still have a few unclaimed cars hiding in back lots, but once those are gone-and when Focus production stops in November-the book will officially close on Ford's 45-year hot-hatch chapter. The Focus joins a growing list of Ford passenger cars already in the rear-view mirror. The Fiesta bowed out in 2023, the Mondeo in 2022, and the tiny Ka back in 2020. Without them, Ford's European portfolio is dominated by crossovers such as the Puma and Kuga. The shift has taken a bite out of sales: through April, Ford moved 149,601 vehicles in the EU, U.K., and EFTA markets-down 2.2% year-over-year and less than a third of Volkswagen's haul over the same period. Even Hyundai and Kia have pulled ahead, underscoring how much ground Ford has ceded without its affordable hatchbacks. Yes, the seventh-generation Mustang still flies the performance flag, but it's hardly a volume play. EU taxes punish engines bigger than two liters, dogging the 5.0-liter V-8, while the smaller 2.3-liter EcoBoost was pulled from European order books at the end of 2020. The pony car, therefore, lives on as a niche halo, not a substitute for the daily-drivable, budget-friendly thrills once delivered by ST-badged Fiestas and Focuses. Whether Ford ever revisits the hot-hatch formula likely depends on batteries, not boost pressure. Former Ford of Europe boss-now VW sales chief-Martin Sanders has hinted that the Blue Oval could tap further into Volkswagen's MEB electric platform, the foundation for the forthcoming Explorer and Capri EVs. VW has already promised an electric GTI; a battery-fueled Fiesta ST or Focus ST revival isn't unthinkable if the economics line up. For now, though, enthusiasts must look to the used market or pivot to rival brands still flying the internal-combustion hot-hatch flag. The Fiesta Supersport of 1980 lit the fuse; the Escort RS, Fiesta XR2, and decades of ST variants kept the fire roaring. With the Focus ST's curtain call, the combustion-powered Ford hot hatch becomes history. What replaces it, if anything, will almost certainly hum rather than howl. Until that day arrives, the faithful will remember the glory years and, if they're lucky, snag one of the last STs before they're gone. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store