The Tesla Model Y may well be facing a major challenge from the BYD Sealion 7 when it comes to its ranking of best-selling EVs in Australia, but it remains the dominant choice when it comes to fleet owners.

A new report from Origin Energy, the country’s biggest electricity retailer, notes that 27 per cent of the EVs in its leasing and subscription program are Tesla Model Y electric SUVs, more than double the next most popular electric cars, the Kia EV5 and the VW ID.4.

The data is included in a “lessons learned” report delivered as part of the obligations of Origin’s Fleet Electrification program that has been partly funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

The program aims to deliver 1,000 EVs to the fleet program, but Origin says the transition has been hindered by the lack of good electric ute options.

“Passenger vehicle choice is no longer a barrier for most take-home fleets,” Origin writes.”

“Utes are a different story. Despite making up around 22% of new vehicle sales, there’s limited EV ute options, and those that are available cost more than the ICE equivalent and have limited range.”

And it notes that only two new electric utes have entered the Australian market over the past year. (And one electric ute, the Ford F150 Lightning, is no longer available).

As a result, just 5.2 per cent of Origin’s lease and subscription sales over the reporting period were utes – and all of these were the BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrids.

Origin says that for most fleet managers, the decision to go electric comes down to cost, and if the total cost of ownership (TCO) isn’t lower than an equivalent ICE vehicle, “it halts most decisions – any emissions benefit is a bonus, not a driver.”

Still, Origin says it is starting to see a shift. “A small but growing number of customers, particularly in carbon-intensive industries like construction, are now treating emissions reduction as equally important as cost when making fleet decisions.”

That it says is being driven by a couple of factors, including Australia’s own efforts to reduce emissions and by pressure from overseas, particularly on the Australian divisions of companies that operate internationally.

The other major observation from Origin was on the clear preference on “take-home” vehicles, given that these qualify for the federal government’s FBT exemptions, while pool cars do not.

“The sales Origin is making are almost entirely concentrated where customers can access the FBT exemption,” it says, adding that charger funding by ARENA has not been sufficient to close the TCO (total cost of ownership) gap on pool vehicles.

That said, the issues around home charging also needed to be resolved, including developing systems that allowed employees to have their home charging costs covered by their employer, in much the same way as occurs with fuel cards.

“Managing public charging remains an admin burden for fleet managers and drivers – multiple apps, cards and expense claims across different networks,” it notes.

“Origin’s had strong uptake on it’s OneCharge solution that helps solve this, by centralising charger activation and billing across six of the major public charging networks, and aggregating costs onto the fleet bill.”

It concludes: “Driver and fleet manager hesitation is real, but manageable – flexible trials, data-driven suitability tools, and hands-on experience all play a role in converting interest into commitment.

“Vehicle availability is improving for passenger fleets, but the ute segment remains a significant gap that limits electrification for a large portion of the Australian fleet market.”

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• Alpitronic’s new megawatt chargers are sleek and efficient.
• They’re currently being tested at the company’s North Carolina headquarters.
• Megwatt chargers are way faster than existing stations, with some charging batteries from 10-80% in 7 minutes or less.

Italian charging hardware provider Alpitronic is testing its new HYC1000 megawatt chargers at its North American headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company confirmed today. The chargers can deliver up to 1,000 kilowatts of power to a single port for semi trucks, and up to 600 kW for passenger EVs. That’s way beyond what the fastest-charging EVs in the U.S. can currently accept. 

Still, the technology could usher in a new era of ultra-fast charging in North America and encourage automakers to roll out newer EVs capable of charging at higher rates. Charging is one of the bottlenecks in mass adoption of EVs, but such high power systems can make it as seamless as refueling a gas car.

In a recent video from the Out Of Spec Reviews YouTube channel, Alpitronic Americas President Mike Doucleff explained how exactly the HYC1000 chargers work, what’s different from other large charging networks, and how EV drivers will benefit from the tech.

For starters, Alpitronic is one of the fastest-growing charging hardware providers in the U.S. In just a couple of years, it has inked deals with several leading charging networks like Ionna, Walmart, Mercedes-Benz High Power Charging, Electrify America, and BP Pulse. Those networks have already deployed hundreds of Alpitronic HYC400 chargers nationwide and continue to do so at a rapid clip. 

The newer HYC1000 charger takes things further. The megawatt dispensers are slim and tall rectangular units, with each capable of holding two cables. They support the Tesla-style NACS cables, CCS cables and the Megawatt Charging Standard (MCS) cable for heavy duty trucks; they can be configured with either of these combinations depending on the network provider’s needs. They also have swinging arms at the top that carry the cable weight, a vehicle-facing touchscreen to display charging details, and a card reader.

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Each tower has two plugs, both of which can simultaneously deliver up to 600 amps and a 1,000 volts, which translates to 600 kW of power. The fastest chargers in the U.S., like the Tesla V4 Superchargers and the Gravity Charging Center in New York City, top out at 500 kW. No EVs in the U.S. can accept that sort of power at the moment. The Porsche Cayenne Electric, BMW iX3, and Lucid Gravity all top out at about 400 kW. 

Photo by: Alpitronic

The modularity of these chargers is also impressive, at least on paper. The chargers can be configured to deliver 1,500 amps and 1,000 volts with the MCS standard. So one location could have semi trucks and passenger EVs charging at the same time, depending on how the site is designed and the combination of available plugs. The company also worked with Mercedes-AMG to develop a special version of the HYC1000 capable of delivering 1,000 kW to a passenger EV. The Concept AMG GT XX peaked at 1,041 kilowatts during a test run in Italy last year. 

Furthermore, the dispensers’ distributed power delivery is fascinating. The main cabinet consists of eight 125 kW silicon carbide power modules, capable of powering eight individual charging towers. Each of these 125 kW modules in the cabinet is further subdivided into 62.5 kW units for a more precise distribution of power depending on the demand at each stall. 

Alpitronic HYC1000 Distributed Megawatt Charging

Photo by: Alpitronic

For example, if a Chevy Equinox EV that peaks at 150 kW and a Hyundai Ioniq 5, which can charge at up to 350 kW, are parked adjacent, the charger can deliver those speeds precisely. It can match that demand without wasting a single tower’s maximum capability on a car that can’t use it. Moreover, EVs usually need their full charging power at a low state of charge, which then tapers off to slower speeds as charging progresses, which makes such smart power management even more beneficial. 

To be fair, Alpitronic isn’t the only one doing this dynamic load balancing. Tesla, ChargePoint, and Electrify America have all adopted similar approaches.

That said, megawatt charging is already getting democratized in China on mass market models from BYD and Geely. Plus, Alpitronic isn’t the only company rolling out megawatt chargers in the U.S. Tesla has started rolling out its Megachargers for the Semi, and Kempower is planning to do the same for electric semi trucks.

However, it’s starting to look like this tech could also someday trickle down to passengers EVs in the U.S., which would be a big win for EV adoption.

Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com

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As the editor of InsideEVs, I don’t follow the gas-car market as closely as I once did. My colleagues at Motor1 will tell me all the time about new internal-combustion vehicles they’re testing, and my reaction is often: “That’s great! What is that?” But even I was surprised to learn that Acura would be temporarily discontinuing its top-selling RDX crossover. 

Now, dealers are mad that they’re losing such an important car at a time when demand for its upcoming RSX electric model may not be as strong as it would’ve been with $7,500 tax credits in place. And they may have a point this time. 

The must-read morning roundup of EV and tech news.

That kicks off this edition of Critical Materials, our morning roundup of industry and technology news. Also on deck today: Porsche’s China woes continue, and this whole “America needs to own Greenland” thing is bad for auto stocks. Let’s dig in. 

25%: Acura’s Dealers Are Mad About An EV Shift. They May Have A Point

Photo by: Acura

I certainly don’t have strong feelings for the RDX. I can’t even recall the last time I drove one. But it is (or was) the kind of competitive, mass-market crossover that pays the bills for other things, as every automaker needs amid this expensive, rocky shift to electrification, advanced software and autonomy.

But the RDX is going on a two-year hiatus before becoming a hybrid model. In the meantime, Acura is launching a smaller gas crossover, the ADX, and the electric RSX—one of the first cars on Honda’s new in-house EV platform, replacing the General Motors-made ZDX that was discontinued last year.

(A lot of three-letter names, I know. I don’t come up with this stuff.)

The point is, the RSX’s tech makes it a very big deal, especially for Honda and Acura, which are late to the game on electrification. Yet as Automotive News reports, dealers are unhappy because they’re without a mass-appealing crossover at a very uncertain time for EVs without the $7,500 tax credit:

“To cancel [RDX] production on such short notice just leaves us hanging,” said Brian Benstock, vice president at Paragon Acura in New York City.

Benstock attributed the predicament to Acura’s “stubborn” pursuit of EVs until recently. Dealers repeatedly had urged a hybrid focus and a diversified powertrain approach, he said.

Benstock estimates the MDX and ADX will recapture just 20 percent of RDX volume, given the distinct segments. “There’s a certain demand for the RDX, and when you take it away,” those customers are going to look at alternatives in that segment, he said.

“Acura chose a different strategy—one that was politically correct but wrong for the market,” Benstock said. “Now dealers are paying the price.”

Now, we know that very few traditional car dealers are excited about EVs. They were among the loudest voices pushing back against what they called an “EV mandate” in the Biden years. But they have kind of a point here: at a time of regulatory whiplash and changing consumer demand, how does a car company get the timing “right”?

In the future, most automakers in the U.S. will likely have a mix of gas, hybrid and electric options; with the Trump administration rolling back strict fuel economy rules, car companies aren’t under the gun to deliver an all-electric future anymore. But that hardly means EV demand is going away. It is expected to pick up as battery costs fall in the latter part of this decade, and besides, a post-Trump White House or Congress could put an EV push back in play.

Still, the car companies don’t have infinite capital to play with. It’s not ideal for them to invest in so many powertrains at once, and to always be “right” about what consumers are going to want.

They may have more EV or hybrid options in the pipeline, but “coming soon” doesn’t help your business right now: “You can’t sell customers on ‘two years from now.’ Nobody’s going to wait for that truck,” dealer Benstock told AN. And he’s not wrong.

The next few years will be a wild time as all of these companies figure out what the future looks like—or don’t.

50%: Porsche’s China Headaches Got Worse In 2025

Photo by: Porsche

I still think that after all these years, the Porsche Taycan is one of the best EVs you can buy. But buyers in China aren’t going for it like they used to, because in their market, they can probably do better—and for cheaper, too.

Porsche has been struggling mightily in what used to be its largest market for years now, amid a wider shift toward homegrown brands over the “foreign” competitors. While Porsche had a record year in the U.S. in 2025 (albeit narrowly), the China downturn stung hard. Here’s the Wall Street Journal with more:

Automakers have faced intense competition in China, sparking a prolonged price war as rivals cut prices to win customers, while a lengthy property market slump and economic-growth concerns in the country has also led to buyers pulling back on luxury spending.

“Key reasons for the decline remain the challenging market conditions, particularly in the luxury segment, and the very intense competition in the Chinese market, especially for all-electric models,” the company said.

Other German brands, including Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have all recently reported that the challenging Chinese market hit demand last year.

In the meantime, and like other automakers, Porsche is betting big on North America to offset China’s losses. But as that Acura example shows, it’s hard to get things right here, too.

75%: Autos Stocks Fall Amid This Whole ‘Greenland’ Thing

Photo by: Toyota Norway

As Americans utter a collective “Uhhhh…” and Europeans flex militarily as President Donald Trump commits to taking control of the self-governing territory of Greenland, the economic fallout is already starting to spread.

That included automotive stocks on Monday, particularly as Trump threatens stiff new tariffs on European nations. Here’s CNBC with more:

Germany’s Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz Group stood between 2.5% to 3% lower, while Milan-listed shares of Ferrari dipped around 2.2%, notching a 52-week low. Germany’s Porsche fell 3.2% on the news.

Milan-listed shares of Stellanti, which owns household names including Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Chrysler, and Peugeot, were last seen 1.8% lower.

The moves come shortly after Trump on Saturday pledged to impose 10% tariffs on the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland by Feb. 1, ramping up his push to make Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, part of the United States.

Analysts believe the auto industry—already rocked by Trump’s tariffs and regulatory changes in the U.S.—is uniquely vulnerable to these new levies due to its heavily interconnected supply chains. If any car company thought 2026 would be easier than 2025, they’re in for a rude awakening.

100%: How Do Automakers Get Powertrains Right In 2026?

Photo by: Acura

What is the “right” mix of powertrains for any automaker? Hybrid, gas, electric, EREV—there’s a lot going on right now. Or should they waste zero time in going electric, treating this current moment as a kind of speed bump? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

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