car

China’s best-selling car has just headed to Europe. It has several arguments beyond being electric

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Europe has already begun to fill in one of the boxes that was most difficult to resolve in the electric car: that of small, urban and somewhat more rational models. There are proposals like the Renault 5 electriche Citroën ë-C3 or the Dacia Springeach with its own recipe to bring electric mobility closer to more everyday use. He wants to enter that fight now Geely with the E2but with an unusual cover letter. It does not come as a proposal without a commercial route, but as the European name for a car that in China has already shown that it can sell a lot. Geely Auto Europe already shows it on its website as a model that “will arrive soon” and presents it as a compact electric hatchback for everyday use. It is a relevant confirmation, but still incomplete: the brand has not detailed in which countries it will be sold, when exactly its marketing will begin, what versions will arrive or what price it will have in the European Union. The Chinese bestseller that wants to make a place in Europe An important fact is not in a European promise, but in what the car has already done in China. Geely assures that the Xingyuan, which is how it is known in its original market, was in 2025 the best-selling model in the country in all segments, with 465,775 units. That nuance is relevant because we are not talking about a residual category, but rather about a pure electric car that came to lead the Chinese market as a whole. As additional context, the brand also positions it as the world sales leader within the A/B segments, that is, between small and utility cars. The name change is not a rarity for this model, but rather a fairly common practice in the automotive industry: manufacturers selling cars on the same basis, or practically identical ones, with different names depending on the market. In this case, the Xingyuan retains its Chinese identity at home, but when going abroad It moves under the names EX2 and E2. In the European Union, the brand is already using E2, while the United Kingdom appears associated with EX2 and its own calendar. Geely’s European page already makes it clear where it wants to sell the E2. The brand presents it as a compact electric hatchback for everyday use, with a speech based on three ideas: dynamism, space and safety. It also ensures that the chassis is tuned specifically for European roads, a phrase designed to answer a common question with Chinese cars that arrive on the continent: how they will behave outside their original market. In the absence of the definitive record for this market, Geely’s Chinese website It allows us to define the starting car quite well. The Xingyuan measures 4.14 meters long and has a 2.65 meter wheelbase, figures that clearly place it in the urban territory, but not in that of microcars. The brand also talks about a frunk of 70 liters and a trunk of 375 to 1,320 liters, depending on load configuration. For Europe, the reference available on CarNewsChina points to a 39.4 kWh battery, an 85 kW/rear motor 114 HP and 317 km WLTPalthough final specifications for the EU will be known closer to launch. The temptation would be to look at the Chinese price, convert it to euros and draw a quick conclusion. It is advisable not to do so. In its domestic market, Geely places the Xingyuan between 64,800 and 94,800 yuan, about 8,350-12,200 euros at the exchange rate, but that figure belongs to China and responds to very different industrial and commercial conditions. For Europe it only serves as a clue of origin: the car is born as an affordable proposal, although its real price here will depend on the final version, import costs, homologation, logistics and Geely’s strategy. And here appears the closest unknown: Spain. We have entered the Spanish Geely website and, for now, the E2 is not among the brand’s visible models; what appears are the Starray EM-i and the Geely E5. That doesn’t mean the E2 isn’t coming, just that Geely hasn’t added it to its local showcase yet. If it finally lands in this market, furthermore, it would not be another SUV within the range, but rather an entry into a different terrain: that of the urban and compact electric car. The arguments are on the table, but the decisive part is still missing. We know that it comes from a model that has worked massively in China, that Geely already shows it on its European page and that its format fits into an increasingly competitive category. We do not yet know how much it will cost, what versions will arrive, if Spain will be among the first markets or how it will respond to already known rivals. That is why the most prudent reading is not that he is going to repeat his Chinese success, but that he arrives with sufficient reasons for us to look at him closely. Images | Geely In Xataka | Anti-electrics lose an argument about car batteries: a study confirms that they are more durable than previously believed

perfect for the terrace, patio or car

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Keeping your car spotless, removing dirt from the terrace or thoroughly cleaning the patio floor can become an eternal task if you don’t have the right tools. Now, at Lidl, you can take this pressure washer Kärcher KHD 4 Plus discounted. It is available for 164.99 euros instead of the 199.99 euros it usually costs. Kärcher KHD 4 Plus pressure washer The price could vary. We earn commission from these links If you don’t arrive in time to get this pressure washer on sale at Lidl, don’t worry because on Amazon you also have this other best-selling model from the firm (the Karcher K3) by 89.90 euros. This is a cleaning device with a maximum pressure of 120 bars and a flow rate of 380 liters per hour. Kärcher K 3 Pressure Washer The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A powerful and versatile cleaning tool The Kärcher KHD 4 Plus is an ideal model for the home environment thanks to its perfect balance between pressure and maneuverability. It has a power of 1,800 W which translates into a maximum pressure of 130 bars and a water flow of 420 liters per hour. These figures guarantee sufficient force to uproot the most embedded dirt from tiles, facades, garden furniture or car tires with little effort. This pressure washer also includes key accessories to maximize its performance from the first moment. It comes equipped with a six meter high pressure hosea spray lance Vario Power (which allows the pressure to be regulated continuously with a simple turn depending on the surface) and a turbo nozzle with rotating jet, perfect for the most critical areas. In addition, it incorporates a comfortable tank system to easily apply detergent. At the design level, it is a compact cleaning equipment, equipped with a telescopic handle and wheels to move it with total comfort while you clean. When finished, its integrated supports allow the cable and lances to be stored in the body of the machine itself, taking up minimal space in the garage or storage room. ⚡ IN BRIEF: offer for KÄRcher khd 4 plus pressure washer today ✅ THE BEST Adjustable pressure: the spear Vario Power Prevents you from damaging delicate surfaces (such as car paint or wood) by allowing you to adjust the force instantly. Ergonomics: The retractable handle and the storage of accessories in the chassis itself make using and storing it very comfortable. ❌ THE WORST 6 meter hose… Although it is a more than correct length for most patios or to surround the car, on very large terraces or farms it will force you to move the device or use an extension cord. Internal components… Being a range designed for the home, the pump is not designed for intensive professional use of several hours in a row without a break. 💡 BUY IT IF… You have a patio, garden or terrace that suffers from inclement weather and you want to clean it thoroughly in a few minutes before the good weather arrives. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You live in an apartment without a terrace or large balcony, since it is a device that requires an external water intake and drainage to take advantage of it. You may also be interested Michelin MPX16EP Pressure Washer The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Amazon Basics Corded Pressure Washers The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Webedia and Kärcher In Xataka | Safety, organization and entertainment gadgets and accessories for cars on long trips In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes

They will be able to park where any car parks

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Parking a motorhome in the center of a city It has been a lottery for years. And what was allowed in one municipality could mean a fine in the next one. However, the owners of this type of vehicle can sleep peacefully now, since the Government has approved a modification of the General Traffic Regulations that make these vehicles equal to other cars when parking on public roads. Below these lines we tell you what changes. Consensus. Until now, each city council had room to treat motorhomes differently from other vehicles, prohibiting them from parking on certain streets or areas just because of their type. The reform, published in the Official State Gazette, eliminates that possibility. And the municipalities will no longer be able to veto the parking of a motorhome in a place where a conventional car is allowed to park. The sector’s employer, Aseicar, has rated the change as a historic step in the use of this type of vehicles in Spain. In detail. The new text add a section to article 92 of the Regulation, which establishes three conditions for parking to be legal. The motorhome cannot deploy any element that protrudes from its outer perimeter (no awnings, tables, chairs or extended steps). It must remain supported only on the wheels, although the use of chocks or wedges to immobilize it is permitted. And no fluid from the passenger compartment can be discharged to the outside. By complying with these three points, no agent can sanction the vehicle for the simple fact of being a motorhome. Between the lines. The key to all this reform is in a distinction that already existed and that is now reinforced: parking is not the same as camping. A tightly closed and undeployed vehicle is, for legal purposes, just another car parked on the street. On the other hand, removing tables, chairs or awnings turns that stop into a camping trip, something that is still prohibited outside the areas authorized for it and that can lead to fines of between 200 and 1,000 euros. The town councils, furthermore, do not lose all their power. And they retain the ability to regulate schedules, rates or maximum parking times, but these rules must apply equally to all vehicles, without being able to specifically point out motorhomes and campers. And now what. The reform will come into effect on October 1and comes in parallel to an instruction from the DGT that also updates other aspects linked to these vehicles, such as ITV deadlines. This change comes as a result of the fact that the caravan park is already around 365,000 units in Spain, with sustained growth in recent years, while specific areas for motorhomes have barely gone from 280 to 1,400 in the last two decades. Although this rule does not solve the deficit of camping areas that the country has, it does clear up the doubt about whether or not a motorhome can park in an area like any tourism would. Cover image | Carl Tronders In Xataka | Watching the sunrise in a cove in Ibiza seems like a good idea. Until they fine you 30,000 euros

you need two cable cars, a cable car and to climb to the top of a mountain

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When someone wants to buy a Rolex, the most common thing would be to go to a central shopping street in any big city in the world and enter one of the exclusive watch stores that abound in these types of commercial hubs. However, to enter the latest boutique that the Swiss watch brand has opened you will need more than just taking a taxi to the center: you will need to grab a backpack, hiking boots and prepare to climb to a peak in the Swiss Alps. As and how I collected watchprothe Swiss brand has opened the highest boutique in the world: at 3,020 meters above sea level, at the top of the Mount Titlisin the Swiss Alps. Yeah, In Switzerland you can buy a Rolex on one of the highest peaks of the country. Getting to the place in question is not easy: you have to take a train, go up on two cable cars and, as the last stretch, ride the Titlis Rotairthe world’s first rotating gondola, opened in 1992. And then, of course, you can buy your Rolex, although in all likelihood you won’t be able to take it home. Who said that to buy a Rolex you only needed to have money? Buying a high-end watch has never been so literal Mount Titlis rises 3,238 meters above sea level, in central Switzerland, about 40 km south of Lucerne. Access from Engelberg includes several stages by cable car and two cable cars, according to the information itself. Titlis website. The final section takes place on the Rotair, a journey that lasts five minutes and rotates 360 degrees on the more than 5,000-year-old glacier, offering views at more than 3,000 meters above sea level. The Tallest Rolex boutique in the world It opened in June 2026, shortly after the inauguration of the Titlis Tower, a peculiar 76-meter-high skyscraper made of concrete, steel and glass that has defied the laws of logistics and Alpine engineering. Titlis Tower at the top of the Swiss Alps The renovation of this old telecommunications tower is part of a million-dollar project to convert the top of Titlis into a tourist center by 2029, when the new area linked to the ski resort of Titlis-Engelberg. Rolex has been one of the first luxury brands to settle there. The top of Titlis already received almost a million views annually before the opening of the tower, with tourists from India, Germany and the United States as the main international groups. The Rolex store is located inside the Titlis Tower, a building that signed Herzog & de Meuronthe Swiss studio that won the Pritzker Prize in 2001 and that has to its credit the design of the Tate Modern Londonhe Allianz Arena of Munich or the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, also known as “the bird’s nest“because of its shape. You get to the top and you leave with a waiting list Going from a mountain trek to the luxurious interior of a luxury watch boutique is a contrast that accentuates the dystopian experience of buy a rolex on top of a mountain. The store has the usual Rolex language: marble, wood, natural stone and well-placed sofas to enjoy the views while your checking account takes the hit. The store is managed by Bucherer, the watch sales chain that Rolex acquired in 2023 following the decision of its owner Jörg G. Bucherer, without direct heirs, to sell the business. The operation was formalized in 2024, after approval by the competition authorities. Bucherer operates more than 100 stores, but the one at the top of Titlis is by far the most unusual. Views from the Rolex store at 3,200 meters above sea level However, and here is the big final twist of this alpine adventure, after having traveled by train, two cable cars, the rotating gondola and climbed the 3,020 meters of altitude of this mountain, the shopping experience It is the same as in any other Rolex boutique in the world and it is very likely that the model you are looking for is not available. So you will go home without your watch. Rolex does not manage official waiting lists, but rather delegates availability to each dealer. That makes availability uneven depending on the model and design you choose. What is constant is that the most sought after models continue to be hard to getalthough the pressure starts to loosen in some markets from 2025. Although it may seem that opening a tent on a peak in the Alps It is more of a publicity stunt than something profitable, for a company whose image was forged on expeditions to the Himalayas and the conquest of Everesthaving a store above the clouds fits better than it seems. In Xataka | A farmer thought a cow had eaten his Rolex. 50 years later he recovered it, but it needed a good cleaning Image | Rolex, Titlis

Ferrari wants your car to charge itself in the sun while parked. One of his patents explains how

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A few weeks ago, Ferrari dropped a time bomb with its first electric car, Luce. the car has given to talk at lengthand has generated all kinds of opinions. It is also a vehicle that gives us clues about the direction the brand wants to take in this stage of transition that we are going through. But it is not the only one, because if we delve into the intricate world of patents, Ferrari has registered accounts that would raise some eyebrows. One of his last patents registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is share the CarBuzz medium, which describes a system of photovoltaic panels that deploy from the roof of the vehicle when it is parked. It is not a typical solar roof and has peculiarities that are worth commenting on. What’s in the patent. The document describe a rollable photovoltaic panel housed in a cavity inside the roof of the car. When the vehicle is stopped and turned off, the panel can be removed through a slot to cover it. According to the technical drawings of the patent, there are two possible positions: one of the panels deploys forward, over the windshield, generating shadow in the cabin; another does it from the rear, under the rear window, oriented at an angle to better capture sunlight. The mechanism uses a U-shaped element and two support rods to extend the panel from its roller. Why do you do it this way and not any other way? The solution may seem complicated (and it is) compared to simply integrating solar cells into the roof, as some manufacturers already do. But Ferrari seems to have its reasons. First, a roll-up panel that is only activated when parking allows the use of a larger photovoltaic surface than would fit on the fixed roof. Furthermore, the patent explicitly mentions the dual purpose of the system, which is to charge the battery and reduce the interior temperature of the cabin when the car is in the sun. Along with this, in the patent is pointed out The system includes sensors and weather data to automate when it is deployed or picked up. Limitations. A solar panel that only works when the car is stationary and in the sun has a very limited range in real life. In the end, the efficiency of these systems depends greatly on weather conditions, the orientation of the vehicle and the exposure time. It is not a fixed place with a large space that allows these losses of efficiency to be counteracted, as is the case in a photovoltaic installation that we can integrate into a house. CarBuzz mention the case of Hyundai, which has been studying this technology for years and that it integrates into some of its test vehicles. The firm stated that its solar roof can replenish between 30% and 60% of the battery per day in ideal conditions, which for a car with more than 300 kilometers of autonomy could cover the average trip to work. But those “ideal conditions” are the exception, not the norm. What it says about Ferrari. As we have mentioned before, the patent appears at a very specific time, as Ferrari has just launched the Luce, its first fully electric car, conceived as a vehicle for everyday use and not just as a sports car for occasional use. It makes sense for the brand to start exploring ways to manage autonomy and charging in different ways than conventional ones. On the other hand, just as points out CarBuzz, adding weight and complexity to the roof goes against Ferrari’s historic philosophy, focused on pure handling and clean design. These are ideas that the brand will have to play with to clarify its priorities in the coming years. However, it should be noted that, at the moment, it is only a patent, not a product announcement. Ferrari, like many other companies, registers technical ideas without necessarily implying that they will reach a production car. Cover image | Matt Antonioli and Ferrari In Xataka | “Solid-state batteries are not the Holy Grail”: the head of CATL explains why it will take us a while to see them in cars

There was a time when having a thermometer in the car was a luxury. This is how this ingenious invention solved it in the rearview mirror

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Today we have basic elements in our cars that have remained almost in the same place for decades. For example: the thermometer. For many years we have been able to know what temperature it is outside from the comfort of our car (although sometimes we wonder if the sensor works as it should). However, long before this element was incorporated into the instrument panel or the central screen of our car, some manufacturers opted for another place: under the driver’s side mirror. And at a time when analogue predominated, there was no other choice. The luxury America of the seventies The analog thermometer in the exterior mirror It was an invention born in the United States, in the context of the great American luxury cars of the seventies. A time when the most prestigious brands in the country competed to offer the most extravagant equipment possible, from Cartier watches integrated into the dashboard to garage opening systems or autonomy indicators. Click on the image to go to the post The mechanism was simple as well as ingenious. And just as they collect On the Curbside Classic forum, where owners and enthusiasts have debated this type of vehicle accessories for years, the thermometer worked using a spiral spring made of a material sensitive to changes in temperature (normally two metals with very different thermal expansion coefficients, such as brass or iron-nickel alloys). One end of the spring was fixed to the inside of the mirror housing; the other, to the small outer drum. As it expanded or contracted with heat or cold, the spring rotated the drum, which displayed the corresponding temperature on a graduated scale. There were no cables or electronics. It was pure precision mechanics. Additionally, some manufacturers included lighting built into the fixture, either through a light bulb or fiber optic which came from the dashboard (like in some Cadillacs). This last method was better, since it did not generate heat and did not alter the thermometer reading. Cadillac first, Lincoln later The brand that first offered this peculiarity was Cadillac, the jewel in the crown of General Motors. According to they count In The Autopian, Cadillacs equipped these thermometers in the side mirror around 1976, even before its direct rival Lincoln. The Cadillac Seville, the brand’s flagship model at that period, was one of those that included this accessory in its equipment, which was also available in other models in the range such as the Eldorado, the DeVille or the Fleetwood. Thermometer in a Lincoln. Image: Vanguard Motor Sales (Instagram) From Hagerty Media, in an article about the 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, they say that the thermometer in the side mirror was an option available in that year’s catalog at a price of $18, which placed it among the most affordable extras within a menu of options that included everything from cruise control ($104) to the alarm system ($114) or the radio cassette ($239). The Buick Park Avenue, GM’s other big bet in the premium segment, also carried it from its early years as an equipment package to differentiate itself from the rest. As it appears on the equipment sheetthe original Park Avenue from 1975 already included the mirror with a thermometer along with other elements such as air conditioning and automatic rear leveling in the suspension. For its part, according to account In the middle, Lincoln, Ford’s luxury division, incorporated the illuminated thermometer into its models starting in 1978. A luxury that is difficult to find today Lincoln rearview mirror with built-in thermometer and wiring for automatic mirror control. Image: eBay Just like express the middle the middle, today it is extraordinarily difficult to find these mirrors in good condition. A mirror with thermometer for a 1988 Lincoln Town Car can reach between $140 and $660 on second-hand platforms such as eBay depending on the condition of the part, while one intended for the 1976-1979 Cadillac Seville can exceed $800. The Lincoln thermometer of the eighties already incorporated the double scale Fahrenheit and Celsius, something that the models of the late seventies did not have, as they only showed the temperature on the Fahrenheit scale. However, Cadillac started getting rid of its analog thermometerssince at the beginning of the 80s they already included more advanced temperature systems in their vehicles where the outside temperature was also displayed in digital format. The leap to digital The arrival of increasingly advanced electronic systems made these thermometers obsolete. In the first half of the 1980s, manufacturers they began to integrate digital screens on the dashboards that showed, among other data, the outside temperature. It was the era of “high-tech”, and digital had enormous appeal for the luxury buyer. The first car with digital instrumentation was the Aston Martin Lagondapresented as a prototype in 1976, although its cathode ray tube technology was too expensive for the mass public (imagine how expensive, if buying an Aston Martin wasn’t exactly cheap in itself). It was the arrival of liquid crystal LCD screens, and in particular the technology TN LCDcheaper and lighter, the one that democratized digital panels in cars during the first half of the eighties. From that moment on, show the outside temperature on a display inside the passenger compartment. It went from being a novelty to an increasingly common featurefirst in premium cars and, over the years, in increasingly accessible segments. In the mid-nineties, it was already a relatively common element in mid-high range cars. And if you have ever wondered where the sensor that measures the temperature and that is reflected on your car’s screen is located, usually It’s on the front bumperaway from the heat of the engine. Seen in perspective, the thermometer in the side mirror was a product of its time, but seeing it today, even in images, gives it a glimpse of very picturesque mechanical elegance. Cover image | The Autopian (eBay) In Xataka | Eddie Hall had a Bentley and many millions in the bank: he used both to set the most unlikely … Read more

the Atlas robot will go directly to a car factory

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Hyundai has finally taken full control of Boston Dynamics, as advances the South Korean newspaper Maeil Business Newspaper. The movement is a clear warning to surfers: robots are no longer for recording fun videos on the internet doing parkour or turning into pets, they are now preparing to work for real in car factories. The large companies in the sector are already moving chips to see who dominates this new industrial revolution in a practical way, that is, putting useful robots into their assembly lines as soon as possible to achieve competitive advantage and in this scenario the Korean automobile company has just hit the table. The purchase. As the South Korean media exclusively reports, Hyundai Motor Group has bought 9.65% of the missing shares of Boston Dynamics for 325 million dollars (about 283 million euros). The person who gets rid of these shares is the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. and does so by taking advantage of an agreement signed in 2021 to activate the sale just before the deadline expired, today, June 20. To fully close the deal, Hyundai would have transferred the RAI institute, a scientific artificial intelligence research center worth $100 million, to SoftBank. Why is it important. The acquisition is critical because it eliminates the usual frictions of shared management in one fell swoop: Hyundai is the sole owner of 100% of the company, so it can make decisions more quickly and without waiting for anyone. In other words, you can gear up to vertically integrate Boston Dynamics systems into your plants without reaching agreements or sharing roadmaps with outside investors. In addition, having complete control will allow Hyundai to much better prepare Boston Dynamics for its big goal: to start listing and selling shares on the Nasdaq. Gaining autonomy and agility is essential in the face of aggressive competition from Tesla or Figure AI and of course, China. The Chinese government is investing a lot of public money to encourage its own robotics companies, such as Unitree, to produce units en masse and at low cost, a strategy that in fact it has already applied recently with electric cars or solar panels. With this coup d’état, Hyundai ensures that it safeguards the valuable technology of the American Boston Dynamics in the hands of an allied country. Context. Boston Dynamics is probably the most famous robotics company in the world and its ownership history has been curious to say the least: it went from being an academic division of MIT to belong to Google in 2013, then he came to Softbank. In 2021, Hyundai was made with the majority of the company. Simultaneously, SoftBank is changing its eggs in the basket: from robotics hardware to AI in several aspects that go to infrastructure with data centers to software. In detail. Hyundai has been “lucky”: according to Maeil Business Newspaper has closed the agreement to get that last package of shares very cheap thanks to the fact that the cost was already signed and frozen five years ago, before robots became fashionable. In fact, the market value of Boston Dynamics has reached almost 30 trillion won (about 19.8 billion euros) last year. Internally, the shareholding would be divided as follows: president Euisun Chung retains his 22.6%, while the subsidiaries distribute the rest of the parent company, namely: Hyundai Motor with 28%, Kia with 17.2%, Hyundai Mobis with 11.3% and Hyundai Glovis with 11.25%. Yes, but. To begin with, this is an exclusive leak: neither Hyundai nor Softbank has officially communicated the transaction. In addition, the automobile company has had to pay a toll: getting rid of the RAI institute, for which Hyundai had invested $424 million in 2022. Hyundai keeps the factories and the body of the robots, but loses control of the brains of the machines. In Xataka | It assembles 1,500,000 cars a year and does so at a rate of one every 10 seconds: the keys to the fastest factory in the world In Xataka | A Chinese firm has just presented a quadruped that defies limits. Boston Dynamics no longer has a clear path Cover | hyundai

BYD’s plan so that charging your electric car takes the same time as stopping for gas

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In recent years we have seen how Chinese brands have begun to conquer Europe with the accelerator pressed, with BYD as the main protagonist. However, let us remember that BYD is not only a manufacturer of cars: it is also a manufacturer of batteries and charging technology. That is why he is going to bring out all the heavy artillery in Europe as well, with a plan of 2,000 million euros to plague the region of ultra fast chargersthose that charge their cars in five minutes and that the brand itself showed us during the presentation of the Denza Z9GT. Breaking down obstacles. Charging has historically been the Achilles heel of the electric car. Not so much because of the capacity of the batteries, but because of how long it takes to charge the batteries compared to a brief refueling in a combustion car. BYD aims directly at this psychological brake with its own infrastructure that equates recharging an electric car to filling the tank of a combustion car. If it manages to impose its infrastructure, it would eliminate one of the great barriers of those who are skeptical about the electric car. Technology. The system Flash Charging It uses chargers with up to 1,500 kW of power, three times more than the most modern Tesla Superchargers, which are around 500 kW. To make the most of it, the car must equip the second generation of the BYD Blade Batteryspecifically designed to withstand these extreme loads. With that combination, going from 10% to 70% battery takes five minutes. The first European model with this capacity is the Denza Z9GT, which we were already able to try first-hand last April and which has a starting price of 115,000 euros in its electric version, acting as a technological showcase for the brand. Already in the presentation we were also able to see how the car, in fact, only took about five minutes to reach 70% of its charge, although the infrastructure that the brand must put in place to reach those figures is no small feat. Numbers. The plan involves adding about 3,000 stations in Europe before the end of 2027, of which 600 correspond to the United Kingdom, where BYD has already inaugurated its first ultra-fast charging point. On the other hand, the manufacturer told us at the time that the idea in Spain is to start with about 200 or 300 chargers. “It’s a lot of money, with each charging point costing almost half a million pounds,” counted Stella Li, the group’s top international executive, told the Financial Times. How they avoid saturating the electrical grid. One of the technical challenges of very high-power chargers is the impact on the electrical infrastructure. BYD solves this with a system of stationary batteries installed at each charging point, which are recharged during hours of lower demand (normally early morning) and act as an energy reserve when a user connects their vehicle. Thus, the peak demand on the network is much lower. The real bottleneck. Curiously, the main obstacle is neither technical nor economic. Bono Ge, head of BYD in the United Kingdom, counted to the FT that “the challenge does not lie in the infrastructure, but in the speed with which the town councils can give their authorization. We can implement it very quickly.” Technological showcase. The move is very reminiscent of Tesla’s Supercharger network, which was key in its commercial expansion by minimizing that recurring thought of having to recharge the car on long trips. Europe already has extensive networks, in fact Tesla has about 20,000 points on the continent, but BYD is betting on fewer and much more powerful stations. The idea is to continue expanding its technology, and make it so that other vehicles can also use their chargers, regardless of the manufacturer. BYD’s market share in the EU has already risen from 0.8% to 1.9% in the first four months of 2026, according to data from the European automobile association ACEA, and in the United Kingdom it reaches 3.4%, above Renault and Volvo. In Xataka | The best electric car chargers 2026: Which one to buy and six recommended models

A German driver set out to discover how much he could stretch the tank of his old diesel car. And he has done 2,400 kilometers

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Autonomy of 1,000 kilometers. It is the psychological barrier that seems to have been installed in the collective imagination when it comes to talking about electric or highly electrified cars. It doesn’t matter that it is a figure that is worthless because, obviously, it is totally inadvisable to sit in the car and put in 1,000 kilometers at a stretch between your chest and back. Right now, with a good part of the electric car market recharging 300 kilometers or more (real) in about 20 minutesthere are not many reasons to defend those ranges of more than 1,000 kilometers. And yet, such has been the insistence of those who do not trust the electric car that the manufacturers of plug-in hybrids themselves have focused their communication on selling us autonomies that exceed those 1,000 kilometers. And promise, among the electric ones, that we will see batteries that can withstand them. However, and although for everyday life it is something completely absurd, one always feels attracted to challenges like the one presented by the host and owner of the channel. Offroad adventure on YouTube. How many kilometers can your old diesel Volkswagen Passat travel? 2,300 kilometers with its little tricks He promised that he would repeat it if the video went viral. And he has done it. Elias is a German YouTuber specialized in car travel videos. His YouTube channel is full of incredible landscapes, challenges aboard his cars and videos in which he explains how he has transformed the vehicles. In one of them, he picked up an old Volkswagen Passat B5 diesel from 1998 and he decided to know how far he could go. He traveled more than 1,900 kilometers but did not manage to break the two-mile ceiling with a single tank. The promise seemed obvious: likes to the video and a new challenge ahead. No sooner said than done. More than 2,400 kilometers with just a tank? This is the title of the video in which Elias tells of his new experience with this familiar diesel with almost 30 years behind him. The car, at that time, approved an average consumption of 5.6 l/100 km (4.5 l/100 km in the extra-urban) and a 62-liter tank in Spain but in Germany, according to the data provided by the Youtuber, it reached 72 liters. That is, to cover 2,400 kilometers it was necessary to maintain a consumption of about 3 l/100 km. And with these tools, what seemed impossible was posed: how to get from Hildesheim (Germany) to the Arctic Circle with a single deposit of fuel? Let’s get to work. Elias swapped the original rims for closed hubcaps to improve aerodynamics on the wheels and reduce drag. It eliminated everything that could interfere with the exterior: goodbye to the roof bars and the antenna. He also points out that he changed some of the car’s filters to improve efficiency, as well as the lights, replaced by LEDs that consume less energy. Some air vents were covered to further improve efficiency. The YouTuber also points out that he installed a cruise control system, used low-friction oils and Michelin, which is one of the sponsors, gave him a set of low-friction tires that have been inflated to the maximum pressure allowed to reduce resistance. Searching for the sweet spot between driving at a constant speed high enough for the car to move at a low rev rate but without forcing it to downshift and increase consumption, the YouTuber manages to achieve his goal and shows how the car ends up stopping after 2,398.7 kilometers, registering an average speed of 74 km/h and a consumption of 3.0054 l/100 km. The car, in fact, at some point reaches a much lower figure, of about 2.5 l/100 km of consumption. However, in the last kilometers this figure “skyrockets” and leaves our protagonist on the verge of breaking the 2,400 kilometer barrier. Moment in which he removes the seal from the fuel tank to add a little more diesel and be able to get to a gas station. The test demonstrates how far diesels from a few decades ago were capable of reaching, but it also confirms that if the road is clear and used correctly, adaptive cruise control can save a lot of fuel by keeping the car at a sustained speed. Photo | offroadadventure In Xataka | Driving at 110 km/h instead of 120 km/h to save gas seems like a good idea. It’s just a patch

Against the extreme heat, the Civil Guard agents want to choose between the motorcycle or the car. And don’t let your bosses decide

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It has arrived and has placed itself at the center of the debate. The heat and what to do to remedy it is one of the hot topics every year. Whether or not to apply new measures against a summer that increasingly arrives earlier and leaves later is beginning to be a recurring part of the general conversation. From the classrooms and the children to the Civil Guard agents. The heat. Suffocating and sustained. The same one that gives very few breaks between May and September, if not October. We live in a country that is getting hot and what to do to cope with it in the best possible way is something that we repeat to ourselves starting in the month of May. The misfortunes, in fact, seem to have been the only reason that has made us reflect. One of the last major debates revolves around the how hot it is in schools. He’s not the only one. Weather alerts They have already modified the schedules of the most exposed workers, like sweepers or workers. And there is a group that already defends that it is in the same situation: the Civil Guard agents. What do they claim? The Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) is claiming to the higher commands to allow the agents who monitor traffic to decide whether or not to get on the motorcycle or, on the contrary, prefer to patrol by car. The reason is obvious: the heat. Furthermore, this association demands that they not be forced to wear the vest with an airbag when the temperature exceeds 32ºC, claiming that it is a garment that makes heat evacuation difficult. Why all this? These claims have once again gained strength because the AUGC has met with the Head of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard to send them their requests. And the latter is in charge of deciding the technical criteria to take into account to decide how to work. But the conflict, our colleagues explain Motorpassion Motorcycle comes from behind In July 2025, the PSI-08-25-OPCM report from the Civil Guard Prevention Service indicated that it was advisable not to wear the airbag vest above 32ºC. Later, in December, in the Plenary Session of the Civil Guard Council it was decided that the use of this vest and the decision to take the motorcycle or use the car would fall to the agent “according to his own professional criteria, without the need for authorization or any impediment,” according to the AUGC. And they emphasize that the Operations Command promised to put this in writing. Which have moved again from this association to the Headquarters of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard is that this commitment never materialized and that, on the contrary, a circular from May once again emphasized that the airbag vest was mandatory up to 35ºC and that It is the Operations Command that ultimately decides whether the agent gets on the motorcycle or not, instead of the latter’s criteria prevailing. The risks. The officers’ claims are based on the extreme heat to which they are subjected on the motorcycle when temperatures far exceed 30ºC. It must be taken into account that a motorcyclist faces environmental heat but is also exposed to the heat generated by the motorcycle itself and the use of safety equipment. The risks riding the motorcycle in extreme heat are evident: greater fatigue, proliferation of headaches or possible dizziness. Photo | In Xataka | “With our heads, we would all ride 20 HP motorcycles”: there is a debate brewing about how much power is too much power for a motorcycle

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