This week, we're looking at some awesome advances in range extending and battery tech, how to thwart charging cable crooks, and a surprise sneak peek of an all-new EV supercar — plus, plenty of other news you need to know about clean machines right now.
How to beat charging cable thieves
We recently reported on the continued occurrence of thieves snipping driveway charging cables at night to sell the copper for a few dollars.
Clearly, the risk of being caught versus the small amount of metal contained is not worth it to most people. But when it does happen, it can ruin your day.
Solution? Well, there are several. The easiest is to have an untethered cable: You keep it in the trunk, and only attach it to a charger when you need to charge. And a few companies are now offering hardened steel cables that are much more difficult to snip.
Range extension technology is getting seriously great
The simplest solution to EV range anxiety is having its moment: range extenders. They work by adding a basic gasoline generator to your electric motor that, in a pinch, can be fired up to charge your EV.
This year, we've already seen them on Toyota's Prius Prime, Mazda's EZ-60 (China only, alas), Jeep's late-2025 Wagoneer 4xe, and the recently announced RAM 1500 REV.
BMW also announced that in 2026, an extender option for the X5 will be available, giving a whopping combined range of 620 miles.
Want to charge your EV for free? In Spain, you can
Through a deal between Nissan and Repsol (a Spanish energy company), owners of a new Nissan Micra, Leaf, or Ariya are eligible for more than 10,000 totally free miles of driving each year.
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No way 🙅 California isn't replacing the EV tax credit, but it is investing in charging
The hard truth is that California won't offer its own EV tax credit to replace the federal ones, which ended in September. "We can't make up for federal vandalism of those tax credits," California Governor Gavin Newsom said at a press conference in San Francisco.
But on the plus side, the state unveiled its Charge California Project, which will allocate a total of $55 million to charging sites that qualify. Priority will go to those in low-income communities, tribal areas, and other places that are underserved by fast-charging hardware.
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Hyundai's new supercar could be something special
Hyundai luxury brand Genesis accidentally shared plans to build a 1,000-horsepower supercar under its Magma sub-brand at a recent Hyundai Investor Day. If built, such a model would be a rival to Porsche's Taycan Turbo GT and Lucid's Air Sapphire.
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