Kilowatt Half Hour Ep 109: Chery’s UK production plans, EV sales… and Toyota electrifies the Hilux

#electriccars 2026 #podcasts #kilwowatthalfhour #china

Listen on Apple podcasts:
Listen on Spotify:
Listen on Acast:
Listen on Amazon:

Follow Electrifying.com ⬇.
INSTAGRAM:.
FACEBOOK:.
X:.
TIKTOK:.

Follow Electrifying.com ⬇.
INSTAGRAM:.
FACEBOOK:.
X:.
TIKTOK:.

If you have a cars and truck purchasing concern or want to be consisted of in our postbag, add your remark listed below or message us at podcast@electrifying.com.

Every week, the Electrifying.com satisfy online to go over all the important matters at hand. Such as the weather, what we're all having for our tea and who dumped who in last night's Love Island. Between these heavyweight topics, we likewise speak about electric vehicles. A lot. Probably an unhealthy total up to be honest.

And when we do discuss cars and trucks, we discover a lot. From market gossip to the more ordinary usefulness of electric cars and truck ownership, it's the place where we dish the dirt on the vehicles we have actually been driving and deliver our own decisions on the most recent electric vehicle news. We also like to have an excellent laugh at the daftest littles anti-electric news that we have actually seen in the press.

We can't promise that you'll learn much. You probably won't. However if you fancy thirty minutes of idle chat and gossip about the world of electrical automobiles, we're here for you. If you like it/ dislike it/ believe it's too long or too short, let us understand.

Chapters are below so you can leap straight to the subject you're most interested in:.
00:00 Welcome to Kilowatt Half Hour Ep 109.
01:08 Chery could develop automobiles in Nissan's UK factory.
04:20 Why Chinese cars and truck brand names are winning over consumers.
08:56 UK EV sales hit 27.3% market share.
10:20 The very best EV lease deals right now.
12:35 Batch gets vehicle ill in the Alpine A390 GTS.
15:47 Geely EX5, Leapmotor and SMMT drive impressions.
16:55 Kia EV2 Norway range test preview.
19:09 New videos: Polestar 5 journey & Toyota Hilux EV.
19:56 Are electrical pickup about to take off?
21:40 Bargain of the week: Volvo EX30 Efficiency.
22:15 Bargain of the week: Mazda MX-30 for ₤ 9,000.
25:15 Electric Virgin: Nigel's switch to EVs.
26:30 Listener garage: Toyota C-HR+ wins the test drive fight.
27:43 Rear-wheel drive vs AWD for winter driving.
30:15 Ferrari Luce reaction continues.
33:31 Mercedes-AMG EV style controversy.
35:57 The unexpected tech behind Ferrari and AMG EVs.
36:20 The Alpine A290's missing out on cup holder dispute.
39:13 ID.7 Tourer Cornwall trip report.
41:02 That's a wrap for Ep 109.

Helpful Links.
More EV reviews & guides: Electrifying.com.
Subscribe for weekly EV podcasts & news.

Comments

27 responses to “Kilowatt Half Hour Ep 109: Chery’s UK production plans, EV sales… and Toyota electrifies the Hilux”

  1. @DFID7Tourer Avatar
    @DFID7Tourer

    When I was test driving EVs nearly two years ago I found the most attentive dealerships to be Skoda and VW as they seemed genuinely interested in their products and giving me a decent test drive. Ford were not far behind although not quite as attentive. I found BYD to be quite arrogant only offering a chaperoned drive around the block rather than a proper test drive which annoyed me. Hyundai were poor too in what they offered and the whole test drive experience but this could just be due to a very poorly managed local dealer.

  2. @rayjones9231 Avatar
    @rayjones9231

    I recently went to 3 Chinese dealerships & found that the sales people knew very little about the cars they were selling. I knew more from watching YouTube videos.

    1. @Finglebat Avatar
      @Finglebat

      Obviously, Electrifying YouTube videos 😂

    2. @rayjones9231 Avatar
      @rayjones9231

      @Finglebatobviously! 😂

    3. @KISS_paulstanley Avatar
      @KISS_paulstanley

      Have found the same with many cars I have bought from multiple brands. You should do your own research on the car before visiting the dealers for test drives.

    4. @DavidJones-jz9sb Avatar
      @DavidJones-jz9sb

      It’s not just Chinese I bought an Audi a few months back they were absolutely clueless

    5. @Tod_Thorp Avatar
      @Tod_Thorp

      Big shout out to DM Keith BYD in Leeds. I popped in to have a browse and was very impressed with their knowledge. And no, I didn’t buy a car or have any connection with them. I think it’s important to check the products in person.

  3. @phil.clarke Avatar
    @phil.clarke

    There was a similar fuss when Hyundai entered the UK market, albeit not as vocal in those pre-internet days!

    Anyway, loving my Omoda E5 apart from the lack of parts for repair – once Chery resolves that issue then there will be no stopping the inexorable rise of Omoda and Jaecoo in Britain; to date in 2026 Chery seems to be the fifth largest seller of new registrations according to the SMMT latest data – only outsold by VW, BMW, Ford, and Kia.

    1. @pauld7827 Avatar
      @pauld7827

      Why does everyone seem to forget MG EV’s? Their MG4 is consistently a good seller.

    2. @phil.clarke Avatar
      @phil.clarke

      @pauld7827 Good call – MG are producing some great EVs. They have about 4% of the market in 2026 to date (all cars sold in UK inc ICE)

  4. @christophernunn1536 Avatar
    @christophernunn1536

    Ferrari Luce looks like a wireless mouse 😂

  5. @barrydavis3044 Avatar
    @barrydavis3044

    Looking for a new car recently went to a Nissan dealership tucked away in the showroom was MG 🚗 😂

  6. @stephenwensley Avatar
    @stephenwensley

    Aren’t pick ups in this country until recently a tax dodge, so probably the correct way to test a pick up is a Home Counties commute into central Nodnol

  7. @helipeek2736 Avatar
    @helipeek2736

    35:14 Is it a coincidence that the AMG is limited to 87 mph?

  8. @pauld7827 Avatar
    @pauld7827

    I’ve had two MG EV’s, the first the facelifted MZ ZS and my present one, the MGS5 EV. The cars are great but the dealers are awful. I think I will probably go for Jaecoo EV next.

  9. @Ashley.D Avatar
    @Ashley.D

    Stick a hay bale in the back of the Hilux, I reckon that will push the load capacity and whatever horses are around might appreciate no engine noise

  10. @jacksoncat-c8c Avatar
    @jacksoncat-c8c

    I will be considering a Chery or a BYD as my next car. My last two cars have been Tesla’s and each time i have taken delivery they were found damaged.

  11. @stuartj5520 Avatar
    @stuartj5520

    How about strap a Citroen Ami in each pickup’s loadbed for the test?

  12. @dewarmc Avatar
    @dewarmc

    As for the contents in the back of the Hilux test, what about a 1T dumpy bag of Sand/Bricks etc 🙂

  13. @RayyanR05 Avatar
    @RayyanR05

    Should’ve mentioneed MG’s upcoming EU plant in Spain and how they’re planning to do more engineering and production within Europe to better meet European preferences. Still really gutted how they will bafflingly produce in anywhere but the UK.

  14. @dcvariousvids8082 Avatar
    @dcvariousvids8082

    To test a pickup, load with 30-50 1.8m fence posts and enough Rylock & top wire to run a fence, with the posts 1.5m-2m apart. Don’t forget to also pack, the steel bar, posting mallet or driveall, hammer, a bag of fencing staples, fencing pliers, wire strainer and tape measure. A packed lunch and water for the day. Oh, and a deep milk crate; always easier to start driving a post when standing on a milk crate. Plus either a bowsaw or chainsaw plus kit.

  15. @AnnieSargent Avatar
    @AnnieSargent

    Dehydration can bring on bad nausea

  16. @roblenane6206 Avatar
    @roblenane6206

    Great episode as always. Im old enough to remember japanese cars entering the market and the no.1 feature was that they were called :zero defect” cars and had unheard of levels of reliability. The same cannot be said over chinese cars. MG being bottom of the reliability tables shows that there is still some way to go

  17. @GaryBush-o1u Avatar
    @GaryBush-o1u

    Just name it the ‘over half hour kilowatt show!’

  18. @JjaysYoutube Avatar
    @JjaysYoutube

    I love the Abarth 600e just the claimed range of 199miles isn’t enough, wish they could figure out how to put a larger battery in there, even a claimed range of 250 would be better. If they do find away I will definitely be buying one.

  19. @JjaysYoutube Avatar
    @JjaysYoutube

    I really wanted the Alpine A390 to have a nicer/sportier interior, I feel it’s to similar to the Mégane’s interior to match it’s racier exterior design.

  20. @stephenlevett8934 Avatar
    @stephenlevett8934

    I do wonder how well the Hilux will do as it is now classified as a car by HMRC.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *