This week's EV news roundup features some surprising global charging costs, Germany's worst EV, and the hard truth about plug-in hybrids. Here's what you need to know:
Germany has revealed its least (and most) faulty EVs
Germany's respected car-check watchdog, TÜV, has published the results of its annual TÜV Report, which did roadworthiness checks on 9.5 million vehicles, including a full lineup of EVs.
And while we are interested in the winners (the Mini Cooper SE and Audi Q4 e-tron were the most problem-free in the four-to-seven-year-old class), it's the bottom-ranked vehicles we are most eager to see.
That crown went to Tesla. In fact, the two bottom spots did: The Model 3 had a defect rate of 13.1% for cars aged two to three years, and the Model Y scored a miserable 17.3%. This made it the worst model the survey has seen in this age bracket in a decade.
A new study reveals something crucial about plug-in hybrids
A major European study of PHEVs has revealed that, despite carmakers' predictions that drivers would use them in electric mode 80% of the time, the real-world figure is only 30%. That means the total carbon pollution produced by many drivers is five times higher than predicted.
The study, which took data from hundreds of thousands of plug-in hybrids, came from wireless analysis and during maintenance visits.
Part of the problem is that early PHEVs had very low battery ranges (we're talking 30-ish to 50 miles). And a lot of those models were company cars, so the drivers weren't paying for the gas anyway, and possibly cared less.
The price of leaning into gas? The survey calculated that it cost drivers an average of around $800 a year at the pump.
And the most expensive country to drive an EV is…
Some countries have welcomed EVs more than others. And even among those who love them, the cost of charging your EV varies hugely.
The Australian insurance specialist The Burrow has tried to come up with a definitive global account of the cost of fully charging a Tesla Model Y.
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Yes — in the next 6 months 🙌 The most expensive? Ireland (around $32), followed by Italy ($31), with Liechtenstein, Germany, Belgium, and the U.K. all slightly cheaper.
The cheapest of all was Vietnam, at $5.73 for a full charge, with Ukraine, India, China, and Turkey following just behind.
Porsche's new model is leaning into luxury
If you're in the market for a $165,000 EV SUV that can charge wirelessly, then the 2026 Porsche Cayenne Electric is your dream car. It will be the most powerful production vehicle in the automaker's history with 1,139 horsepower.
According to Porsche, the battery can charge from 10-80% in under 16 minutes on a fast charger. As to the mat-charger, no numbers are out yet, but it will be slower.
Oddly, the launch comes not long after Porsche said that its luxury EV business model no longer works.
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