The seven-seater, launching in the UK later this year, achieved the highest result among all 24 vehicles tested, delivering a leading 11.4% positive deviation versus its official WLTP range. In real-world conditions, it covered a total of 646km and continued operating for more than 11 hours after the start of the test. NAF noted that the Xpeng X9 “clearly stood out” in this year’s range evaluation.

The X9 also delivered the fastest charging performance, going from 10% to 80% in 12 minutes and 55 seconds. At the El Prix Winter 2026 held in February, the model topped the field at -10°C with a 12-minute charge. While Europe’s current 400kW charging infrastructure has yet to fully unlock the X9’s maximum capability, the vehicle continues to achieve top-tier charging times across different environments.

The result makes the Xpeng X9 the standout performer of El Prix and further demonstrates the real-world benefits of Xpeng’s latest-generation EV technology.

“Recording the largest WLTP range deviation and the fastest charging time is strong validation of the technology behind the Xpeng X9,” said Alex Tang, general manager of international business at Xpeng. “Customers should not have to choose between long range and fast charging. The X9 delivers both, helping drivers spend more time on the road and less time waiting at a charger.”

Held twice a year, El Prix is widely regarded as the world’s largest independent comparison of electric vehicle range and charging performance.

The Xpeng X9 is one of the new Xpeng models launching in Europe during 2026.

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Form, function and motorsport references

Numerous M-specific design measures have been implemented to optimize aerodynamics – including the reinterpreted M aero exterior mirrors in the colors of BMW M. A distinctive air outlet shapes the V-shaped hood and supports the cooling of the electric drivetrain.

The BMW M Concept Neue Klasse is characterized by a forward-facing shark nose and a light signature with a depth effect, with the headlights and kidney grille integrated into a single unit.

New M yellow lights, inspired by GT racing cars and the BMW M Hybrid V8, are intended to become a signature feature of future BMW M models. Three-dimensional track lights add another lighting accent to the outer sections of the front apron.

The trimaran-style front bumper provides structural support for the front splitter. At the rear, the track lights and trimaran design continue above the floating diffuser. A ducktail spoiler is designed to improve aerodynamics and increase rear-axle downforce.

Natural-fiber elements are used in the exterior and interior of the vehicle.

High performance and BMW M driving experience

The BMW M Concept Neue Klasse represents the next chapter in the M-typical blend of dynamics, agility and precision.

“Even in the new all-electric era, we continue the M-typical tradition of transferring both technological innovations and defining design features directly from motorsport into series production,” said Franciscus van Meel, chairman of the board of management at BMW M.

BMW M eDrive is based on the Neue Klasse’s Gen6 technology and was developed specifically for all-electric BMW M automobiles. The drivetrain concept combines four electric motors with the central control software BMW M Dynamic Performance Control in the Heart of Joy high-performance computer. Thanks to the integrated, wheel-specific control of the drivetrain and braking systems, BMW M eDrive opens up new potential for driving dynamics and driving safety. It enables high recuperation performance, optimal traction right up to the limit, and particularly direct response.

The 800V technology and the high-voltage battery with an energy content of more than 100kWh create the conditions for long-range capability. A BMW M-specific optimized version of sixth-generation cylindrical cells provides particularly high output when delivering energy to the electric motors and during charging. The housing of the high-voltage battery is structurally integrated with the front and rear axles to improve the driving dynamics.

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Kessels has more than 20 years of experience within the Volkswagen Group, a PhD in mechanical engineering from the North West University in South Africa, and four years as director of R&D at FAW‑Volkswagen China. For more than a decade, he has contributed to the VW Group’s electrification journey, including the development of advanced battery systems. In line with the new brand group Core governance model, he will report to Markus Haupt, CEO of SEAT and Cupra, as well as to Kai Grünitz, member of the brand group Core board of management responsible for technical development.

Haupt said, “We are excited to welcome Joost Kessels for this new chapter. His strong technical background and deep experience in the group, including his role in China, make him the right leader to drive this next phase for our company. While we continue to lead the Electric Urban Car Family on behalf of the Volkswagen Group, we will now also start taking over the leadership of the electric MEB21 platform. A clear recognition of our work and demonstration of how much potential lies ahead for our company and the Iberian Peninsula.”

With the electric MEB21 platform, SEAT and Cupra will, for the first time in its history, assume the leadership of the technical development of a group platform. This mandate marks a significant milestone for the company further consolidating its responsibility for the region and strengthening its role within the group.

Grünitz commented, “I am very happy that Joost Kessels will take on responsibility for the development of SEAT and Cupra. With lean structures and accelerated decision-making processes, we will elevate development across the BGC-network to a new level. Our focus will be on achieving highly competitive development timelines and costs.”

Vehicles built on the MEB21 platform include the Cupra Raval and Volkswagen ID Polo, produced in Martorell, Spain; the ID Cross and Škoda Epiq, produced in Navarra, Spain; among others. The MEB21 platform, developed within the MEB+ matrix, debuts a new front‑wheel‑drive architecture with a highly efficient electric drive that cuts complexity, components and weight.

Haupt added, “I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Werner Tietz, who has played a decisive role in making the Electric Urban Car Family project a success. I’ve truly enjoyed working with him, and I know it will be a special moment for him to see the CUPRA Raval on the streets this year. His contribution has left a lasting mark on our company.”

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“The NEV industry chain in China and across Asia-Pacific is rapidly moving upmarket and globalizing, raising the bar for performance limits and delivery speed of critical materials,” said Jinhong Zhang, vice president and general manager of the high-performance polymers business line in Evonik’s Asia-Pacific region. “This lab will support our work with partners to advance the large-scale adoption of Vestakeep PEEK solutions in electric-drive systems, magnet wires and equipment. The aim is to further develop our range of Vestakeep PEEK solutions to withstand even higher temperatures, higher voltages and more demanding operating conditions, and, as such, provide strong support for improved efficiency and enhanced reliability of NEV electric-drive systems.”

The Evonik PEEK Rectangular Magnet Wire Lab will focus on key technical challenges in magnet wire applications, including processing-parameter optimization, coating-structure design, improved adhesion performance and control of dimensions and concentricity.

In collaboration with third-party organizations, the lab will carry out reliability tests on key electrical properties such as breakdown voltage (BDV), partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV), corona resistance and oil-aging resistance, providing material assurance for safe, long-term operation of NEV electric-drive systems. The lab will also be used for sample preparation, validation of new PEEK formulations, and benchmarking against standard products, helping customers accelerate new product development and qualification.

As NEV drive systems evolve toward higher power density, higher efficiency and greater reliability, magnet wires used in motors face increasingly stringent demands regarding heat resistance, electrical performance and the long-term stability of insulation materials.

“By establishing this magnet wire application laboratory, Evonik hopes to work more closely with customers and value-chain partners,” added Felix Teng, director of innovation management for the high-performance polymers business line in Evonik’s Asia-Pacific region. “Our aim is to translate the material performance advantages that Vestakeep PEEK has in motor magnet wire applications into full-system solutions that can be verified through testing and scaled up for mass production.”

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The VSSA is intended to support transparency and regulatory engagement as Einride expands commercial operations. The company said it continues to work with the US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and international authorities.

The document details the safety framework underpinning Einride’s autonomous technology platform, which combines its AI-based optimization software, Saga AI, with its in-house autonomous driving system, Einride Driver. These systems support the company’s Freight capacity as a Service and technology licensing offerings.

At the core of the VSSA is Einride’s cab-less, cargo-only electric truck, designed specifically for driverless operation. The vehicle incorporates redundancy across steering, braking, power, sensing and compute systems to enable fail-safe and fail-operational performance.

Einride’s safety approach is based on a documented safety case aligned with industry standards, including UL 4600, ISO 26262 and ISO/PAS 21448. This framework defines the vehicle’s operational design domain (ODD), performance requirements, fallback strategies and lifecycle safety processes.

The company states that its autonomous system combines machine learning-based driving with an independent deterministic safety layer. It also uses a redundant sensor suite including cameras, radar and lidar, alongside high-definition mapping.

The VSSA outlines procedures for minimal risk maneuvers and safe-state transitions when system or environmental limits are reached. Validation methods include simulation, hardware- and vehicle-in-the-loop testing, proving-ground trials and site acceptance testing prior to deployment.

Einride also describes its safety management system (SMS), which draws on practices from aviation and defense sectors. The system governs risk management, safety assurance, continuous monitoring and includes a fleet-wide grounding policy overseen by an independent safety and security function.

Additional areas covered in the assessment include cybersecurity and data protection aligned with ISO 21434 and ISO 27001, crashworthiness and post-crash behavior, event data recording, emergency response planning, and first-responder training.

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The test forms part of ongoing research into how multiple battery cells operate together within a complete pack, with a focus on energy density, thermal behavior and fast-charging capability in real-world conditions.

According to Donut Lab, the Verge TS Pro equipped with its battery technology charged in less than 10 minutes, making it “the world’s fastest charging electric motorcycle”, the company said.

“This is the first test we have published to a wider audience that demonstrates the performance and behavior of multiple battery cells in a real vehicle environment,” said Ville Piippo, CTO at Donut Lab. “The high energy density of our battery technology enables flexible battery pack design and superior performance even in more challenging applications, such as motorcycles, where space is limited and system simplicity is key. We are able to offer vehicle manufacturers packs with different energy capacities in the same physical size, with even the smallest packs having very high capacities.”

In the test, an 18kWh battery pack was charged using a public fast charger starting at approximately 20°C. The system reached a peak charging power of over 100 kW (around a 5C rate) for five minutes, with state-of-charge increasing from 10% to 50% in about five minutes. Overall, the motorcycle achieved a 10–70% charge in just over nine minutes, and 10–80% in approximately 12 minutes.

The solid-state-related battery architecture enables flexible pack design, enabling different energy capacities to be packaged within the same physical footprint, which is particularly relevant for space-constrained applications such as motorcycles.

“Our goal is to provide Verge users with the best possible user experience,” said Tuomo Lehtimäki, CEO of Verge Motorcycles. “The advantages of Donut Lab’s battery technology, such as ultra-fast charging, complement our goal seamlessly. The world’s fastest charging electric motorcycle, the Verge TS Pro, is also air-cooled. The battery pack used in this test is our standard model, but an extended range version is also available, with approximately two-thirds more energy capacity.”

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By using the web-based engineering platform Aqira, CETIM has sped up its e-mobility R&D, addressing the challenges of managing, analyzing and sharing large volumes of prototype electric equipment data.

“To catch the real-life duty cycles CETIM has to realize multiphysics testing campaigns on a wide range of equipment and machinery under diverse operating conditions, enabling comprehensive coverage of all product lifecycle scenarios. We needed a software platform capable of synthesising large volumes of data to optimize mechanical system design and validation,” said reliability engineer Denis Chojnacki, who is heading the mission profile project.

CETIM selected Aqira for its advanced features, nCode analytics capabilities and user-friendly web interface. The platform has been applied to numerous projects, including key mission profiles for electrifying mobile equipment such as mini-excavators and telehandlers.

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As Changan’s sodium-ion battery partner, CATL will supply its advanced Naxtra sodium-ion batteries across Changan’s full brand portfolio, including Avatr, Deepal, Qiyuan and Uni.

“The arrival of sodium-ion technology marks the beginning of a dual-chemistry era,” said Gao Huan, CTO of CATL’s China E-car Business. “Changan’s vision shows both its responsibility for energy security and its strategic foresight. Much as it embraced electric vehicles years ago, Changan is once again taking the lead with its sodium-ion roadmap. At CATL, we value the opportunity to work alongside such an industry leader and fully support its strategy, combining our expertise to bring safe, reliable and high-performance sodium-ion technology to market.”

Cold-weather performance and safety

CATL’s Naxtra sodium-ion battery has an energy density of up to 175 Wh/kg, which sets the current benchmark for mass production. Its Cell-to-Pack system and intelligent BMS enable a pure-electric range exceeding 400km. As the sodium-ion supply chain advances, ranges are projected to reach 500km-600km for pure-electric variants and 300km-400km for range-extended/hybrid configurations – covering over 50% of the range requirements in the new energy vehicle market.

It operates reliably under extreme cold, delivering nearly triple the discharge power of equivalent LFP batteries at –30 °C, while maintaining over 90% capacity retention at -40°C and stable power delivery at temperatures as low as -50°C. The battery remained smoke and fire free and continued to provide power when tested under tough conditions such as crushing, drilling and sawing.

CATL began sodium-ion research in 2016, investing nearly ¥10bn (US$1.5bn) to develop nearly 300,000 test cells.

By combining technical innovation with industrial scale, CATL and Changan are moving sodium-ion batteries from laboratory breakthroughs to mass-market adoption, establishing them as a viable mainstream solution for electric mobility.

In the March 2026 edition of ATTI, Changan explores the relationship between subjective and objective feedback. Find the back catalog of issues here

Related news, Kia EV2 prototype demonstrates “impressive range” in extreme cold tests

The tested EV2 GT-line prototype, equipped with a 61.0kWh long-range battery and 19in wheels, delivered “impressive range”, according to the auto maker – the vehicle was driven for more than five hours, respecting speed limits, in extremely cold conditions before coming to a full stop in Norway’s mountainous Jotunheimen region, where temperatures dropped to -21°C.

Although WLTP has yet to be finalized, the target figure for the EV2 with the long-range battery is 448km; 413km for the EV2 GT-line with 19in wheels. A deviation of -24.81% placed the prototype in first, ahead of the official participants.

“This result serves as proof that the EV2 will continue to deliver reliable range even in extremely low temperatures,” said Pablo Martinez Masip, vice president of product and marketing at Kia Europe. “Being the entry point to Kia’s EV line‑up does not mean compromising; the EV2 offers customers throughout Europe an affordable yet reliable way to enter electric mobility.”

The EV2 is built on Kia’s 400V E-GMP architecture with 11kW AC, 22kW AC, and rapid DC fast charging capabilities. With the latter, the prototype charged from 10%-to-80% in 36 minutes, despite the harsh sub-zero conditions.

Because it is a prototype, the EV2’s results are not included in the NAF’s final report. Nevertheless, the model completed the route alongside the official program and under the same conditions as series-production EVs. Formal WLTP figures, measured under the standardized WLTP laboratory cycle at a reference temperature of around 23 °C by an independent accredited technical service, are expected to be released in Q3 2026.

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The new all-electric single-seater Gen4 Porsche complies with the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship’s fourth-generation vehicle regulations and features up to 600kW (804hp), permanent all-wheel drive, new tires and significantly increased downforce, representing the largest performance step in the series to date.

The Formula E Gen4 car is scheduled to debut in the 2026/27 season.

Porsche’s in-house vehicle components have been designed to be lighter, deliver higher performance, reduce costs and offer a longer service life. Development of this hardware package – Porsche’s most extensive package for Formula E to date – will continue until October, at which point the focus will shift to continuous software optimization. In many ways, the development cycles in the series mirror those for Porsche sports cars, albeit under extreme conditions.

“In Formula E, we primarily develop the technical components that are relevant for our production sports cars,” said Thomas Laudenbach, head of Porsche Motorsport. “That is one of the reasons why we compete in Formula E.”

With the introduction of Gen4, Porsche’s in-house development scope has expanded to include two additional components: the DC/DC converter and the brake-by-wire system.

In-house developments by Porsche to date include the operating software, pulse inverter, electric motor, gearbox, differential, drive shafts and other drivetrain components on the rear axle. Cooling, carrier and suspension components at the rear also come from Porsche.

“With the current car, the efficiency of our drivetrain is over 97%. From the battery to the wheel, less than 3% of the energy used is lost – close to perfection and a key advantage of electric drive,” said Florian Modlinger, director factory motorsport Formula E. “In our development brief for Gen4, alongside further efficiency gains in the drivetrain components, we focused on potential in terms of weight, durability and costs – similar to EVs for the road.

“At the same time, 600kW represents a 71% increase in power in Attack Mode. Overall, I believe it is fair to speak of a revolution. Seeing the car on track for the first time with its acceleration was a real pleasure. My thanks go to the development team in Flacht for this milestone in the project.”

Triple pressure: Gen3, Gen3 Evo and Gen4

By mid-January, the Gen4 Porsche had completed almost 915 test miles on the circuits of Monteblanco and Almería in Spain. A large proportion of the development and testing work, however, has taken place – and continues to take place – in the simulator.

“The concept phase began in 2024. In the same year, we moved into simulator work. The project therefore started during Season 10, when we were still racing the predecessor of the current Gen3 Evo, the Gen3,” Modlinger said. “At the time, we fought for all three titles right to the end, secured the Drivers’ Championship with Pascal – and at the same time developed the Gen3 Evo. We work in an agile way, similar to series-production projects: you run the existing vehicle, bring the facelift to market and already design the next generation. The difference is that our cycles are shorter and our budgets smaller – with maximum pressure to succeed. After all, we are contesting an FIA World Championship for Porsche.”

Porsche said that in the early testing phase, development focused on ensuring reliable operation and smooth interaction of all components. Over time, attention shifts toward performance. With Formula E’s limited test days, some findings are validated in a simulator. Porsche’s Customer team is also testing the new car ahead of FIA homologation, scheduled for the autumn.

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