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BRIFELY: Lucid, Diesel Decline, Volvo Recall & more | 25 Feb 2026
It's EV News Briefly for Wednesday 25 February 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show. Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDaily LUCID LIFTS SALES, STILL BLEEDS CASH Lucid posted Q4 2025 revenue of $522.7 million — more than double the prior year — and full-year revenue of $1.35 billion (+68%), while delivering 15,841 vehicles in 2025 (+55%), its eighth consecutive quarter of record deliveries, backed by $4.6 billion in liquidity. The growth comes at a steep price: the company burned $3.8 billion in cash in 2025, announced its third layoff in three years (cutting 12% of US salaried staff), and is banking on a new ~$50,000 midsize SUV later in 2026. EU PETROL AND DIESEL SHARE SLIDES AGAIN EU new car registrations fell 3.9% in January 2026, but the real story is the collapse in fossil fuel powertrains: the combined petrol and diesel share fell from 39.5% a year ago to just 30.1%, down from 48.7% in January 2024, with petrol registrations dropping 28.2% year-on-year across France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Pure BEVs took a 19.3% share (up from 14.9% twelve months prior), and electrified powertrains collectively accounted for around 68% of all January registrations. COMMISSION DELAYS "MADE IN EUROPE" PROCUREMENT ACT The European Commission's Industrial Accelerator Act — which would add a "European preference" to public procurement, including a 70% EU-origin threshold for electric vehicles — has been delayed for a fourth time, now targeting a 4 March presentation. The UK has raised concerns that any protectionist tilt could damage cross-Channel automotive supply chains, given the EU is the largest export market for UK-built cars. VOLVO RECALLS 40,323 EX30S OVER FIRE RISK Volvo has issued a formal recall of 40,323 EX30 Single-Motor Extended Range and Twin-Motor Performance vehicles over a battery overheating risk — caused by lithium plating growth in cells from Shandong Geely Sunwoda Power Battery Co — that could trigger a fire. Volvo will replace the battery modules free of charge, but has disputed Reuters' estimate that the replacements alone could cost around $195 million, while continuing to advise owners to cap charging at 70% until their vehicle is fixed. T&E PUSHES EU TO TOUGHEN CORPORATE EV QUOTAS Transport & Environment, an NGO advocating for clean transport, is urging the EU to raise corporate fleet EV targets to 69% zero-emission vehicles by 2030 — well above the Commission's proposed 45% — while excluding PHEVs entirely, arguing that company car drivers rarely plug in and routinely exceed lab-test emissions figures. Corporate buyers account for roughly 60% of new EU car sales, and T&E says its stricter targets would deliver 1.9 million additional EU-made EV sales in 2030, versus 1.2 million under the current Commission plan, while redirecting €42 billion in annual fossil fuel company car tax subsidies toward EU-built EVs. VAUXHALL CONFIRMS ELECTRIC CORSA GSE FOR 2026 Vauxhall has confirmed a fully electric Corsa GSE for 2026, the brand's first hot hatch in eight years and the second model under its revived GSE performance sub-brand. The car is expected to carry over the Mokka GSE's 276bhp front motor, 54kWh battery, Torsen limited-slip differential, and Alcon brakes — a combination that delivers 0–62mph in 5.9 seconds on the Mokka, matching the Mini Cooper Electric JCW. RENAULT TO BUY OUT FLEXIS PARTNERS Renault plans to take full ownership of Flexis, its electric van joint venture, by buying out partners Volvo Group and CMA CGM — part of a broader retrenchment under new CEO François Provost that also sees the Ampere EV and software unit folded back into Renault Group by as early as July 2026. The first Flexis product, the Renault Trafic Van E-Tech, remains on track for production at Sandouville before the end of 2026, with Renault Trucks distributing the van from 2027 under an existing light commercial vehicle partnership. LEPAS CONFIRMS L8 SUV FOR UK LAUNCH Chery-owned Lepas has confirmed its L8 SUV as its first UK model, with a summer 2026 launch expected and full specifications still to come. The most likely powertrain is the plug-in hybrid system shared with the UK-spec Jaecoo 7 — a 1.5-litre petrol engine paired with an electric motor and 18.3kWh battery delivering 56 miles of electric range and 204bhp total — with a pure EV variant expected to follow. HONDA ICON E: ELECTRIC SCOOTER HITS ¥220,000 IN JAPAN Honda has launched the ICON e: electric scooter in Japan at ¥220,000 (~$1,435 / €1,350), undercutting its own petrol mopeds by around ¥20,000 and claiming 81km (50 miles) of range via a removable, swappable Mobile Power Pack e: battery. Accessible from age 16 under Japan's moped licence class — mirroring the EU's AM category — the ICON e: is designed for urban practicality over headline specs, and its sub-€1,400 price positions it well as European cities continue to tighten low-emission zones.
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