• Electrify America has opened a new EV charging station in Santa Barbara, California.
• With 20 ultra-fast dispensers and a huge battery energy system, it sets the stage for what’s next at EA.
• The company’s large-format stations can cater to at least 20 EVs simultaneously, all while delivering up to 350 kW to each car.

Electrify America, one of the largest DC fast charging networks for electric vehicles in the United States, has opened its latest-generation site in Santa Barbara, California. 

The company’s newest large-format station sets the blueprint for what’s to come, with a minimum of 20 stalls and a big battery energy storage system.

Electrify America large-format DC fast charging station in Santa Barbara, California

Photo by: Electrify America

Located on the site of the former Greyhound Bus depot at 36 West Carillo Street in Santa Barbara, EA’s newest large-format EV charging station has 20 individual stalls that can deliver up to 350 kilowatts of power to each EV in need of a top-up. This is the company’s fourth large-format station in California, but it’s the first with a 1.9-megawatt battery—the largest deployed by Electrify America to date.

The battery storage system can take energy from the grid when usage is low and discharge it when demand is high, expanding charging capacity and reducing stress on the grid.

“This large-format station showcases the next evolution of charging infrastructure, combining high-power charging with integrated battery energy storage to deliver reliable capacity at scale,” said Rob Barrosa, Electrify America President and CEO. “By incorporating advanced storage technology, we’re able to bring Hyper-Fast charging to locations that have traditionally been difficult to serve, while making it easy for customers to integrate charging into their daily routines in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara.”

Electrify America’s battery-aided station in Santa Barbara currently has CCS1 connectors exclusively, which means NACS-equipped EVs like those from Tesla, Rivian, and Cadillac will need an adapter. That said, EA will start retrofitting NACS connectors at the site starting this summer, as part of its ongoing NACS pilot program.

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The other large-format Electrify America stations are located in Santa Monica, San Diego, and San Francisco, with many more scheduled for construction. With at least 20 bays, this type of charging stop can slash wait times, helping EV drivers get back on the road faster without having to sit in a queue. The fact that each charger can deliver 350 kW of power also helps.

The company currently operates 1,149 DC fast charging stations in 47 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC). In total, Electrify America has over 5,700 individual fast-charging ports.

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BEIJING based car maker Xiaomi Auto has taken EV charging solutions to a futuristic next level, previewing a robotic arm that can plug itself into a vehicle’s charging port and initiate charging automatically.

 

Without input from the vehicle owner, the robotic arm – extending from a 152mm-wide case – uses AI technology to accurately insert a charger into the vehicle’s port and can unplug itself once the battery reaches full charge or a set level.

 

Charging can also be initiated by the owner remotely via a smartphone app.

 

However, this isn’t a novelty concept that will never see the production light of day as it’s slated for rollout in its home market in the fourth quarter of this year.

 

This isn’t the first time a robotic charging arm has been tried by an electric vehicle company. 

 

Back in 2015, Tesla previewed a prototype of a similar device, but while it has invested heavily in robotics technology – going as far to repurpose its ex-Model S and Model X factory in California to manufacture the humanoid Optimus robot – the charging arm never made it to full production.

 

Xiaomi also isn’t the Chinese automotive player to preview such technology, with Li Auto, Zeekr, and the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance among those to showcase their own robotic charging arms.

 

Another method of electric vehicle charging that is slowly becoming more mainstream is wireless vehicle charging.

 

In 2018, BMW became the first manufacturer to offer a wireless vehicle charger from the factory for its 530e iPerformance plug-in hybrid. 

 

The technology has slowly started becoming more widespread.

 

For instance, in September of last year Porsche announced the release of a one-box plate – meaning it does not require a wallbox or control unit – 11kW inductive charger alongside the Cayenne Electric SUV.

 

Up until this point, Xiaomi has exclusively sold its vehicles in China but has still made international automotive headlines in recent times, particularly with its high-profile Nürburgring lap record attempts.

 

Those attempts saw the SU7 sedan and YU7 GT SUV claim the production EV sedan and the production SUV lap records respectively around the world-famous racetrack (until the former’s record was taken by the Manthey-kitted Porsche Taycan Turbo GT).

 

In its home market, Xiaomi’s products have launched to overwhelming receptions.

 

When the YU7 – its Tesla Model Y competitor – was launched in China last year, Xiaomi secured over 240,000 orders within 18 hours.

 

While official plans to bring its vehicles to Australia are yet to be confirmed by the Chinese brand, it has announced plans to launch in Europe during 2027.

The New South Wales state government is seeking proposals for projects valued at $100 million or more that will address fuel security issues, including for renewable fuels and heavy electric vehicle charging hubs.

The state’s Investment Delivery Authority (IDA) is calling for expressions of interest (EoI) for support for projects that will boost supply, reduce the reliance on imports, and to encourage the development of new technologies.

The IDA round is focused on projects valued at $100 million or more that can directly improve fuel security, and includes a relatively wide definition that encompasses a range of technologies.

Heavy electric vehicle (EV) fleets and charging hubs are on the agenda, with a view to eventually reducing the state’s reliance on diesel.

Such projects would exclude all electric passenger vehicle fleets but include a wide array of commercial and fleet vehicles including rigid trucks, articulated trucks, and other freight or service vehicles.

The IDA is also willing to canvass projects that promote renewable fuels and their feedstocks – including aviation fuel, renewable diesel, biodiesel, biomethane, and green ammonia.

“We’re inviting industry to bring forward the next generation of fuel security projects,” said Daniel Mookhey, NSW state treasurer.

“This isn’t only an energy issue, it’s a cost-of-living issue for families and businesses across NSW. This is about partnering with investors to strengthen supply, support jobs and reduce our exposure to global fuel disruptions.

“By opening both an EOI and Market Sounding process, we are making sure we capture projects that are ready to proceed, as well as those that can shape future investment.”

Expressions of Interest will remain open till 11:59am Monday 22 June 2026 and projects can be submitted with the IDA here.

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Source: U.S. Department of Transportation.

• Rocsys’ new charging robot can plug in a robotaxi without needing a human.
• The company’s first-of-its-kind solution is brand-agnostic, meaning that it could be used across virtually any charger or EV.
• Its robot boasts an impressive 99.9% plug-in success rate.

Whether you like it or not, the robotaxis are coming. And all those self-driving cabs will need to charge up somewhere, somehow, and potentially without human assistance. 

That’s where startups like Rocsys come into play. Rocsys built what it says is the first hands-free, multi-bay robotaxi charging solution in the world, it announced on Wednesday. The Rocsys M1 system uses an automated robot arm that glides atop a row of chargers to start and stop the charging process. The company says the technology is in pilot mode now and will launch officially in 2027. Rocsys says it plans to support “thousands” of chargers in North America and Europe. 

Let’s talk about how this works, because it’s actually pretty cool.

The core of the Rocsys M1 is a large robotic arm that rides across a rail system. The rail is erected over the charging area and can be expanded if a fleet expands its infrastructure to include more stalls at a later time. One system can serve up to 10 parking spots, the company says.

Once the robotaxi parks, the carriage finds the car, drops the robotic arm out from above, then removes the charger from the cradle before slotting it into the car’s charge port.

The company says that it’s not locked into a single vendor, either, and that mixed-fleets and various types of EV charging hardware are a non-issue for the robot. Rocsys’ demonstration even shows the that the robot can manually pop open the charging-port door in cases where that isn’t motorized. 

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Photo by: Rocsys

Rocsys says that its automated charging robot has a 99.9% plug-in success rate. It also claims that a 50-bay depot could achieve a productivity increase of up to 75% and annual cost savings of around $1.7 million per year if installed in a 50-bay robotaxi depot.

Looking back over a decade ago, Tesla tried to come up with a similar solution for charging. CEO Elon Musk described it as a “solid metal snake,” but it wasn’t something that ever made it to market (even though Musk brought it up again five years later). A lot has changed in 11 years, though, including exploring the idea of wireless charging to solve this very same need. Tesla has said that the purpose-built Cybercab will use inductive charging exclusively.

While more autonomous cars are getting deployed by the day from players like Waymo, operating them still requires humans. People watch over robotaxis remotely and help out when they get stuck. They also handle fleet management tasks like cleaning and charging—at least for now. And while Rocsys’ system might solve the problem of a human plugging in a charger, it doesn’t solve every little problem.

For example, someone might spill a bag of chips in the back seat, or maybe they forget a backpack. Or an extreme case might be picking up passengers after a long night at the bar might mean that someone is stuck scrubbing the carpet. Maybe we’ll see a robotic solution for that soon enough, too.

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The Beijing Auto Show hosted the debut of a new vehicle that might make some luxury car owners look twice at their bank accounts. BYD revealed its latest flagship sedan: the Seal 08. This car does look sleek, but more importantly, it carries technology that promises to solve the biggest headaches people have with EVs – how far you can drive and how long you have to sit at a charging station.

The secret of this sedan is the second-generation LFP Blade Battery. BYD says the new battery allows the car to travel over 620 miles on a single charge based on Chinese testing standards. While real-world driving in the United States or Europe will result in a lower number, it still beats most electric cars currently on the road.

If the range does not impress you, the charging speed might. The Seal 08 uses an 800V system that supports “megawatt-level” flash charging – you can add 249 miles of range in just five minutes. If your battery is sitting at 10%, you can get it up to 70% in the same five-minute window. Even if you live in a place where it gets freezing cold, the car performs well. At -22°F, it can charge from 20% to 97% in 12 minutes. Most people take longer than that to defrost their windshields.

The Seal 08 is a battery on wheels and it has plenty of muscle too. The top-end version comes with all-wheel drive and two motors. Together, they produce 510 kW – that’s 684 horsepower. The front motor provides 190 kW, while the rear motor does the heavy lifting with 320 kW. If you do not need that much power, BYD offers rear-wheel-drive versions with either 255 kW or 320 kW. No matter which one you pick, each version can reach a top speed of 149 mph.

This is a big vehicle – it measures 202.8 inches in length. To help with parking such a long car, BYD included rear-wheel steering. This feature lets the back wheels turn slightly, making the car much easier to turn in tight spots. The wheelbase is 119.3 inches – this usually means there is a lot of legroom for people sitting in the back. The car apparently weighs 4,497 lb, which is surprising for an EV this big and packed with heavy batteries.

BYD also put a lot of work into how the car rides and drives. It gets the DiSus-A system, which is an intelligent body control setup using air suspension. This helps the car stay level and comfortable even on bumpy roads. For safety and self-driving features, the Seal 08 has a LiDAR sensor sitting on the roof. This sensor acts like a set of eyes for the “God’s Eye” driving system, helping the car see obstacles and navigate traffic more safely than a human might on a tired Monday morning.

BYD has not given a final price for the Seal 08, but we believe it will sell for between RMB 300,000 and 350,000. That is roughly £30,600 to {{$49,000}. The Seal 08 is part of a new “Ocean 8” series from BYD. It was revealed alongside a sister vehicle, the Sealion 08 SUV. BYD plans to launch the sedan in China during the second quarter of 2026. While the company has not officially said it will sell the car in the United States or Europe yet, they are moving quickly into international markets.

Via

As America’s public fast-charging network continues to grow despite the broader cooling of electric vehicle sales, Uber is taking up a more active role in deciding where new charging stations should be built and how efficiently they’re managed.

The ride-hailing giant is amid a tectonic shift, brokering dozens of deals worldwide to bring autonomous vehicles to its platform. The vast majority of these partnerships involve modern EVs, which will need consistent and reliable spaces to charge. 

To address that, Uber is now aiding the build-out of new fast-charging stations to support the incoming wave of robotaxis on its platform and also providing more plug-in options to its human drivers, who are increasingly going electric. 

“One of Uber’s superpowers is the fact that we have just so much data,” Andrew Cornelia, Uber’s global head of electrification and sustainability, told me in an interview at the BloombergNEF Summit in New York City. “We’re using that data to essentially tell us where charging needs to be.”

Motional and Uber’s Hyundai Ioniq 5 robotaxi in Las Vegas.

Photo by: Hyundai

Armed with vast amounts of real-world trip data, the company says it could help solve one of the industry’s most persistent problems, which is matching charging supply with real-time demand from drivers who can’t afford to waste time waiting around. 

In February, Uber announced a $100 million investment in building public fast-charging stations. It will partner with networks including EVgo in the U.S. and Ionity in Europe to build charging stations in high-traffic regions. 

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Uber is also providing these networks with utilization guarantees. Fast-charging stations require millions in upfront capital to build and only make sense financially if utilization rates are consistently high. 

Cornelia is confident that demand for these chargers will be high. “Charging now tops vehicle cost in terms of concerns for Uber drivers,” he said. “We actually have a fairly high conviction and confidence that if you build it, they will come.”

Tesla Model Y charging at an EVgo charging station.

Photo by: EVgo

New York City has among the most severe examples of charging shortages for Uber drivers. Drivers were incentivized to go electric due to new Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) rules in 2023, but got little charging support in return.

More charging stations have come online in the city ever since, but congestion hasn’t improved meaningfully at many locations. There aren’t enough stations to support the tens of thousands of rideshare drivers who have since opted to drive EVs. 

Uber is trying to alleviate some of these concerns with a new recommendation technology within its app, showing drivers nearby EV chargers and locations with the shortest queues. 

But Uber’s ‘superpower’ is being stress tested regardless by rivals and investors alike. Its stock is down nearly 10% this year as of writing. Rival Waymo is a partner in Austin and Atlanta, but also a huge competitor in nine other cities where it serves riders on its own app. 

Waymo’s Hyundai Ioniq 5 robotaxi.

Photo by: Waymo

And the threat from Tesla is also looming—Elon Musk’s company builds its own robotaxis, which will charge on its own hardware and serve riders through its own app. This vertical integration brings inherent advantages, giving Tesla tighter control over its software, hardware, and operations. 

Uber’s horizontal approach gives it less direct influence over parts of its business. But it also enables its massive scale, which is its own advantage. Only time will tell whether the bet on AVs will pencil out. The bet on charging, on the other hand, seems less risky in comparison. 

Drivers are already going electric, and having more chargers would address their needs more immediately. Chargers themselves are a proven technology, and they’re getting better every day. Newer stations are now higher-powered and have better reliability. More of them are popping up in locations with amenities like convenience stores, bathrooms, and WiFi. 

“The future of mobility is really electric, autonomous, and digitally enabled,” Cornelia said. “Public charging is a concern, and that’s why we’re spending so much time on it.”

Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com

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Tesla has opened two new Suerpcharger stations in Australia, just weeks after hitting the milestone of opening its 150th Supercharger site in the country, and is also offering some staggering low charging prices.

The two new sites are at Braybrook in Victoria and Osborne Park in Western Australia, and include off-peak pricing pitched at record lows, just as drivers of petrol and diesel cars continue to deal with a surge in bowser prices as a result of the war in the Gulf.

The Driven last week reported on the cost advantages of driving an EV over an ICE (internal combustion engine) car, which are being highlighted in a new website with updates on a daily basis.

See our story: How far will $1 get you in a diesel car and an EV, and which cars are cheapest to drive?

The new Tesla Supercharger site at Osborne Park features 8-stalls and is open to both Tesla and non-Tesla vehicles, and includes – for the first time in W.A. – the company’s V4 superchargers with speeds of up to 322 kW.

Pricing for Tesla vehicles is as low as $0.32 per kWh, while non-Tesla vehicles can pay as little as $0.45 at times if charging without a Tesla Supercharger membership.

The other site is located in Melbourne’s inner western suburb of Braybrook with 4 stalls. Each of these is rated at 250 kW.

Incredibly, the pricing before 8am is just $0.27 per kWh for Tesla EVs, while non-Tesla vehicles pay $0.37. That’s cheaper than many AC chargers, let alone high speed reliable DC fast charging.

It’s also certainly cheaper than fuel for ICE vehicles in the current price cycle.

These two sites bring the total Tesla sites to 152 and comes in under two years after the 100th site opened in South Australia in September 2024.

Latest data compiled by carloop also shows the growth in our local Supercharger network, which now stands at 1,001 Supercharger bays.

Over the last 16 months, the number of Tesla Superchargers has grown by over 40%, making more reliable charging available across many parts of the country.

The most recent surge in sites have been focused in NSW, partially driven by co-funding of EV charging by the state government, so it’s good to see Tesla opening sites in other parts of the country too.

The latest sites are part of the significant global growth and also come just weeks after the company announced that it had hit its 80,000th supercharger, in France.

The recent surge in adoption and EV interest will also provide extra confidence to charge point operators to continue to grow infrastructure, which some saw being tested during parts of the Easter break.

With prices of Tesla’s DC chargers being as low as they are at times of the day, it’ll surely drive utilisation across its network in months to come.

BYD, the world’s fastest-growing car company, is continuing to bring new models to market in multiple new segments, with the latest being an affordable model for the ridesharing industry under its recently introduced Linghui brand.

The new e7 sedan comes with multiple new editions, including the company’s 5-minute Flash Charging tech, a new Blade Battery, and all for under $A22,600.

The e7 lineup will actually start at under $A20,000 but has its Flash Charging-enabled models starting for a bit more, saving ridesharing drivers a significant amount of time when stopping to charge.

As mentioned, it would be one of the most affordable models from the company with capabilities of charging from 10-70% in just 5 minutes using the company’s latest Flash Charging technology, unveiled last month.

The new charging tech is made possible by Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery packs, which retain the safety credentials of BYD’s Blade Battery tech while now supporting charging speeds of up to 1,500 kW at the company’s Flash Charging sites.

Speaking of the deployment, BYD is currently deploying these sites at a rapid pace. Latest data shared by the company shows over 5,000 active charging stations in hundreds of cities across China, with a target to reach 20,000 commissioned charging bays by the end of the year.

According to reports from local media, the new e7 has an introductory incentive of 1-year free Flash Charging, helping fleet and ridesharing companies try out the tech in the first 12 months.

Getting back to the specs of the model, it comes in at a length of 4,780 mm, which is slightly smaller than the Seal sedan sold in Australia. 

The new car features the same large 15.6-inch infotainment screen behind the steering wheel as many BYD owners have today. 

A 50 W wireless phone charger is also seen in the centre console, and, like many of BYD’s latest cars, the inside now features the gear shifter relocated to the steering wheel.

Powering the new sedan are two rear-mounted motor options delivering 100 kW and 130 kW, respectively.

The single-motor powertrain is powered by BYD’s second-generation blade batteries, which come in capacities of 51.3 kWh and larger 61.4 kWh packs that feed the motor.

Range-wise, the e7 EV will have an NEDC range of 450-550 km, likely over 380-480 km on the WLTP test cycle.

Having experienced the previous generation of the BYD e7 as a Didi on a recent trip to China, it really is a Toyota Corolla rival, but with a much more refined ride, space, and, of course, an EV drivetrain.

We look forward to seeing the Linghui e7 model in person in China in the coming months, as it’s one of the several vehicles from BYD that would change the rideshare industry in China and has implications across the globe to help reduce transport emissions while offering drivers the convenience of Flash Charging.