Mercedes electric G-wagen review, Chinese EV tariffs, BMW and Honda EV targets: The Week in Reverse

Which EV charging network remains slated for growth, with nearly the entire team laid off?

How will EV tires last longer while tapping into more renewable materials?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending May 17, 2024.

In a first drive of Mercedes’ electric G-wagen, we found it to be a better, more precise off-roader than the gasoline model—outshining the combustion versions even before the EV’s party-trick zenith called G-Turn.

Volkswagen has confirmed standard features and trim levels for its U.S.-bound 2025 VW ID.Buzz electric vans, but pricing and EPA range might remain months away, closer to when these models are expected to arrive for first deliveries. Expect colors and interior trims for the longer three-row ID.Buzz versions that America gets. 

The 2025 Kia EV6 has made a global debut with a larger battery pack and potentially a range boost of 10% or more—plus styling updates that appear to bring this trendsetting electric crossover in alignment with details from Kia’s latest EV9 and upcoming EV3. Also, the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid three-row SUV lineup earns up to 36 mpg, and it’s getting refreshed styling inside and out, without any price hike. A similar update applies to the plug-in hybrid. 

California EV startup Aptera is ending crowdfunding for its three-wheel EV after June, it announced late Wednesday. More funding is still needed to get its Launch Edition solar EV to production, although it says it plans to bring the vehicle to market “at scale” in 2025.

Subaru is bringing back the Crosstrek Hybrid, according to a report, and it will likely arrive soon after the upcoming 2026 Subaru Forester Hybrid. Meanwhile, it appears that three out of the four EVs that Subaru announced last year will be collaborations with Toyota.

Honda has confirmed that it plans to make two million EVs annually by 2030. And, as part of a presentation outlining all that it hopes to achieve with EVs in the second half of the decade, it also revealed plans for a new generation of Honda all-wheel-drive hybrids coming soon. 

Mitsubishi provided a rough idea of what its future U.S. lineup might look like for 2026 and beyond. Two models will bring the brand into new market segments, it says, and Mitsubishi EVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids are on the way. It didn’t provide any update on the reported Mitsubishi electric pickup to be shared with Nissan, though. 

The world debut of Sony’s new in-vehicle entertainment app is in the Vinfast VF 8 electric SUV, the Vietnamese automaker announced Friday. Vinfast will initially offer the feature, called Ridevu, as complimentary, including a library of movies, and streaming to other passenger devices. The interface serves as an early preview of what’s in store in Sony’s upcoming Afeela EV conceived with Honda.

The Biden administration effectively quadrupled the tariff on Chinese EVs, accompanying tariff hikes on EV batteries, solar cells, and critical minerals. It expands beyond just EVs, however, to steel and aluminum and semiconductors, but it omitted the language from challenger Donald Trump singling out imports from Mexico as an issue. And coincidence or not, the same morning the tariff hikes were announced, China’s BYD Shark plug-in hybrid pickup made its debut in Mexico. As the first completely new BYD to debut outside China, the sub-$55,000 pickup with 62 electric miles provided a political statement even if not intended. 

BMW is sticking to the EV targets it announced several years ago—50% fully electric sales by 2030, not including hybrids or plug-in hybrids. That said, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse wouldn’t set an end date for internal combustion, emphasizing that the company “will stay flexible—even well into the 2030s.”

Ford is recalling some Maverick and Escape hybrids, as well as some Lincoln Corsair plug-in hybrids, over an issue that could leave these vehicles in limp mode. It’s a software fix but requires a trip to the dealership. 

Michelin might be the top tire maker in the world, but it sees a future in which you won’t need to buy as many tires. That’s because in addition to radical innovations like airless tires and million-mile retreads, future EV tires with sustainable materials will last longer.

In Q1, U.S. EV market share fell, while EV sales levels remained significantly up on a year-over-year basis. With that as the top-level takeaway of an update from the DOE’s Energy Information Administration, the backstory suggested some complicated dynamics, as a glut of luxury EVs sits in a sagging luxury market, affordable EVs remain scarce as affordability challenges remain, and Tesla managed only slight U.S. sales gains.

And Tesla’s Supercharger network is set to grow by “thousands” of chargers in 2024, attested CEO Elon Musk, despite a recent round of layoffs that essentially purged the entire division behind the highly successful charging network. It will spend “well over” $500 million on its Supercharger network this year, he said in a post on X, with that investment independent of operating costs.

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