BRIEFLY: ID.3 Neo, IONNA, BMW & more | 15 Apr 2026
EV News Daily - Technology and Business of EVs
Martyn Lee
4.8 • 749 Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2026
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It's EV News Briefly for Wednesday 15 April 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.
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Volkswagen is relaunching its compact EV as the ID 3 Neo, with new styling, three larger battery options, improved range of up to just under 400 miles WLTP and faster DC charging up to about 183 kW. The bigger story is a completely new, more “Volkswagen-like” interior with physical buttons and a unified cockpit philosophy that responds directly to past usability criticism and signals a wider rethink of the brand’s EV strategy.
Volkswagen’s updated ID.4 and ID.5 in the UK add larger batteries, longer range up to 341 miles WLTP, vehicle-to-load capability, more practical towing and an optional heat pump, all with only small list-price increases. The cars also gain physical steering wheel buttons, improved driver assistance and infotainment tech, and potentially further effective price cuts if Volkswagen regains eligibility for the UK Electric Car Grant.
IONNA, the automaker-backed charging joint venture, will roll out up to 400 kW fast chargers with both NACS and CCS connectors at more than 350 Circle K locations under the Rechargeries @ Circle K brand. The deal gives IONNA prime highway and commuter-corridor sites, includes taking over and upgrading about 85 existing Circle K charging stations, and supports its goal of 30,000 high-power bays by 2030.
BMW Group’s global BEV deliveries fell 20.1% year on year to 87,458 units in Q1 2026, marking a second consecutive quarterly decline despite strong full-year 2025 volumes. The company blames the loss of US tax credits, the end of Chinese subsidies and a temporary gap in its mid-size electric SUV offering before the new iX3 arrived, even as European orders for that model have surged.
Rivian will use more than 100 repurposed EV battery packs, supplied and integrated by Redwood Materials, to create a 10 MWh energy storage system that helps power its Normal, Illinois plant from later in 2026. The project, described as the largest such deployment by a US automaker, reuses packs from test and end-of-life vehicles and reflects the rapid growth of grid-scale lithium-ion storage alongside EVs.
Ohio has awarded $51 million in federal NEVI funding, matched by at least $26 million in private money, to build 64 new fast-charging sites statewide. Each location will host four chargers at amenity-rich venues such as Sheetz, Tesla sites, Aldi and major travel centers, adding more than 260 new public charge points along key routes.
Lucid Motors has appointed Silvio Napoli as CEO with a $1.5 million base salary, up to a 200% bonus, a $9.5 million equity grant, performance-based options on up to one million shares and generous relocation and housing support. Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff will stay on until Napoli secures US work authorisation, then return to the COO role with a higher $1 million base salary and increased bonus potential.
The Renault Scenic E-Tech Electric now qualifies for the UK’s full £3,750 Electric Car Grant, cutting its starting price to £33,245 and making all three trims more accessible. With a 220 hp motor, 87 kWh battery and WLTP range up to 381 miles, it joins the Renault 4 and 5 E-Tech as models benefiting from maximum support after Renault proved their Polish battery cell plant runs entirely on renewable energy.
Electric trailer startup Lightship is more than doubling its Broomfield, Colorado plant to quadruple AE.1 output by around late 2027 while simplifying the lineup to a single, configurable model. The new AE.1 starts at $157,500 with the previously range-topping 77 kWh battery now standard, reflecting customer demand for the highest-spec pack and replacing the old Cosmos, Atmos and Panos trims with option packages for different use cases.
Rolls-Royce’s Project Nightingale is a £7 million, Phantom-length, two-seat electric convertible limited to 100 units, designed as both a design manifesto and a major earner for its new Coachbuild Collection tier. Inspired by the historic 17EX Torpedo, it offers a larger battery than the Spectre, targeted range near 329 miles, a likely 650 bhp dual-motor setup, and an immersive co-creation-lite process where buyers join from early sketches through global testing.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Your life's already digital. From banking and shopping to streaming and learning. So why |
| 0:06.3 | does sorting government stuff still feel like such hard work? The government is introducing a new |
| 0:13.6 | digital ID to make access to services quicker and more secure for everyone. But we need to hear from you. |
| 0:21.0 | Your voice matters. |
| 0:22.8 | Search Digital ID consultation to have your say. |
| 0:26.6 | Digital ID, making it work for you. |
| 0:30.1 | In the race to scale with AI, you need data infrastructure that can match your pace. |
| 0:35.1 | Everpire's data storage platform brings all your data into one hub. No silos, no scrambling, |
| 0:40.7 | just instant access to tame your data chaos. And with Everpure storage as a service subscription, |
| 0:46.1 | your storage and security upgrade automatically with zero downtime. Your infrastructure stays current, |
| 0:51.7 | so your business never slows down. Visit Everpuredata.com to learn more today. |
| 0:56.5 | With Everpure, you're not just in the race. |
| 0:58.6 | You're built to win it. |
| 1:00.2 | Dating apps? Easy. |
| 1:03.1 | Online shopping? |
| 1:04.5 | Simple. |
| 1:05.7 | Banking app? |
| 1:06.9 | Sorted. |
| 1:08.2 | Life admin. |
| 1:09.8 | Ugh. |
| 1:16.2 | That's what a digital ID could change and the government is opening a conversation to make it work for you. Your voice will shape the final product. So search |
| 1:22.4 | digital ID consultation to have your say. Digital ID, making it work for you. |
... |
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