The Charged

Battery-electric vehicle registrations across 16 major European markets reached roughly 202,833 units in August, an increase of 54.2% year on year. BEVs accounted for 30.5% of registrations. January-August registrations exceeded 1.67 million vehicles, up 33.1%. Germany registered about 68,980 BEVs and France 36,159, while Norway remained close to complete electrification.

China's traction-battery installations reached approximately 79 GWh in August, a record monthly level for 2026. Installations increased 26.3% year on year. LFP chemistry represented 85.6% of installations, while CATL and BYD together accounted for more than 60% of the market.

Retail sales of passenger new-energy vehicles reached approximately 362,000 units during 1–13 September. Volumes were down around 10% year on year but increased relative to the comparable August period. NEVs nevertheless represented 70.3% of passenger-car retail sales because the overall vehicle market contracted more sharply.

NITI Aayog released the second India Electric Mobility Index, covering all 36 states and Union Territories through 16 indicators spanning transport electrification, charging readiness and EV research and innovation. Delhi scored 84, Maharashtra 78, Karnataka 73 and Chandigarh 71. The national median increased to 40. Separate charging-readiness results put Karnataka at 97, Goa at 92 and Maharashtra at 91. India's EV penetration reached 8.25% in FY2025-26, with more than 8.7 million EVs on the road.

IEEFA's analysis showed India's public charging network increasing from 5,151 stations in 2022 to 52,718 by July 2026. It estimated that the ₹2,000 crore PM E-DRIVE charging allocation could support approximately 18,811 charging points, compared with an estimated 1.32 million required for India's 2030 EV ambitions. Grid infrastructure can account for as much as half of station deployment costs.

Musashi Auto Parts India signed an agreement to supply locally manufactured electric e-axles for Bhago Mobility's passenger three-wheelers. Production is planned from 2027 at Musashi's Bengaluru operation. The companies are also considering cargo and battery-swapping applications.

Tejas Cargo deployed a Blue Energy Motors electric heavy-duty truck into Dalmia Cement logistics operations in Rajgangpur, Odisha. The deployment puts a battery-electric truck into an industrial freight application where route predictability and high vehicle utilisation can support depot-charging economics.

ACME Solar commissioned additional battery-storage capacity at its Bikaner project. The incremental phase added approximately 52.32 MW/209.28 MWh, taking commissioned BESS capacity to around 105.95 MW/423.8 MWh. The wider project targets approximately 300 MW/1,200 MWh.

BYD unveiled the ETT 44 for Europe, a 44-tonne battery-electric tractor featuring a 651-kWh Blade LFP battery. BYD claims nearly 600 km of range. CCS charging reaches 420 kW, while the platform supports charging power above 1.5 MW through megawatt charging.

CATL unveiled its Tectrans II battery platform for heavy-duty electric commercial vehicles at IAA Transportation. The highest-capacity configuration is claimed to support up to 1,000 km of range and recharge to 80% in approximately 25 minutes using megawatt-level charging. The platform is intended for trucks, buses and other commercial applications.

BMZ Poland and EVE Energy formed a strategic partnership to incorporate LMFP cells into BMZ's Versora commercial-vehicle battery platform. Applications include trucks, buses, construction machinery, agricultural equipment and marine systems. Series production is planned for mid-2028.

Scania-sennder joint venture JUNA expanded its battery-electric truck fleet to approximately 110 vehicles operating across Germany, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands. The fleet has travelled approximately 3.9 million kilometres, with around 150 trucks targeted by year-end.

Kia will supply 200 electric PV5 Cargo vehicles to Korea Post, with deployment beginning during September across South Korea. The vans have been specifically adapted for postal operations, including a low floor and specialised driver-assistance features. Kia tested the vehicle for approximately two months in real delivery operations before the order.

Sydney Airport began introducing 50 electric buses to progressively replace diesel vehicles used for passenger and employee transportation. The fleet includes 25 dual-control apron buses and 25 electric shuttle buses. Electricity is supplied through the airport's renewable-energy arrangements.

Kinetic completed electrification work at its Sunshine West depot in Melbourne. The site will operate 60 zero-emission buses by the end of 2026. Charging capability increased from 24 to 66 buses, while infrastructure has been designed to support up to 82 vehicles.

Tesla disclosed an initial European heavy-duty charging network consisting of 21 sites and more than 100 MCS charging points. Locations will focus on major freight markets including Germany, France, Benelux, Sweden and the UK. Chargers will deliver up to 1.2 MW and are intended to be available to other truck brands.

Vinci Concessions, Épopée Gestion and ADEME Investissement plan to invest nearly €90 million (~US$106 million) in a public fast-charging network for electric trucks through Voltix. Approximately 20 sites form the initial phase, concentrated mainly in France before expansion into Germany and Spain.

Heavy-truck charging operator Milence and charging-equipment manufacturer Alpitronic announced a partnership to accelerate megawatt charging deployment along European freight corridors. Alpitronic's HYC1000 technology is central to the collaboration.

ABB E-Mobility and Elexon formed a strategic collaboration targeting logistics companies and commercial fleets. ABB provides DC charging hardware while Elexon supplies analysis, planning, installation, operations, service and energy/load management.

EZO reached financial close on a €150 million (~US$177 million) investment-grade, non-recourse senior debt facility to finance more than 3,000 charging points across the UK and Ireland. The network represents more than 100 MW of charging capacity. EZO expects the infrastructure to generate more than €1 billion (~US$1.18 billion) in electricity sales over 20 years.

New York City selected It's electric to expand its permanent public curbside charging network across all five boroughs. The programme will increase Level 2 curbside infrastructure from approximately 88 points to nearly 700 over three years, with emphasis on neighbourhoods where residents, taxi drivers and rideshare operators lack off-street parking.

Pennsylvania opened its 50th federally funded EV charging station while announcing approximately US$32 million for additional public charging infrastructure in eastern Pennsylvania. The state said approximately US$58 million had already been invested through the programme.

Forum Mobility is developing four additional heavy-duty charging depots in California with approximately 30 MW of aggregate capacity. Tesla will operate public Megacharging infrastructure at three locations. One Rancho Dominguez location already has fleet reservations covering more than 330 Tesla Semis.

Egyptian battery manufacturer BME and CATL signed an agreement to establish battery production in Egypt. Initial capacity is planned at 1 GWh annually, focused primarily on heavy commercial vehicles, with later expansion to 5 GWh. Initial investment is stated at more than EGP2 billion, approximately US$39 million.

Porsche and recycling company Cylib reached the third stage of a closed-loop battery pilot. Porsche produced battery cells whose cathode active material consists entirely of recycled lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese recovered from high-voltage batteries. The cells will now undergo vehicle testing. Recovered material is intended to become available for future battery-cell production from 2028.

Panasonic Energy opened its Energy Innovation Square in Kadoma, Osaka, consolidating materials development, cell design, prototype manufacturing and analysis. Approximately 500 employees are expected to work on next-generation cells and materials. Panasonic aims to double battery-development efficiency by 2031.

Factorial Energy formed a strategic partnership with Mitsui Kinzoku to accelerate industrialisation of Factorial's Solstice all-solid-state battery platform. Mitsui Kinzoku contributes expertise in solid sulphide electrolytes, a critical component of the technology.

NOVONIX and ACP Technologies signed a non-binding agreement to develop a U.S. supply chain for pitch-coated synthetic graphite anode active material using domestically sourced carbon precursors.

TERREPOWER launched battery-lifecycle services through Ontility covering reuse, remanufacturing, repurposing and recycling. The model prioritises returning suitable batteries to automotive applications before sending them into stationary storage or material recycling.

Sungrow and be.storaged signed a framework agreement covering approximately 1.6 GWh of planned large-scale battery-storage projects in Germany over the next two years.

Published tariff schedules associated with the proposed India-EU trade agreement indicate phased preferential treatment could eventually cover up to approximately 315,000 EVs annually across the two markets. Under the reported schedule, tariff reductions for qualifying EVs begin only in the fifth implementation year. The European side includes a proposed quota of up to 50,000 qualifying India-made electrified passenger vehicles at an 8% tariff in that stage.

The African Development Bank Group and Hyundai Motor Group announced a cooperation framework covering sustainable mobility, transport infrastructure, EV value chains linked to African critical minerals, clean energy, manufacturing and skills development. No committed investment value was disclosed.