BRIEFLY: VW, Škoda, Canada & more | 01 Mar 2026
EV News Daily - Technology and Business of EVs
Martyn Lee
4.8 • 749 Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2026
⏱️ 6 minutes
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Summary
It's EV News Briefly for Sunday 01 March 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 delivered its 2 millionth battery electric vehicle — an ID.3 handed to customer Kirsten Vormbrock at the Transparent Factory in Dresden — capping a journey that began with the e-up! in 2013. The ID.4 leads the tally with roughly 901,000 units sold globally, while the brand now looks ahead to four new affordable EVs including the ID. Polo, arriving in 2026.
Škoda has unveiled a 200 kW plug-in hybrid for the Superb Hatch, pairing a 1.5 TSI petrol engine with an 85 kW electric motor and a 25.7 kWh battery — making it the most powerful combustion-engine model in Škoda's current lineup. The launch reflects growing demand: one in four Superb models now sells with a PHEV powertrain, and more than 68,000 Superb iV models have been delivered since 2019.
Canada began accepting import permit applications from 1 March 2026, allowing up to 49,000 China-built EVs per year to enter at a 6.1% tariff — a sharp cut from the 106.1% rate imposed in 2024 — on a first-come, first-served basis. Tesla, Polestar, and Volvo are considered frontrunners to use the allocation, which Ottawa plans to scale to 70,000 vehicles annually by 2030, with 50% of that expanded quota reserved for EVs below a set price threshold.
Cupra will unveil the Born facelift on 5 March, bringing harder-edged front and rear styling that aligns the model visually with the newer Terramar and Tavascan, plus expected interior upgrades including more premium materials and a revised infotainment layout. The refresh matters commercially: the Born has sold nearly 30,000 units in the UK alone since its 2022 launch, and Cupra will also soon introduce the smaller Raval electric hatchback from approximately £23,000.
A Range Rover Velar EV prototype has been caught in European winter testing, revealing a dramatically reshaped body with a cab-forward stance, angular haunches, and a fastback-leaning roofline that breaks sharply from traditional boxy SUV design. Crucially, it will be the first Jaguar Land Rover model built on the new 800-volt Electric Modular Architecture (EMA) platform, which is engineered to deliver over 300 miles of range and faster charging capability.
Rivian has launched the Rivian Adventure Department (RAD), a dedicated performance sub-brand targeting harder and faster off-road driving that puts it in direct competition with Land Rover's Octa and Ford's Raptor line. RAD formalises the engineering team already responsible for the R1S and R1T Quad Motor variants, giving Rivian's performance ambitions an official identity and a public-facing platform.
Tesla has updated the Model Y Owner's Manual to advise owners to rely on home Level 1 or Level 2 charging for daily use — keeping limits at 80% — and to reserve Superchargers for road trips, warning that frequent DC fast charging accelerates long-term battery degradation. For long-term storage, Tesla recommends parking at approximately 50% state of charge and flagging that features like Sentry Mode and Dog Mode can silently drain the battery at roughly 1% per day while the car sits idle.
Volvo Group is accelerating its battery-electric heavy truck strategy from a position of strength, holding a 19% share of the European heavy-truck market for the second consecutive year. Its flagship FH Aero Electric packs 780 kWh of batteries for up to 600 km of range and supports megawatt charging that takes the pack from 20% to 80% in just 45 minutes — aligning recharge stops with mandatory driver rest breaks.
Lyten has completed its acquisition of Northvolt's Swedish operations — covering Northvolt Ett, Ett Expansion, and Northvolt Labs — in a deal encompassing nearly $5 billion in book value, 16 GWh of manufacturing capacity, and Europe's largest battery R&D centre. The company plans to restart lithium-ion NMC cell production at the Skellefteå site in the second half of 2026, and will use Northvolt Labs in Västerås to advance its proprietary lithium-sulfur battery technology.
Oslo-based Brim Explorer has signed contracts for two fully electric trimarans — each 24 metres long, carrying 180 passengers — which the firm claims will be the world's most efficient battery-powered vessels upon their spring 2027 delivery. The boats will operate silent, emission-free sightseeing cruises along Norway's coast with a battery-only range of 100 nautical miles at speeds up to 20 knots, expanding Brim's existing five-vessel fleet.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Potential. |
| 0:02.0 | Potential can sometimes feel daunting, scary. |
| 0:06.0 | But today's the day you decide to act on it, |
| 0:10.0 | with a higher technical qualification. |
| 0:13.0 | Designed with employers, it will give you the skills you need to land the job you want, |
| 0:18.0 | because today is your day. When anything is possible, if you make it happen. |
| 0:25.3 | It all starts with skills. See how you can get started. Search skills for life. Potential. Potential can |
| 0:33.5 | sometimes feel daunting, scary. But today's the day you decide to act on it with a higher technical qualification. |
| 0:43.2 | Designed with employers, it will give you the skills you need to land the job you want |
| 0:47.8 | because today is your day. |
| 0:51.5 | When anything is possible, if you make it happen. It all starts with skills. See how |
| 0:57.4 | you can get started. Search skills for life. It's EV News briefly for Sunday 1st of March. Everything |
| 1:03.1 | EV in less than 5 minutes. If you haven't got time for the full podcast, let's get you up to speed. |
| 1:07.7 | Massive milestone hit today. Volkswagen delivered its two millionth |
| 1:12.0 | pure Bev battery electric vehicle. They've even picked out a car that was the two millionth. |
| 1:17.3 | I've never convinced that there was a few cars either way. But you know, they do this to get a message |
| 1:22.2 | across. They chose to pick an ID3 handed to the customer at their factory in Dresden, capping a journey that began with |
| 1:30.1 | the E-Up in 2013. The ID4 has sold 901,000 units globally, while the brand now looks ahead |
| 1:38.7 | to a new affordable EV range, like the ID Polo coming later this year. Congratulations to Volkswagen. Two million |
| 1:46.3 | Bev's later. They've got some exciting plans. Schoda has unveiled a 200-kilwatt plug-in hybrid |
| 1:52.4 | for the superb hatchback version. So taking the existing engine and adding it to an 85-kilwatt |
| 2:00.0 | electric motor and a battery that's almost 26 kilowatt |
... |
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