Tesla Model Y, Fisker, Hyundai, Kia, California.
First Model Y teaser: At its Annual Shareholder Meeting, Tesla has allowed a first glance at its Model Y by publishing an image that hides more than it reveals as usual. Still, Elon Musk confirmed at this occasion that their up-coming compact crossover will not be based on the Model 3, but bear its own platform and that sales shall start by 2019. The EV maker expects demand for the Model Y to be even higher than for the Model 3.
electrek.co, teslarati.com
Luxury EV for luxury price: The Fisker Emotion is going to hit the stores in 2019 with prices starting at 129,900 US dollars. Pre-ordering will be possible from 30th of June. Besides these new details, the carmaker also unveiled new images. Technically, the luxury EV shall reach 640 km thanks to an innovative graphen-based energy storage system and is claimed to charge extraordinary fast through Fisker’s proprietary ‘UltraCharger’.
techcrunch.com, theverge.com, insideevs.com
Hyundai to increase EV production: The Koreans intend to increase the production of its Ioniq Electric from 1,200 to 1,800 cars monthly. Currently, clients have to wait 4 – 5 months. Half of the Ioniq production shall address the home market, half is to go abroad.
english.etnews.com
Outline of Kia’s Stonic: The Korean manufacturer has revealed first outlines of its compact crossover Stonic that is to be officially presented at the IAA and to hit the road before the year’s end. As reported, a fully electrified SUV version is part of the plan.
carscoops.com, europe.autonews.com
Climate deal between CA and China: Irrespective Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Accord, representatives of California and China entered an agreement to work closer together for developing green tech. The MoU includes sectors like renewable energy as well as zero-emission vehicles, energy storage or grid modernisation.
greencarcongress.com
Climbing Tesla insurance rates: AAA wants to increase rates for Model S and Model X owners by up to 30 percent. The insurer detected higher claim frequencies and costlier claims compared to other vehicles. Tesla called the analysis “flawed”.
autonews.com, insideevs.com, greencarreports.com
Strategic transport partnership: Mercedes and courier Hermes have finalised their 
StreetScooter expands enormously: Deutsche Post DHL is taking its EV manufacturing business yet another notch up as the delivery service will open a second factory to produce the StreetScooter. Annual capacity will thus double to 20,000 electric vans and at least 50 percent will be made for third parties. Prices for a StreetScooter start at 32,000 euros and DHL hopes to interest municipalities and/or partners and fleets across Europe. No more specific location other than North Rhine-Westphalia has been given for the new production site yet.
Meet Sedric, Volkswagen’s first truly driverless concept. The name stands for “self-driving car” and the electric vehicle is SAE level 5 autonomous and consequently comes without a steering wheel or pedals. Instead it bears a little garden in the front similar to Rinspeed’s 
Subaru XV as hybrid: Subaru will premier its second generation XV at the Geneva Motor Show. So far, the XV is only offered as a hybrid in Japan and the U.S., but will now also debut in Europe. The platform, on which the XV is based, would also allow for a pure EV model.
Diesel-ban in Oslo: The Norwegian capital banned private diesel cars from its roads on Tuesday and Wednesday between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The ban could be extended. German magazine Der Spiegel reports that Oslo even wants kick all vehicles with combustion engines out of the inner city ring by 2024.
Hybrid anniversary gift: The Mercedes-AMG hyper car that will hit the road for the companies 50th anniversary, will be called Project One. It will be presented at this year’s IAA. Mercedes-AMG meanwhile released a new teaser and confirmed that the vehicle will be fitted with the hybrid drivetrain from the current Formula One racer.
Daimler goes electric: German Automobilwoche reports that Daimler wants to bring six to eight electric Mercedes between 2018 and 2024. The focus will be on SUV and crossover models, but a few compact cars and sedans are also in the pipeline. There will be no sub-brand for electric vehicles, but a clearly identifiable product line.
Tesla upgrades to 100 kWh: The EV maker now offers its Model S and X with a 100 kWh battery pack. The Model S 100D has a range of 315 miles (613 km) and is the first EV to exceed the 300-mile-threashold. Able to go from zero to 60 in 2.5 seconds, the Model S 100D with Ludicrous is also the third fasted production car ever made. The range of the Model X increases to 289 miles.
Revero revealed: Karma Automotive issued the first picture showing the Fisker Karma successor. The lineage is obvious but technical details are scarce. The Revero will have a solar roof and is said to have “super-charging capabilities,” according to Karma. On-sale is set for September, 08.
Renault to build EVs with Russia? Rosseti, a Russian utility provider is in talks with Renault for setting up a local production afacility for electric cars. The Moscow region in particular is seen as potent market, where up to 110,000 units could be sold by 2020. By 2030, up to 300,000 EVs could roam Russia, said Roman Berdnikov, Rosseti’s director. Renault has not commented.
Sono presents electric minivan: The Munich-based start-up took the wraps off its promising electric vehicle – a minivan that seats six and will sell for 16,000 euros. Range is given at 250 km. On top of a 30 kWh battery pack, the EV is fitted with a solar roof for an extra 30 km of range and comes with fast-charging capabilities. Sono wants to finance crash tests and test drives with crowdfunding and kick off production in 2018.
First fatal accident on Autopilot: An accident in which a Model S driver operating in Autopilot mode was killed is being investigated preliminary by the NHTSA. The crash occurred when a tractor-trailer made a left turn in front of the Tesla at an intersection. Neither the driver nor the car’s sensors noticed the oncoming truck, possibly due to its white cover against a brightly lit sky. Already, the tragic case is fuelling the debate around the safety of (semi-) autonomous driving technology, while Tesla announced the advent of update 8.0, including a more responsive Traffic-Aware Cruise Control.
Nissan Leaf a la Tesla: The next generation of the Japanese EV could be available with different battery size options, just like Tesla’s line-up, Kazuo Yaijima, head of electric vehicles at Nissan, told Autoblog. That could include a 60 kWh battery pack, allowing the Leaf to drive up to 550 km on one charge. The launch is scheduled for 2018.
PSA update: Peugeot, Citroën and DS have published further details about its EV platforms e-CMO and EMP2, said to launch in 2019. The first is to yield four smaller to mid-sized all-electric cars that boast a range of up to 450 km and can ultra-fast-charge (12km/min). The EMP2 will be the base for seven plug-in hybrids with an all-electric range of 60 km.
BMW i8 goes red: A limited Protonic Red Edition of BMW’s top-selling hybrid sports car will go into production at the Leipzig facility in July. First deliveries can be expected in September. The red is accented by frozen grey metallic highlights, while 20-inch W-spoke alloys will be standard.