Episode 19 for February 18, 2026 delivers the deepest dive yet into Australia’s EV market momentum.

We break down Nio’s record-breaking battery-swap scale and what it means for the 2026 Firefly launch here, Mazda’s aggressively priced 6e sedan going head-to-head with Model 3 and Seal on range, price and features, Leapmotor’s B10 five-star safety win plus confirmed cheaper variants and the smaller B03X in evaluation, the first right-hand-drive BMW iX3 Neue Klasse preview landing for local familiarisation.

Toyota’s multi-powertrain next-gen Yaris including full EV, the Gumtree survey showing hybrids now considered by over 50% of buyers, Tesla’s CarPlay rollout delayed by iOS 26 adoption, why fleets delaying for “better batteries” risk higher long-term costs per AFMA insights, car makers quietly lobbying to keep the NVES dumping loophole open, Skoda’s new in-car gaming, video and native Spotify upgrades for its EVs, BYD’s execution speed giving it an edge in a crowded market, the Holden-era mindset that dismissed Chinese cars and how EVs flipped it.

Horizon Minerals’ $175m raise to repurpose the Black Swan nickel plant in WA’s critical-minerals heartland, and the latest Endgame Analytics implications for decarbonising transport.

All tied directly to what it means for Australian drivers, fleets and the 2025–2030 NVES targets.