Peter McDonald
Our man from Ohme looks over an eventful few months for the car industry and the world of EVs – both nationally and internationally
April’s Shanghai Motor Show saw a fascinating array of EVs launched by both new and traditional brands. Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Mazda and Nissan all had new models on show boasting their latest electrified technology – both EVs, longer-range PHEVs and even the return of range extender models.
However, even more dramatic was the huge amount of news and new models from home-grown Chinese brands that will be of interest to those in the UK. MG, Leapmotor, BYD, Nio and XPeng all had new EV models to show off in Shanghai, while Chery – owner of Jaecoo and Omoda – was rumoured to be planning the forthcoming UK introduction of Lepas, Chery’s exciting value brand aimed at younger drivers.
Wherever your interest lies in the automotive market, the Shanghai show underlined that Chinese brands are here to stay – and are due to continue their impact on the EV sector. That’s especially so as they continue to rapidly progress, promising faster charging and new technology.
In McKinsey’s Annual Mobility Survey, EV buyers were shown to be less brand loyal than those buying an ICE vehicle and almost a quarter said they were either interested or very interested in Chinese EVs. As more EVs arrive into showrooms from more Chinese brands, those numbers are only likely to go in one direction. For fleet managers looking to continue to make or grow their switch to EVs, these new brands are going to be increasingly hard to ignore for the financial benefits that they bring.
The same is true rather closer to home at the recent CV Show at the Birmingham NEC. I’ve talked in this column before about the need for more van fleets to follow their car counterparts in their move towards electric vehicles. Electric van sales were up 102.6% in April 2025 compared to the same month in 2024 and, while there’s still some way to go, there’s evidence of groundswell of change. And now that thinking is about to become supercharged with, similar to Shanghai, arrivals from new and existing players in the van world.
In McKinsey’s Annual Mobility Survey, EV buyers were shown to be less brand loyal than those buying an ICE vehicle
Kia might be well known in the car world, but its new PBV commercial vehicle range will kick off with the new all-electric PV5 Cargo and a choice of two body lengths and two batteries in Cargo, Crew, Chassis Cab and Passenger bodystyles. With the order books already open and first deliveries due in Q4 this year, the PV5 will get a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty as standard and two-year service intervals with prices starting from £27,645.
Kia’s first foray into the van market in Europe will be very keenly watched indeed, especially with further PV7 and PV9 models planned for 2027 and 2029 respectively. By 2030 Kia is already expecting to be at 17,000 sales a year.
The names of Renault and Volvo are very familiar and respected in the LCV and HGV worlds, so their new joint Flexis brand arriving in 2026 will be targeting the urban delivery market with three different models. With a payload of up to 1.5 tonnes and a range of 280 miles, Flexis is targeting large distribution companies and has already gained plenty of interest from prospective customers.
Also at the CV Show was Farizon, the new van brand from Jameel Motors. Farizon’s SV van is available in three lengths, three heights and with three different batteries up to a whopping 106kWh flagship.
With all this news, both near and far, in the EV world, alongside changing geo-politics, the potential of global tariffs for certain markets and possible interconnected supply chain limitations for manufacturers, there’s no shortage of EV uncertainty in the short term.
So while there are undoubtedly some challenges in the market in the short term for further EV penetration in fleets and beyond in both cars and vans, the longer-term prognosis is far better than it might look currently.
Peter McDonald is mobility director at Ohme. Prior to his current role, he spent two decades working for automotive manufacturers including Nissan, SEAT and the wider Volkswagen Group.
