Happy Friday, and welcome to Critical Materials, your source for the biggest stories shaping the future of the auto industry.

Every Friday, we break down the week’s biggest EV news, keep you up to speed on the cars we’re testing, and recap must-read stories from around the web on driverless cars, batteries, charging, and more.

In today’s newsletter, Suvrat Kothari breaks down a new trend in high-speed EV charging. One expert tells me that EV consideration is still surprisingly high, despite the bad vibes in the industry. And Mack Hogan explains why Google Gemini-powered navigation is one of the best new features to come to cars in years.

Let’s dive in!

– Today’s email was written by Rob Stumpf, Suvrat Kothari, Mack Hogan, and me, Tim Levin.

A few years ago, 300-plus-kilowatt stalls represented the cutting edge in EV charging. But a new trend is emerging: Charging companies in the U.S. are now rolling out hardware that can deliver 500 kW, 600 kW, or even up to a full megawatt to prepare for an onslaught of electric big rigs and next-generation electric cars.

Last month, ChargePoint revealed a 600-kW unit that it labeled as “the world’s fastest standalone EV charger.” (The all-in-one solution doesn’t need a separate cabinet.) Also in April, Swiss firm ABB revealed plans to roll out its 1.2 megawatt chargers. Last week, Kempower unveiled its new charger with a Megawatt Charging System connector that can dispense 1.2 mW, plus a CCS plug that can do 560 kW.

Not too long ago, Italian charging company Alpitronic unveiled its new chargers which can deliver up to 1,000 kW to semi trucks and up to 600 kW to passenger EVs. Those will start rolling out in the U.S. early next year, a company spokesperson told InsideEVs. Tesla Superchargers were historically capped at 250 or 325 kW. Now America’s biggest charging player is gradually rolling out its 500 kW V4 stations.

Charging has long been a hurdle in the broader adoption of EVs. But, despite the slowdown in EV sales, the industry is now gearing up to deploy technology that could make EV charging as quick and convenient as refueling a gas car.

These cutting-edge, higher-powered stations also have another benefit: They allow more EVs to charge simultaneously at really high speeds without cutting power when traffic is high. They can deliver megawatt charging speeds to a single port, or spread that load intelligently across multiple chargers. 

There’s a problem, though. As the likes of BYD and Geely democratize megawatt charging in other parts of the world, there’s no passenger EV in the U.S. currently that can accept over 500 kW of power. The Cybertruck can unofficially do 500 kW at V4 Tesla stations. Other than that, the fastest-charging EVs in the U.S. at the moment, like the Lucid Gravity, Porsche Cayenne Electric, and BMW iX3, all have a 400 kW ceiling. 

Still, charging companies in the U.S. are pressing ahead, future-proofing their networks with the expectation that EV demand will rebound and that more capable, high-tech EVs will eventually reach American shores.

“Some of the high-power Chinese cars may find their way to the U.S. in the next five years, so these higher-power capable chargers future-proof them,” Loren McDonald, the CEO and chief analyst at Chargeonomics, told me. “We might also see some 500 kW capable BEVs in the next few years in the U.S.”

Ionna, a charging network backed by several automakers, deploys exclusively 400 kW stations. Seth Cutler, the company’s CEO, told InsideEVs that’s plenty for today’s cars, but that it’s always thinking about where things will go next. 

“We are evaluating higher power,” he said in an interview on the Plugged-In Podcast. “I think it's just a question of timing—when does it make sense to go make those changes—and at which sites in which parts of the country.”

The infrastructure is getting there. Now it's on the automakers to catch up and to bring those blistering speeds to life. 

“It takes two to tango, right? So we can put in our high-power charging, the vehicles have to be there to accept it,” Cutler said.

-Suvrat Kothari, with additional reporting by Tim Levin

Get up to speed on the news that caught our eye this week:

Rivian's R2 configurator is live! You can now spec out your dream R2 and know how much it'll drain your bank account.

Rivian also launched its new AI voice assistant earlier this week. The new feature allows drivers to issue complex commands by using conversational language. R1 owners will receive it as an over-the-air update, and R2 owners are expected to receive it when the SUV launches in the coming weeks.

On this week’s Plugged-In Podcast, we spoke with Seth Cutler, the CEO of Ionna, about the past, present, and future of EV charging.

Honda posted its first annual loss in its history as a public company, after writing down $9 billion due to its scrapped EV plans. The company says that an all-EV future is "not realistic," according to CEO Toshihiro Mibe. Now, Honda is shifting its focus towards hybrid SUVs and sedans to fill the multi-billion-dollar gap EVs left in its balance sheet.

Kia's beloved Stinger could get a remake—and an electric one at that. The design team says that the spiritual successor to the performance sedan is in the works, but it's not commercially viable until one important thing in the EV market changes. 

The secret to longer lasting batteries is in the battery management system, or at least that's what researchers in Sweden believe. A new AI-powered BMS can extend the usable life of an EV battery pack by as much as 23%.

AI is also giving software-defined vehicles superpowers in other ways. Waymo and Waze are just two of the companies partnering up to offer "ground intelligence" to cities and municipalities, enabling them to find out where harsh road conditions and hazards like potholes are before you end up with a flat tire. 

Used EVs are some of the best deals in America, especially as gas prices continue to rise.

Nissan could be on the mend. Its new CEO, Ivan Espinosa, is focused on turning the business around after years of hardship and expects to turn a profit of more than $1 billion for this fiscal year.

Chinese EVs have been spotted in Canada. Canadians, meanwhile, are open tot the idea. In fact, over half of them say that they would consider buying a Chinese imported car.

Volkswagen's electric Golf is getting pushed back. VW says that it "doesn't need it" as quickly as it originally thought and that EV buyers will need to wait until the end of the decade before they can buy it. 

Speaking of VW, the ID Buzz is coming back for 2027 with a bunch of upgrades inside and out and a trim dedicated to camping.

Ford is getting ready to take on Tesla's Megapack with an energy storage division of its own. Ford Energy is launching a competing 5.45-megawatt hour battery produced in its battery plant that was originally meant to supply cells to its EVs.

We visited Toyota's Woven City outside of Tokyo to see just what the automaker envisions the future of mobility looks like. There's a virtual power plant powered by EVs, an underground logistics center, and an intriguing robot called Guide Mobi.

-Rob Stumpf

A funny thing is happening in the electric vehicle world right now. Tax credits are gone. Car companies are backtracking. New electric car sales are way, way down. Yet the number of American car shoppers who are interested in going electric is holding strong. 

“I'm honestly a bit surprised where consideration is at following the discontinuation of the federal tax credit,” Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at JD Power, told me. “In that time, we've seen that the interest hasn't diminished, and in many cases, it's increased.”

Last month, 26% of car shoppers said they’d be “very likely” to consider buying an EV, up three percentage points from the previous month, a recent JD Power survey found. The portion who reported being “very unlikely” to go electric dropped by four percentage points to 18%. The firm has been surveying car shoppers about their appetite for electrification since 2021, and April marked only the third time ever that more than a quarter of respondents fell into the “very likely” camp, Gruber told me. 

One driving force may be obvious: A gallon of gas now costs more than $4.50, up from just under three bucks before the war with Iran. Gas prices have now remained high enough for long enough to shift attitudes towards EVs, Gruber said. Or maybe Americans are increasingly dubious that the conflict will end soon. 

But openness to EVs is one thing. Sales are another. So far this year, the battery-electric slice of the U.S. car market has hovered around 6-7%, down from roughly 8% in 2024 and 2025. “You have to try and reconcile: Why are so many people interested in these products, but so few are actually buying them?,” Gruber said. 

Affordability has always been a constraining factor, and it’s gotten worse since the tax credit ended, he said. On top of that, young people are the most interested in electric cars, but also the least likely to have the funds to buy them. Within the “very unlikely” cohort in JD Power’s survey, more than half would not pay any price premium for an EV.  

But many of the reasons people are saying “no” to EVs are more a matter of perception or education. Lots of people say they would need chargers to be no more than 50 miles apart to consider an EV; that’s already the case across much of the country. “There are public chargers all over the place, but consumers just don’t know that,” he said. 

Nearly three-quarters of those who were least likely to buy an EV said they needed at least 500 miles of range to consider one. And yet, JD Power’s research has found that the average American takes 2-3 road trips a year, and they typically are 200-300 miles. Range anxiety tends to fade once someone actually buys an EV, he said. 

One particularly concerning issue Gruber’s research has identified: While EV interest may still be high, the dealers at the front lines of EV education have been dropping the ball since the tax credit expired. 

“Across the spectrum, on all the different topics that they could be educating consumers on, we're seeing that happen less and less,” he said. 

-Tim Levin

There’s a big problem with route-planning software. It can tell you where to stop for the most efficient charging, but I’m not after the most efficient road trip. I’m looking for the nicest one. That means if I’m going to stop to charge, it damned well better be in a place I want to loiter for 30 minutes. I want charging stops with good places to walk my dog, or next to restaurants with good gluten-free options for my Celiac fiance, or at the very least with a bathroom. 

Until now, finding them was an exercise in trial and error. Plot the route, look at the suggested charging stations, poke around on the map, and hope I see something I like. But last week, I finally tried Google’s Gemini-powered conversational navigation. It completely solves this issue.

Here are some commands I gave it:

It answered all of these queries perfectly and instantly. Best of all, I could pepper it with follow-up questions. What on the menu is gluten-free? How much does the hotel usually cost per night? Is there availability? Of the spots with good parks nearby, which charging option is cheaper?

The alternative to this is poring over the reviews and descriptions on Google Maps yourself, which is completely impossible to safely do while driving. That makes this an EV road-trip game changer. And while I sampled it on a Volvo EX60, it’s coming to a lot more cars.

Volvo EVs, Polestar EVs, General Motors vehicles with Google Built-In, and the new Mercedes CLA and GLC EVs will support it. Better yet: It’s already available via Android Auto.

EV road trips just got a whole lot better.

-Mack Hogan

The Tesla Semi is finally hitting the road for real after years of delays and pilot production. The truck was on display at the recent ACT Expo in Las Vegas, and our friends at Out of Spec got to take a look inside. Check out their video for a peek at the Semi’s tech and a conversation with its lead engineer.

Thanks for reading Critical Materials. See you next week!

-Tim Levin