Tesla has lost its crown as the world’s leading EV manufacturer after a 2nd consecutive annual decline in deliveries. In 2025, Tesla delivered c.1.66m EVs, down 8.6% from the previous year, while BYD surged ahead with 2.26m battery-electric vehicle sales. The shift underscores intensifying competition, particularly in Europe and China, where BYD now dominates key markets such as Germany and the UK. Tesla’s Q4 25 performance was especially weak, with deliveries falling 11% YoY to c.440,900 units, missing both internal and analyst expectations. Several factors contributed to Tesla’s slump: production disruptions from Model Y redesigns, the expiration of US federal EV tax credits, regulatory rollbacks, and growing competition from Chinese automakers offering broader, more affordable model ranges. Additionally, backlash against Musk’s political statements and declining regulatory credit revenues further pressured margins. Analysts have trimmed Tesla’s 2026 delivery forecast to c.1.8m units. Interestingly, despite these challenges, investor confidence remains strong, driven by Tesla’s pivot toward next-generation technologies. It is prioritising autonomous driving, robotaxi services, humanoid robots, and energy storage solutions over traditional vehicle metrics. Its energy storage business posted robust growth, deploying nearly 47 GWh of systems, up almost 50% YoY, supported and driven by rising demand from data centres and grid infrastructure. Tesla has also introduced lower-cost versions of the Model 3 and Model Y and launched a 6-seat Model Y variant to boost appeal in China. While Tesla’s market capitalisation hovers c.$1.5tn, analysts caution that regaining EV leadership will depend on the successful execution of its bold innovation roadmap. Balancing ambitious technology bets with stable automotive growth remains Tesla’s biggest challenge as the global EV market becomes increasingly competitive.
MG Windsor, an electric crossover by JSW MG Motor India, emerged as India’s top-selling EV in 2025, with 46,735 units sold, thus breaking new ground for a single EV model in the country. Its widespread appeal spanned both urban hubs and emerging non-metro regions. The model maintained steady monthly sales of c.4,000 units and saw a c.20% increase in Q4 sales compared to the same period in 2024. This surge contributed to a 111% YoY rise in JSW MG’s overall EV sales and a 19% growth in total vehicle sales. Intriguingly, the MG Windsor features a Battery-as-a-Service pricing model, starting at 9.99 lakh with a per-kilometre battery fee, helping to reduce upfront costs. Offering 2 battery options, 38 kWh (332 km range) and 52.9 kWh PRO (449 km), the Windsor combines sedan spaciousness with SUV practicality, AeroGlide design, Aero Lounge reclining seats, and a 15.6‑inch touchscreen infotainment system.
Carbon Brief released a fascinating thought piece that indicated in 2025, the UK’s clean-energy infrastructure delivered a record-breaking performance, with wind, solar, biomass, and hydro. This generated a combined 152 TWh, a 6% rise on the previous year, accounting for 47% of total electricity output. This milestone marks the 1st full year without coal usage following the closure of the final plant in late 2024. Solar energy surged 31% to 19 TWh, due to the sunniest year on record and a 20% boost in installed capacity, now around 21 GW. Furthermore, wind generation also reached new heights, producing 87 TWh, up 5%, aided by capacity growth, including early output from North Sea farms such as Dogger Bank A. However, despite this green momentum, gas-fired power expanded by 5% to 91 TWh, supplying 28% of electricity, the highest share since nuclear dropped to a 50-year low amid extended outages, and imports shrank. Overall demand rose for the 2nd consecutive year, up 1% to 322 TWh, driven by increased adoption of EVs, heat pumps, and data centres. Thus, carbon intensity edged up: average emissions climbed 2% to 126 gCO2 per kWh, reversing the prior year’s record low.
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID) has announced it has signed agreements for 2 major battery projects: the 240MW Cockenzie site in East Lothian and the 57MW Monet’s Garden in North Yorkshire. These projects, along with the completed Elland 2 and Monet’s Garden acquisitions, bring GRID’s secured (or conditional) capacity to 397MW across 3 of 5 projects in its 3-Year Plan. Both Cockenzie and Monet’s Garden are designed for 2-hour storage, with potential extensions. Monet’s Garden combines with the existing York site for a total of 107MW, while Elland 2 joins the operational Elland project for 150MW. Cockenzie’s acquisition remains conditional on receiving an acceptable Gate 2 grid connection offer from the National Energy System Operator, with all pipeline projects expected to secure protected offers for 2026–2030. GRID is advancing financing, early works, and equipment orders to maintain momentum, aiming to start construction once grid connection dates are confirmed in H1 26.
Nomura has boldly stated it expects China’s EV market to cool in 2026 as subsidies loosen and consumer demand softens. This should not come as a surprise, however, as new subsidy policies, introduced at the end of 2025, are less generous and more targeted. Thus, marking a departure from the aggressive financial support seen in recent years. This change is likely to hit mass-market and entry-level EVs hardest, as these models have heavily relied on price incentives to drive sales. In this context, widespread discounting may fail to boost volumes without squeezing margins. Naturally, manufacturers are anticipated to pivot toward upgrading products and enhancing technology to maintain competitiveness. The focus will shift toward efficiency in battery performance, sophisticated software systems, and advanced driver-assistance features. Nomura believes automakers that excel in these areas will outperform peers in an increasingly saturated market, especially in urban centres, while brands that rely primarily on affordability may see their unit sales decline, particularly in lower-tier cities where subsidy sensitivity is higher. Overall, the tightening of policy support comes as part of a broader shift toward high-quality growth, aiming to reduce dependency on subsidies. This transition favours (tech-) innovation-led strategies over low-cost competition. In the near term, however, it creates a tougher environment for Chinese EV producers, necessitating a strategic emphasis on differentiation and technology to succeed.
The EBRD has announced it is providing a €25m loan to Sarens Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of Belgium’s Sarens Group, to support the expansion of its heavy lifting, engineered transport, and installation capabilities. The financing will fund the acquisition of high-capacity cranes, specialised trailers, vehicles, and working capital to meet rising industrial demand across Kazakhstan and Central Asia. These assets are expected to enable the installation of c.11.75 GW of new wind power capacity, supporting Kazakhstan’s target of achieving 15% renewable energy in its electricity mix by 2030. This investment also reinforces logistics infrastructure linked to the Trans‑Caspian Corridor, a crucial route for sustainable transport between Europe and Central Asia. The loan offers longer maturities than local banks and aligns with broader efforts to bolster private-sector competitiveness and sustainable infrastructure development. Bear in mind, EBRD has previously invested over €10bn across more than 340 projects in Kazakhstan, focusing on entrepreneurship and green initiatives.
Leicester City Council has announced it has secured an £8m government grant to fund 60 new battery-electric buses for its Mainlines network, bringing the electric fleet to 240 vehicles by March 2027. Arriva Midlands will operate 56 of these UK-built buses, with Centrebus running the remaining 4. Alongside the government support, Arriva and Centrebus are investing £18m, bringing total local investment to £100m over 4 years. The first buses are pencilled in to enter service in September 2026, with full deployment by H1 27. This expansion aims to enhance the city’s zero-emission public transport coverage and reduce air pollution and noise. Leicester’s transition is part of its broader 10-year transport and climate strategy under the Leicester Buses Partnership, which includes digital ticketing improvements, bus reliability enhancements, and priority lanes. Arriva Midlands highlighted that the expansion reflects a shared vision with the council and promotes a shift to greener, less congested travel. Furthermore, Centrebus reinforced this message, pledging continued investment and collaboration to enhance journeys and cut emissions across Leicester.
Dunamis Charge and DTE Energy have announced they have completed a pilot installing 102 BABA-compliant (Buy America, Build America) EV charging ports across 26 underserved Detroit sites. The roll‑out featured 56 Level 2 dual-port chargers stationed at community hubs such as churches and nonprofits, including Focus: HOPE, The Yunion, NSO, and Greater Grace Temple. All hardware was domestically produced, thus reinforcing US supply chain resilience. Host sites manage electricity costs and retain charging revenue, ensuring sustainable local economic engagement. The Communities in Charge initiative emphasised inclusive access by targeting EV deserts in primarily low-income neighbourhoods, aiming to foster EV adoption through community trust. Local firms, Edgewood, Income Power, Walker‑Miller, and Detroit Voltage, handled installation, promoting workforce development and vendor diversity. The pilot’s tripartite model, supported financially by DTE, with technology from Dunamis, empowers community organisations to play active roles in the clean-energy transition. Dunamis highlighted scalable, equitable deployment as a pathway for broader adoption of EV infrastructure in underserved areas.
Deals
CHAMP Titles, a Cleveland-based govtech startup, has raised $55m in its Series D funding round, led by W. R. Berkley Corporation, Point72 Ventures, and ORIX USA. The company’s CHAMPgov platform digitises motor vehicle agency operations, titles, registrations, liens, driver’s licenses, shifting processing times from 40–60 days to mere hours. The system supports pay‑as‑you‑transact pricing, thus eliminating upfront costs and easing adoption for cash-strapped states. Over 35 million Americans now access CHAMP through state contracts, with millions of transactions handled on the platform. The raised capital will accelerate expansion into new jurisdictions, highlighted by a recent Louisiana deal covering both vehicle and driver services. The startup describes the moment as a Netflix vs. Blockbuster transformation in DMV services. The investment also comes amid industry recognition, appearances on the Inc. 5000, Deloitte Technology Fast 500, and other workplace and tech‑company watchlists.
HARMAN International, a Samsung Electronics-owned leader in automotive tech and audio, has agreed to acquire ZF Group’s ADAS business, including compute platforms, smart cameras, radars, and software, for c.€1.5bn. This strategic move advances HARMAN’s vision of unified, software-defined vehicle architectures by integrating safety and automated-driving capabilities with its digital cockpit solutions. This acquisition supports in-cabin experiences, such as context-aware alerts and intelligent audio cues, while streamlining system integration for automakers. Around 3,750 ZF employees across Europe, Asia, and the Americas are expected to join HARMAN, upon regulatory approval, with the deal likely closing in H2 26. For ZF, the transaction allows a sharpened focus on core technologies such as chassis and powertrains and helps reduce financial liabilities. HARMAN’s leadership emphasises that this acquisition deepens its capacity to deliver smarter, safer vehicles, reflecting Samsung’s long-term commitment to mobility.