Alex Garin

Four years in the making

Ceer was set up in 2022 as a joint venture between Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Foxconn, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer best known for assembling iPhones. The name means roughly "drive forward" in Arabic, and the brand sits at the centre of Vision 2030's push to build a domestic automotive industry rather than simply import one.

The EXOBOT pair are Ceer's first production vehicles and will be built at the Ceer Manufacturing Complex in King Abdullah Economic City, which the company describes as the Middle East's largest car plant. They are the first two of seven models planned by 2030, with the later cars expected to move down into compact and midsize segments with a wider mix of powertrains.

Design: a wedge with a message

Nobody will mistake the EXOBOT for anything else on the road. Both body styles share a razor-sharp wedge profile, a thin horizontal light signature and a 2.4-metre windscreen raked at just 15 degrees. Ceer says the shapes draw on desert landscapes and the Nabataean rock architecture of Hegra.

The party piece is the Shahin Wing Doors, named after the falcon. Each door is almost three metres long, swings upward through a compact 60 cm arc and opens both rows at once. The lighting uses 32 elements — a nod to 1932, the year the Kingdom was unified.

These are big cars. Both ride on a 3,200 mm wheelbase and are about 2.1 metres wide, with the sedan stretching to 5.26 metres and the SUV to 5.02 metres.

Powertrain, range and charging

Launch versions — badged First Edition and Plus — use a tri-motor all-wheel-drive setup rated at 850 hp and 1,000 Nm, fed by a 112 kWh NCM battery on an 800V electrical architecture. DC fast charging peaks at 250 kW, good for 10–80% in under 30 minutes, while AC charging runs at 11 kW.

Ceer has also announced a higher-output configuration with 1,111 hp and 1,500 Nm, though it has not yet said which trim will carry it.

EXOBOT sedan vs SUV: key figures

Built for Gulf roads — and Gulf summers

Both models get dual-chamber air suspension, rear-wheel steering and steer-by-wire operated through a yoke. Ceer says the system cuts lock-to-lock steering input from around 400 degrees to 160.

Heat management gets unusual attention. A Halo Cooling system is claimed to bring a 65 °C cabin down to 32 °C in ten minutes, helped by triple silver-coated glass and cooled storage in the console and boot. The lower door glass can switch between clear and opaque at the press of a button. 

Cabin tech highlights

• Main display: 48-inch 8K pillar-to-pillar "Digital Horizon" screen
• Controls: 10.4-inch central touchscreen, 8-inch rear display, physical keys for gear, climate and volume
• Assistant: Arabic and English voice control, 3D navigation with EV route planning
• Comfort: four-zone climate, ventilated front and rear seats, fragrance system
• Safety: seven airbags, AEB, adaptive cruise with lane centring, surround-view cameras, remote parking
• Coming via OTA by 2028: automatic lane changes, Highway and Traffic Jam Pilot, Navigate on Pilot

First Edition, warranty and timing

The range opens with the EXOBOT First Edition, finished in Harrat Grey or White Musk with black detailing, red calipers and a black-and-red Nappa cabin. Each car carries a numbered plaque tied to its VIN. The more configurable EXOBOT Plus follows.

Ownership terms are generous: a six-year/200,000 km vehicle warranty, eight-year/200,000 km battery cover, six years of servicing and roadside assistance, plus up to SAR 2,000 towards a home charger. Pricing has not been announced. Saudi deliveries are expected from early 2027, with neighbouring markets following from 2028. There is no word on Europe or the US.

Why it matters

For the Gulf, the EXOBOT is as much an industrial statement as a car. Ceer is targeting 45% locally sourced materials by 2034, and its success will be a test of whether sovereign money and Foxconn's manufacturing know-how can create a credible new automaker from scratch — something Western startups have found brutally hard.

Ceer has opened with a halo car rather than a volume seller. The EXOBOT proves Saudi Arabia can design something bold; the harder test comes when the compact models arrive and have to compete on price with BYD, Geely and the rest of a crowded Gulf EV market.

BYD's Widest-Ever European Commercial Lineup

The ETT 44 headlines what BYD Commercial Vehicles is calling its widest European line-up to date, spanning battery-electric trucks from 3.5 to 44 tonnes. Alongside the flagship tractor, BYD showed new 28-tonne rigid 4×2 and 6×2 trucks — including a swap-body variant and a hooklift version — plus a preview of a light-duty urban model and the E-Vali electric van. BYD says it will back the hardware push with charging infrastructure, energy storage, energy management, and financing services for European fleet customers.

European deliveries of the ETT 44 are reported for the second quarter of 2027, with BYD also signaling plans for European production by 2027 rather than exporting from China indefinitely.

Specifications

Range, charging, and power figures are manufacturer claims made at unveiling and remain subject to final market-specific confirmation.

A Safety-First Pitch

BYD is leaning hard on independent validation to build European trust: the ETT 44 became the first long-haul electric truck assessed under Euro NCAP's truck safety programme, scoring 89% for Safe Driving, 73% for Crash Avoidance, and 80% for Post-Crash Safety, alongside five-star and CitySafe honors. Euro NCAP specifically praised the truck's direct vision — helped by a low cab position, lower-door glazing, and camera-based digital eMirrors — while noting room for improvement in some frontal and lane-departure collision-avoidance functions. Only two other long-haul trucks, from Mercedes-Benz and Scania, matched that five-star result at this year's assessment.

How It Stacks Up Against Tesla and the Field

The ETT 44's debut lands directly alongside Tesla's own European Semi announcement — both unveiled at the same Hannover show in the same week — setting up a direct range and charging comparison. BYD's 600 km claimed range and 1.5 MW peak charging edge out Tesla's confirmed European Semi figures of 550 km and 800 kW, at least on paper. Volvo, meanwhile, quotes up to 700 km for its new FH Aero Electric, also shown at IAA — though as outlets covering the show note, manufacturer-quoted figures across brands aren't directly comparable due to differing test conditions and duty cycles.

With Tesla, Volvo, Daimler Truck, MAN, and Scania all showing new electric trucks at the same Hannover event, BYD's ETT 44 arrives into one of the most competitive weeks Europe's heavy-duty EV market has seen — and BYD is betting that a big battery, fast charging, and a clean safety record are enough to win a foothold against entrenched European truck makers.

Kia's PBV Strategy Scales Up

The PV7 is the second vehicle in Kia's dedicated Platform Beyond Vehicle program, following the PV5 — which was named the 2026 International Van of the Year. Where the PV5 established the PBV concept, the PV7 is built specifically to move Kia further into the light commercial vehicle segment with more space, payload, and configurability. Kia previewed the model with teaser images back on August 31 before the full public debut in Hannover.

At IAA Transportation 2026, running September 15-20, Kia is showing three PV7 variants alongside seven PV5 derivatives, underlining how central the PBV family has become to its commercial vehicle strategy.

Specifications

Cargo and Passenger, Built for Business

The PV7 Cargo is aimed squarely at fleet and delivery operators, with a low loading height and up to 8,000 liters of cargo volume in its high-roof configuration — enough to sit as a genuine rival to established players like the Ford Transit Custom and Renault Trafic. The PV7 Passenger version leans into flexible seating and long-distance comfort, positioning it for shuttle, MPV, and business-transport use rather than pure cargo hauling.

Kia is also emphasizing conversion flexibility and fleet management tools across the range, continuing the modular, business-first pitch that's defined the PBV lineup since the PV5.

Where It's Headed

Kia confirmed the PV7 will launch in South Korea and Europe in 2027, with Australia following in the fourth quarter of 2027 in local specification. That timeline puts it on a similar horizon to several rival electric LCVs currently expanding across those same markets, setting up a competitive fight in a segment that's rapidly electrifying.

With the PV5 already crowned International Van of the Year and the PV7 now scaling that formula up into a genuinely large, flexible commercial EV, Kia is positioning its PBV family as a serious, dedicated alternative to the traditional van makers — built from the ground up as electric rather than adapted from a combustion platform.

A Solar Company's First Tractor

GoSun has spent years building solar-powered ovens, coolers, and portable chargers, so a tractor is a real category jump — but the company is applying the same core idea: put solar collection wherever the product spends its time in the sun. The Moonrider 27 mounts a 1,100-watt solar canopy directly over the operator, continuously topping up the battery while the tractor works a field or simply sits parked between jobs. GoSun frames the pitch simply: stop plugging in, let the sun do it.

Underneath that canopy is a genuine utility tractor rather than a lightweight riding mower in disguise — four-wheel drive, a standard rear 540/540E power take-off, and a hydraulic three-point hitch rated for 1,653 lbs of lift capacity, meaning existing mowers, tillers, post-hole diggers, and other PTO-driven implements bolt straight on without proprietary attachments.

Specifications

Living With the Solar Canopy

The math on the solar canopy is modest but real: GoSun quotes roughly 1.5 hours of extra runtime per full day of sun exposure. That's not enough to run the tractor indefinitely off sunlight alone, but as a trickle-charge layered on top of overnight 220V charging, it can meaningfully stretch a working day — particularly for property owners doing intermittent mowing or hauling rather than continuous heavy tillage. The canopy doubles as shade for the operator, which is a nice secondary benefit that pure specs don't capture.

Worth noting: the solar array is optional, not standard. Buyers who skip it get the same tractor and battery, just without the daytime top-up — meaning the core value proposition (diesel replacement with lower running costs) doesn't actually depend on solar at all.

Pros

• Genuine tractor capability — standard PTO and three-point hitch mean existing implements just bolt on
• Solar canopy meaningfully extends field time without requiring a generator or extra trips to an outlet
• Electric drive eliminates oil changes, filters, and routine diesel maintenance
• Tight 4.6-foot turning radius suits vineyards, orchards, and tightly spaced properties
• Competitive pricing against comparable diesel compact tractors, before fuel savings

Cons

• Claimed 5-hour runtime is load-dependent and unverified by independent third-party testing so far
• Solar canopy adds meaningful cost ($3,000 list) for a relatively modest 1.5-hour daily runtime boost
• Deliveries don't begin until early 2027 — this is a preorder, not a shipping product
• As a first tractor from a company better known for solar appliances, there's no long-term reliability or service-network track record yet

The Moonrider 27 isn't trying to out-power a diesel compact tractor — it's betting that quiet operation, near-zero running costs, and a genuinely useful solar assist will win over small farms, vineyards, and large properties willing to be early adopters. Whether GoSun can deliver on the 2027 timeline and back it with real-world service support will decide if this becomes more than a clever pitch.

EHang Leans on Global Expansion as China Delays Cool

EHang used its Q2 2026 earnings call this week to acknowledge that domestic momentum has stalled. A serious accident involving a piloted light-sport aircraft in China at the end of June pushed regulators toward tighter safety oversight, delaying approvals for domestic human-carrying commercial operations — and EHang has withdrawn its full-year revenue guidance as a result.

The company is compensating by pushing hard overseas and into non-passenger revenue. It's expanding into aerial firefighting, logistics, and drone media shows domestically, while accelerating its "Global Fast Track Program" abroad. In August, its EH216-S completed Central Asia's first pilotless human-carrying eVTOL flight in Astana, Kazakhstan, carrying the country's Minister of Transport during the Games of the Future 2026. In Thailand, EHang says it expects an experimental flying permit in Q3 and a formal commercial operation certificate by year-end.

Joby Doubles Down on Manufacturing Ahead of Dubai

Joby Aviation is investing to double its US manufacturing capacity, targeting production of four aircraft per month by 2027. The buildout supports Joby's exclusive air taxi agreement in Dubai, where the company has partnered with UK-based Skyports to build four vertiport sites — near Dubai International Airport, Dubai Mall, the Atlantis the Royal resort, and American University in Dubai — ahead of a planned 2026 service launch.

Joby has also disclosed more than $1 billion in potential aircraft and service sales, and joined the White House's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), which aims to get air taxi operations running in US cities ahead of full FAA type certification.

China's Startup Field Keeps Growing

DreamFly, a Chinese eVTOL developer following a "cargo-first, passenger-second" strategy, said this week it raised hundreds of millions of yuan in a Series A+ round, bringing its cumulative funding to nearly 800 million yuan (roughly $119 million). It's the latest sign that China's eVTOL field extends well beyond EHang, with multiple domestic players racing on both cargo and passenger applications.

Regulators and Infrastructure Are Catching Up

• A Worldwide AAM/UAM Routes and Programmes Guide now counts 284 eVTOL-based infrastructure and route-planning programmes underway across 66 countries.
• AirVenture 2026 featured the aviation industry's first dedicated Vertical Lift Center, built with the Experimental Aircraft Association, Robinson Helicopter, and Vertical Aviation International — a sign eVTOLs are being folded into general aviation's regulatory framework via the MOSAIC certification pathway.
• EUROCAE has produced the ED-342 standard for using simulation as a means of compliance in EASA VTOL handling-qualities certification.
• UK-based SkyFly Technologies is developing the Axe, an all-electric two-seat VTOL with roughly 100 miles of range, alongside the Longbow, a hybrid-electric autonomous logistics aircraft rated to carry 200 kg up to 400 miles.

The pattern across this week's news is consistent: certification and safety oversight remain the industry's real bottleneck, not the aircraft themselves. Companies with global footprints — EHang and Joby chief among them — are increasingly routing around slow domestic approvals by launching first wherever regulators move fastest, from Kazakhstan to Dubai.

What the Qiji X1 Actually Is

DaxAI Robotics unveiled its Qiji lineup — officially the Qiji "All-Terrain Intelligent Mount" — at the World Robot Conference in Beijing on August 19, 2026, and crowds watched riders climb into the saddle and steer it across a track of gravel, timber, and other obstacles. It looks like a cross between a robotic dog and a motorcycle: a dark grey, motorcycle-sized machine that strides on four mechanical legs, with a rider seated on top gripping handlebars.

DaxAI is pitching it as more than a novelty. The company frames the Qiji as suited to off-road transport, heavy-load carrying, and emergency rescue work in places wheeled vehicles can't reach — mountain trails, forests, and open fields.

Specifications

Figures reflect the most widely corroborated specs across launch-day coverage; some outlets report differing weight, speed, and price figures, so treat exact numbers as approximate ahead of an official spec sheet from DaxAI.

Meet the Lineup: X1 vs. XS

DaxAI launched two variants side by side. The Qiji X1 is the pure-legged model described above, while the Qiji XS is a wheel-legged version that can switch between walking on its legs and rolling on wheels, aimed at faster travel on smoother terrain. The XS carries the same 300 kg dynamic load rating but starts higher, at roughly RMB 359,000 (~$53,000).

• Qiji X1 — pure quadruped, legs only, built for rough, uneven terrain
• Qiji XS — wheel-legged hybrid, weighs about 320 kg, switches between walking and rolling, quoted at up to 40 km/h in wheeled mode
• Both models share DaxAI's electric drive and joint-actuator hardware, adapted from motorcycle and quadruped-robot components

Not the First to Try — But the First to Ship

DaxAI isn't the only company chasing the rideable-robot idea. Kawasaki Heavy Industries has its Corleo concept, a hydrogen-powered, two-seat robotic mount unveiled as a concept vehicle, with Kawasaki targeting a commercial launch only by 2035. The Qiji X1, by contrast, is already taking orders and moving toward production this year — putting DaxAI years ahead of that timeline, even if the Qiji's price and rough-terrain focus target a narrower buyer than a mass-market vehicle.

The Qiji X1 turns "rideable robot horse" from a trade-show gimmick into a product with a price tag and an order page. It won't outrun an actual horse, let alone a motorcycle, but as a signal of how fast quadruped robotics is moving from warehouses and factory floors into things a person can climb onto and ride, it's hard to top.

A Long Time Coming

The Range Rover Electric's waitlist opened back in late 2023 and drew more than 61,000 names, but JLR pushed the on-sale date from its original late-2025 target into 2026. The delay was blamed partly on softer global EV demand and partly on a severe cyberattack that hit JLR's production systems starting August 31, 2025, halting manufacturing worldwide for over a month and contributing to a reported £559 million quarterly loss.

Now built alongside its combustion siblings at JLR's Solihull plant in the UK, the electric Range Rover is finally shipping — and JLR is positioning it not as a stripped-down EV variant, but as, in the company's words, the most accomplished Range Rover it has ever built.

Specifications

How Its Range Stacks Up

The Range Rover Electric's headline number — a nearly 120 kWh battery — is genuinely huge, but its EPA range doesn't lead the luxury electric SUV pack. Rivals with smaller or similarly sized packs post longer estimated ranges, a sign of how much efficiency still separates a legacy automaker's first EV platform from purpose-built rivals.

What's New, What's Familiar

Visually, JLR kept changes subtle. The Electric is nearly indistinguishable from the fifth-generation combustion Range Rover that launched in late 2021 — a slipperier grille and new alloy wheels are about the extent of the exterior redesign, together trimming the drag coefficient by just 0.01 Cd. The cabin carries over largely unchanged too, aside from EV-specific graphics with AI-assisted range prediction and over-the-air battery updates.

Where JLR clearly did put in the work is refinement: the electric model runs about 7 dBA quieter under full throttle than the V8, and the brand is leaning hard into "Rolls-Royce-like" hush as a selling point over outright EV specs.

Pros

• Genuine V8-rivaling power (405 kW) with none of the combustion noise or vibration
• Massive 118.5 kWh battery and 350 kW charging keep road-trip stops reasonable
• Full Range Rover capability retained, including 35-inch wading depth
• Priced close to the V8 Autobiography rather than at a steep EV premium
• 61,000+ pre-orders show strong demand despite the delay

Cons

• EPA range trails newer rivals like the Escalade IQ and Lucid Gravity by well over 100 miles
• Arrives roughly five years after Range Rover first previewed electrification plans
• Exterior and interior design carry over almost unchanged from the combustion model

The Range Rover Electric isn't trying to win a range or efficiency contest — it's betting that buyers who already want a Range Rover will pay for one that's quieter, just as capable off-road, and finally electric. Whether that's enough against faster-charging, longer-range rivals will become clear as the first deliveries reach customers.

The launch caps roughly a year of testing on Denver's streets, including cold-weather validation for the city's winter conditions. Waymo's initial service area covers about 60 square miles, stretching from Cory-Merrill to North Washington and Villa Park to City Park — taking in downtown, RiNo, Capitol Hill, Cherry Creek, and venues like Coors Field, Ball Arena, and Empower Field at Mile High.

Access is rolling out gradually rather than to everyone at once. Tens of thousands of Denver residents had already joined the waitlist ahead of launch day, and Waymo says riders will be invited in phases as the fleet scales up. Denver International Airport is not part of the initial coverage area, though Waymo has said airport service is planned for a future expansion.

The vehicles serving Denver are built on Waymo's sixth-generation platform, nicknamed Ojai, which the company says brings larger cabin screens and more rear legroom than earlier generations.

• Launch date: Tuesday, September 1, 2026
• Initial coverage: ~60 square miles of central Denver
• Simultaneous launches: San Diego and Tampa
• Access: rolling invitations from an existing waitlist
• Airport service: not yet included, planned for later expansion

The rollout hasn't been without friction. Colorado taxi and rideshare drivers have challenged part of Waymo's state permitting, and a recent multi-vehicle crash pushed another car into a stopped Waymo. Public sentiment is also mixed — a Colorado Polling Institute survey last month found 58% of non-riders said they were unlikely to try a self-driving taxi, versus 32% who said they were likely to.

Denver becomes Waymo's latest — and coldest-climate — commercial market, testing whether the company's driverless tech can hold up through a full Rocky Mountain winter while it keeps expanding its US footprint city by city.

What the Q-Truck Is

Developed by Westwell under its Qomolo autonomous-driving brand, the Q-Truck is a purpose-built, full-time autonomous new-energy commercial vehicle for container logistics. Rather than automating a normal tractor unit, Westwell removed the driver's cab entirely — the front end houses only the computing, sensing, cooling, and battery systems. Westwell calls it the world's first mass-produced unmanned commercial vehicle, and it has been in commercial operation since 2020.

That cabless layout isn't just styling. Dropping the cab frees up cargo space and lets the vehicle be optimized purely around the sensor suite, battery pack, and swap mechanism, since no human ever needs to see out of it or climb inside.

Specifications

Specs reflect the current-generation Q-Truck as marketed by Westwell and reported in fleet deployments; battery swap time and load figures vary slightly by source and deployment site.

How the Q-Truck Has Evolved

Westwell has iterated the Q-Truck through several hardware generations since its 2020 debut, steadily pushing range and payload as battery and control systems matured.

Range has followed a similar pattern: early units were rated around 200 km, while the fourth-generation trucks in current fleet service settle at 150 km per charge — likely a trade-off tuned for real-world duty cycles and battery-swap-first operation rather than a straight regression.

Autonomy and Safety Systems

The Q-Truck's autonomous stack runs on Westwell's WellDrive platform, combining sensor fusion, positioning, planning, and control for around-the-clock operation with high-precision control in tight, complex yards.

• Multi-sensor fusion: LiDAR, a Westwell proprietary long-range binocular camera, and multiple monocular cameras for 360° monitoring
• Perception continues to track surroundings even when the tractor and trailer are decoupled
• Precision docking in enclosed logistics roads under 3 m wide
• Redundant braking and dual power supplies with SOH monitoring on low-voltage batteries
• EHPS dual-source steering pumps to eliminate single-point steering failure
• EBS and EPB systems providing complementary braking redundancy
• Power-off redundant protection for a safe stop during power loss
• Four emergency stop buttons positioned around the vehicle exterior
• Impact-sensing collision beams that respond and stop on contact within milliseconds

Pros

• Proven at commercial scale — in service since 2020 across five countries
• Cabless design maximizes cargo space and removes cab-related cost and complexity entirely
• Fast battery swapping keeps utilization high without long charging downtime
• Layered safety redundancy (steering, braking, power, emergency stop) built for driverless operation
• CE certified and already integrated into large operators' daily terminal workflows

Cons

• 150 km range and enclosed-yard design limit it to port, park, and industrial settings — not a public-road truck
• Requires dedicated battery-swap infrastructure to hit its fastest turnaround times
• Westwell doesn't publish full technical specs sheets publicly; figures come largely from case studies and press coverage

The Q-Truck isn't chasing the general trucking market — it's built to own a specific job: moving heavy containers around enclosed yards, continuously, without a driver. On that narrow but demanding brief, it's one of the few autonomous heavy vehicles with years of real commercial mileage behind it rather than just demo footage.