Volkswagen has finally presented the ID Polo, the electric evolution of the brand's urban utility vehicle, which will be manufactured on line 1 of the Martorell plant, in parallel with the Cupra Raval. And it is that the Cupra Raval and this ID Polo are, in reality, the same car with different bodies and interiors, as they share a modular platform, engines and the rest of the mechanical systems. Unlike the Raval, however, this new Volkswagen ID Polo will have a base price of 24,900 euros, which places it slightly below the Catalan model.

One of the most pleasant surprises of the Beijing Auto Show, currently being held in the Chinese capital, has been the presentation of the first electric car from Ebro, which will be manufactured in Barcelona before the end of the year, as confirmed by the brand. Ebro's new urban electric vehicle – which does not yet have an official name – takes the mechanical and technological base of the Chery QQ3, which has been on sale in China for a month.Ebro's first electric car will be a vehicle 4.3 meters long with a 90 kW engine (equivalent to 121 conventional hp) and a 42.7 kWh battery capacity, which should allow for real ranges of between 350 and 400 kilometers. This electric car is designed for urban and family use, as it sacrifices some performance to improve the car's comfort and range. The top speed will be electronically limited to 135 km/h (above legal limits in Spain) and it will have an acceleration from 0 to 100 in more than ten seconds, a discreet figure that shows its more family-oriented and cosmopolitan vocation.The main selling point of Ebro's first electric car will be its charging architecture, which allows it to go from 30% to 80% battery charge in just half an hour, thanks to Chery's V2L system compatible with power up to 6.6 kW. Beyond that, this electric vehicle will maintain the digital and technological interior design already introduced in the S700 and S800, with a large 15.6-inch central touchscreen and various assistance systems, driving aids, and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) safety features, such as speed assistants, blind spot monitoring, and collision warnings with vehicles, bicycles, or pedestrians, among others.Unknowns to solve

The brand assures that this new electric car, the first from the Ebro brand, will be manufactured in Barcelona, taking advantage of some local suppliers and parts that will arrive from China, and that it will reach our streets before the end of the year. What Ebro has not yet provided is the definitive name of the car, nor the indicative price range where it wants to place its product.The new electric Ebro should be the brand's alternative to Renault 5 and the new Renault 4, and will be positioned below in price and performance compared to the Volkswagen ID Polo and Cupra Raval that will be manufactured in Martorell. In fact, its biggest rival will be the Chinese BYD Dolphin Surf, with a selling price range between 18,000 and 25,000 euros –promotional discounts and institutional aid aside–, far from the little more than 8,000 that the Chinese model it is derived from costs in the local market.

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The company Ebro EV Motors, owner of the Ebro brand, lost 16.33 million euros last year –the first full fiscal year manufacturing cars in the Zona Franca–, 31.5% less than in 2024, but its revenues soared to 357 million (+920%), driven by sales of its models, as the company, listed on the BME Growth (the Spanish stock market for SMEs), reported this Tuesday. Revenues multiplied by ten compared to 2024 and those associated with the automotive business amounted to 335 million euros.

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The Catalan automotive brand Ebro announced this Monday that from the end of this year it plans to start producing its first 100% electric urban vehicle at the Zona Franca plant in Barcelona – the former Nissan – which it aims to market from next winter. The vehicle, which is still a prototype, will be unveiled soon, but the company has detailed that it will be 4.2 meters long and have a range of 400 kilometers.

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One of the advantages of electric vehicles compared to combustion vehicles on paper is their technical simplicity. Electric cars have fewer mechanical components than cars powered by diesel or gasoline engines, and their maintenance is more affordable. This is because current combustion engines, despite being refined, well-designed, and built vehicles, have more elements susceptible to wear, breakage, or failure.ADAC is Germany's leading roadside assistance provider, and for some years now it has been collecting analysis of the vehicles it has had to assist on the road in a study. This week the results for 2024 have been made public, in which the organization had to perform more than 3.6 million operations, 98.8% of which corresponded to vehicles with combustion engines. This figure is not very relevant if we consider that most of the vehicles circulating on German roads (or the rest of Europe) have combustion engines, but ADAC's analysis focuses on cars between two and nine years old and of which at least 7,000 units have been sold in the country.The results obtained by roadside assistance operators in Germany show that electric vehicles four years old register a breakdown frequency of 8.5 vehicles per 1,000 units sold in Germany, while four-year-old cars with diesel or gasoline engines raise this figure to 12.9 vehicles attended per 1,000 units sold on average. If the breakdown frequency is limited to the range of vehicles between 2 and 4 years old, breakdowns of electric vehicles stand at 3.8 cars per 1,000 units, while the ratio for combustion engine vehicles rises to 9.4 cars, practically triple that of zero-emission vehicles.The main cause of roadside assistance, however, has a common denominator among all the cars in the study, regardless of whether they are electric or not. This is because the majority of registered incidents are related to the car's auxiliary battery, which is responsible for starting the vehicle and has a real lifespan of around five years.Tesla and Volkswagen, the most reliable

The study includes the frequency of breakdowns of the main electric cars sold in Germany in recent years, with devastating results. The Tesla Model Y and Model 3 only registered an incidence of 0.9 and 0.5 vehicles broken down per 1,000 units registered, while the Volkswagen ID4 slightly raises its ratio to 1.0 vehicles broken down per 1,000 units sold. The Audi Q4 e-tron, for its part, achieved a result of 0.7 vehicles broken down per 1,000 units registered. The electric car that comes out worst from the study is the Ioniq 5, which registered an average of 22.4 breakdowns per 1,000 units in operation in the Germanic country.

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The Geely E2 (also called EX2 in Latin American markets) is an affordable 4-meter-long electric car with about 395 kilometers of range and power outputs of up to 116 hp that last year became the best-selling car in China. Aware of the potential of its urban electric vehicle, the Chinese automotive giant Geely made the leap to Europe some months ago, but the fact of having to pay tariffs and transport and distribution costs means that its cars are not so competitive on the Old Continent.

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For quite a few years now, Nissan has been dragging financial losses and seeing various industrial and commercial indicators of the brand go down in a crisis that seems to have no bottom. In fact, the Japanese brand is the weak link in the alliance with Renault, which had already offered Honda the possibility of taking over Nissan if it took charge of the brand's debts through the mediation of the Japanese government, an agreement that Honda (focused on its own problems) ultimately did not want to sign.

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We have been explaining for a long time: the current energy model is devastating for the climate, for pollution in cities, and for our energy dependence on external sources. Even so, it is difficult for society as a whole to fully believe it. And with the war in Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the new energy crisis, we are reaping the fruits of our stubbornness: price volatility and concern about supply. What more needs to happen?

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Almost one in four cars sold in Catalonia in the first quarter of this year are plugged in, according to data published this Wednesday by the automotive sector employers' associations Anfac, Fecavem and Ganvam. Thus, in Catalonia, 34,340 cars and SUVs were sold from January to March, of which 23.8% can be connected to the electrical grid: that is, they are plug-in hybrids or pure electrics.

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The BMW 3 Series has historically been the backbone of the Munich-based brand. However, the passage of time and electrification have led BMW to take the step of establishing a parallel commercial offering to its flagship vehicle in a 100% electric version, called the i3.

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French automaker Renault announced on Thursday that it expects a loss of €10.931 billion in 2025, compared to a profit of €752 million the previous year. The company attributed this negative result to the financial treatment of its stake in Nissan. Revenue last year reached €57.922 billion, a 3% increase, driven by complementary automotive brands, all of which grew thanks to the international development plan and the electrification of the product range, the company stated in a press release. It also added that, without the impact of the Nissan stake, profit would have reached €715 million. Renault Group CEO François Provost affirmed that he will work to maintain the competitiveness of the company's plants in Spain, especially "in terms of labor costs," by boosting the production of electric models at these factories. "Europe is moving towards electric mobility. And these cars, as a reference point, will be built in Spain, specifically in Palencia," Renault stated this Thursday during a press conference following the announcement of the group's financial results for 2025. Renault highlighted the resilience of its results in the current economic climate and indicated that it will unveil its industrial strategy for the coming years on March 10. Even so, it has already announced several new model launches this year, primarily focused on the electric and hybrid segments. For this year, Renault has set a target of achieving a group operating margin of 5.5% of revenue, in addition to freeing up approximately €1 billion in cash. Thanks to its international development, especially in the electric vehicle segment, Renault aims for revenue growth in 2026, when cost reduction will remain a priority. 2.3 million cars sold

In 2025, the group's accounts reflect an operating margin for the automotive sector of €3.632 billion, €631 million less than the previous year. This decrease is explained by a negative impact from exchange rates, primarily linked to the value of the Argentine peso. Last year, Renault sold 2.3 million vehicles worldwide, a 3.2% increase in a sector that grew by 1.6%, with growth across its three brands: Renault, Dacia, and Alpine. Sales outside Europe grew particularly strongly, by 11.7%, thanks to strong performance in Latin America (+11.3%), South Korea (+55.9%), and Morocco (+44.8%). The company also highlighted the increase in electric vehicle sales in Europe, with a 77.3% growth, representing 14% of the brand's total sales. Hybrids accounted for 30% of sales, after growing by 35.2%.

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The Council of Ministers approved a royal decree-law on Tuesday extending, until the end of 2026, tax incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles and for energy efficiency improvements, as well as the deduction of up to 15% in personal income tax for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations. Regarding the aid program, the Auto+ Plan is also included, with a budget of 400 million euros for the purchase of electric vehicles. This Auto+ Plan provides subsidies of up to 4,500 euros for the purchase of an electric car. These subsidies will be retroactive for purchases made from January 1st onwards and are aimed at boosting the sale of electrified vehicles, whether pure electric or plug-in hybrid – that is, with a zero-emissions label from the DGT (Spanish Directorate General of Traffic). The subsidies prioritize electric cars manufactured in the European Union and priced under 35,000 euros.

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Chinese manufacturer BYD sold 2.26 million electric cars during 2025, far surpassing the 1.66 million electric cars that Tesla sold during the last twelve months across five continents.

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Catalonia closed 2025 with 136,142 registered cars, an 11.8% increase compared to the previous year. According to data from the automotive industry associations Anfac, Faconauto, and Ganvam, the Catalan market accounted for 11.9% of the national total, consolidating its position as the second-largest sales region after Madrid (42.9%). Electrified cars dominated, representing 65% of the total: non-plug-in hybrids were the most popular, although plug-in hybrids saw the greatest sales growth. While sales of traditional combustion engine cars continued to decline, electrified models are gaining ground. Thus, 34,827 gasoline cars were sold in Catalonia during 2025, a 19.7% decrease compared to the previous year. The drop was even greater for diesel cars. Only 4,571 units were sold, almost 36% fewer than the previous year. In contrast, alternative fuel vehicles gained ground. 96,744 units were sold, 35.6% more than the previous year. Non-plug-in hybrids maintained a significant presence in the Catalan market, with 58,675 registrations accumulated during the year, 18.3% more than in 2024 and close to 12% of the national total. As for gas-powered vehicles, Catalonia registered 7,442 units in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 72.3%, with a 12.7% share of the national market. As for plug-in hybrids, 15,078 units were sold, more than double the previous year's figure (100.53%), while pure electric vehicles totaled 15,549 units, a 56.8% increase. Overall, the Catalan market's performance was slightly lower than that of Spain as a whole, which reached 1,148,650 passenger cars sold in 2025, representing a 12.9% year-on-year increase. According to national data, electrified passenger cars accounted for 66.8% of the total, with a market share rising from 63% in January to 72.1% in December. Regarding brands and models, companies like Toyota, Renault, and Volkswagen continue to be among the most prevalent in the vehicle fleet, with models such as the Dacia Sandero, Renault Clio, and MG ZS leading sales throughout the year. Seat ranked fifth among best-selling brands, with the Seat Ibiza as its flagship model.

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The transition to and electrification of the vehicle fleet in Europe is progressing more slowly than anticipated by major manufacturers and European institutions. After a fantastic 2020 that spurred major manufacturers to accelerate the electrification of their products, electric car sales cooled during 2021 and 2022 due to a misguided strategy: the leading manufacturers focused their marketing efforts too heavily on electric cars for Europeans, who demanded simple, affordable urban vehicles.

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The Catalan government, through the Catalan Energy Institute (Icaen), has increased the budget by 73.5 million euros – it was initially 62 million. Moves III program of 2025, aimed at promoting the purchase of electric vehicles and the installation of charging points. This Moves III program will end this Wednesday, December 31st.

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Abarth has always been Fiat's high-performance subsidiary, which experienced a golden age from the first decade of the 21st century thanks to the impetus of a young Luca de Meo (who would later lead Seat and Renault) and the 2008 Abarth 500, a model that used the platform of the popular Fiat 500. This included models derived from the original Abarth 500 such as the 500C (the convertible version of the Italian sports car) and the Fantastic Abarth 595 and the special versions Custom, Turismo, or Competizione, among others. Abarth further capitalized on the model's success by creating an extreme version called Abarth 695 with a power of 180 hp, Brembo brakes or various carbon fiber elements.

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Following the earthquake caused by the emissions scandal, or Dieselgate, which engulfed the Volkswagen Group in 2015, just ten years ago, the Lower Saxony-based brand developed an ambitious plan for the complete electrification of its range. It did so by fully embracing—perhaps with the zeal of a convert—the electric car as a beacon of salvation and a guiding light during one of the darkest periods in its history.

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Ford has announced it will cease production of fully electric vehicles after observing the current low demand in the US and European markets and the limited commercial potential of electric vehicles. In fact, the Blue Oval brand has also announced it will discontinue its electric pickup truck. F-150 Lightning, a model that aimed to mark a turning point in the future of mobility in the United States, where pickup trucks pick up They are a symbol of cultural identity in the automotive market.

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In December 1935, Jaguar presented its first car in London, called the SS Jaguar Type 00. 90 years later, the British brand is experiencing one of the most uncertain moments in its history, with a commercial repositioning that generates more doubts than certainties and development and electrification plans that neither the general public nor the specialized press have finished.

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