BRIEFLY: Field Leaves Ford, Mercedes VLE and Free Charging | 16 Apr 2026

It's EV News Briefly for Thursday 16 April 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.

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DOUG FIELD TO LEAVE FORD
Doug Field, who joined Ford in 2021 from Apple and previously helped launch the Tesla Model 3, will depart next month on a voluntary basis, with CEO Jim Farley praising him as an "invaluable partner" in Ford's electrification journey. Ford is simultaneously restructuring, creating a new "Product Creation and Industrialization" organisation under COO Kumar Galhotra that unifies EV, petrol, and hybrid programmes, with the first vehicle on Ford's new Universal EV architecture — a midsize electric pickup — due next year.
DACIA READIES SUB-£16,000 ELECTRIC CITY CAR
Dacia has revealed spy shots of a new electric city car priced from under €18,000 (£15,600), designed in just 16 months with help from its China team, featuring a design closer to its SUV range than the related Renault Twingo. Expected to use a 27.5kWh battery with around 160 miles of range, the car will make its public debut at the Paris Motor Show in October 2026, with Dacia also planning three further EVs before 2030.
MERCEDES-BENZ LAUNCHES VLE RANGE FROM €82,260
Mercedes-Benz has launched the VLE range starting at €82,260, built on an 800-volt architecture capable of charging at up to 300 kW, enabling 355 km of WLTP range to be added in just 15 minutes. The range spans from the entry-level VLE 250 with an LFP battery to the VLE 400 4MATIC with a 305 kW all-wheel-drive system, with seating configurations from five to eight seats and pricing up to €113,000 depending on specification.
KIA EV2 FIRST EDITION JOINS UK ECG
The Kia EV2 First Edition now qualifies for the UK government's £1,500 Electric Car Grant, bringing its net on-the-road price to £26,995. The EV2 had its world premiere in January 2026, entered series production in March at Kia's Slovakia plant, and sits as the entry point to Kia's dedicated BEV line-up designed and built in Europe.
FREE ELECTRICITY ON GERMAN V2G TARIFF
Munich-based The Mobility House plans to launch a V2G electricity tariff in Germany, initially paired with the Renault 5, that could allow EV owners to drive for free by charging when renewable energy is cheap and selling power back to the grid at peak times. A 2024 French pilot with Renault showed that connecting a car for an average of 14 hours per day can reduce charging costs for 10,000 km of driving to effectively zero, with the Mercedes-Benz CLA and GLC also set to join the programme later in 2026.
BYD GAINS GROUND IN GERMANY
BYD is surging in Germany, with Carwow recording a 135% jump in purchase queries for the brand in Q1 2026, driven by rising fuel prices linked to the Middle East conflict and increasing new car costs making Chinese EVs more attractive. Interest centred on BYD's electric SUVs and the Dolphin hatchback, with Chinese-owned MG also seeing increased demand on the platform.
BYD'S JINAN HEADS FOR GERMANY
BYD's car carrier Jinan, one of the world's largest at 9,200-vehicle capacity, departed Shanghai on 17 March carrying fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles bound for Germany, arriving around 33 days later. The shipment highlights BYD's continued reliance on Chinese exports while European local production ramps up, with trial assembly underway in Szeged, Hungary since January and series production targeted for Q2 2026.
BYD PRICES SEAL 6 PHEVS IN AUSTRALIA
BYD Australia has confirmed pricing for the Seal 6 Sedan and Seal 6 Touring PHEVs, with the Sedan Essential starting at A$34,990 (around £18,380