Sep 26, 2026 · Auto & Mobility Daily Digest
Auto and mobility headlines compiled for September 26, 2026, with summaries, links, and brief commentary.
I. Batteries & Circular Supply Chain
1. GM completes closed-loop battery recycling pilot with 100% recycled Ni/Co/Mn cathode material (Batteries / Supply chain)
Summary:
Cirba Solutions and trade coverage report that General Motors, Cirba Solutions and partners finished a closed-loop EV battery recycling pilot: about 80 end-of-life GM packs were processed into black mass at Cirba’s Ohio plant and refined into more than 12 metric tons of cathode active material (CAM) made with 100% recycled nickel, cobalt and manganese. Ultium Cells (GM–LG Energy Solution) built new cells from that CAM; GM assembled modules and packs at Factory ZERO and Spring Hill. First production vehicles—including Cadillac LYRIQ / VISTIQ / Escalade IQ models plus Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV variants—are rolling off the line to customers.
Links:
- Cirba Solutions — Closing the Loop: 100% recycled critical minerals power new GM EVs
- Electric Cars Report — GM Completes Closed-Loop EV Battery Recycling Pilot
Commentary:
“100% recycled” still covers only three cathode metals—but the loop has left the lab and reached production vehicles.
2. Mercedes deepens ProLogium partnership for priority Gen4 solid-state cell testing (Solid-state batteries)
Summary:
Carscoops reports Mercedes-Benz has strengthened its long-running tie-up with Taiwan’s ProLogium, gaining priority access to Gen4 lithium-ceramic solid-state cells for electrical, thermal and safety testing at Mercedes and third-party labs. The cells use ceramic separators and a non-flammable inorganic electrolyte aimed at fast charging and high power. ProLogium already runs a Taiwan plant and plans a Dunkirk, France site of up to about 44 GWh for European customers. Mercedes is also still testing Factorial Energy lithium-metal packs; an EQS with Factorial cells previously covered about 1,205 km on one charge.
Links:
Commentary:
Dual-supplier testing hedges solid-state scale-up risk; European capacity promises matter as much as lab range feats.
II. Autonomous Driving & Robotaxis
3. Tesla’s Texas Robotaxi + Cybercab registrations clear 500: 420 + 126 (Autonomy)
Summary:
Tesla Oracle, citing Texas AV fleet tracker data as of September 26, 2026, says Tesla has 546 registered Model Y Robotaxis and Cybercabs in Texas—420 Model Y Robotaxis and 126 Cybercabs. Cybercab registrations nearly tripled in recent days (about 69 on September 24). Most operations sit in Austin’s geofence; many Cybercabs have been spotted in Houston, hinting at a wider geofence and near-term launch. Vehicles are largely built at Giga Texas.
Links:
Commentary:
Fleet-count theater and city expansion are racing together—Texas is now the sharpest Tesla–Waymo battlefield.
4. Waymo ~4,000 vehicles and ~500,000 paid rides/week; Texas fleet up ~49% in three weeks (Autonomy)
Summary:
TechCrunch analysis (September 24) says Waymo now serves about 15 U.S. cities with roughly 4,000 robotaxis and averages about 500,000 paid rides weekly; about 80% of the fleet sits in California and Texas. Texas registrations reached about 1,102 as of September 24—up ~49% in three weeks—driven by sixth-gen “Ojai” minivans based on China-built Zeekr RT platforms (about one-third of the Texas fleet). MoffettNathanson estimates Waymo could import about 5,100 Ojais by year-end, though steep China vehicle tariffs raise costs.
Links:
Commentary:
Behind the multi-city story sits a Texas-first, China-chassis, tariff-heavy cost sheet—scale and margins are not yet in sync.
III. Market, Safety & Products
5. Cox forecast: Hyundai on track to outsell Ford in U.S. Q3 for the first time (Market / U.S.)
Summary:
CNBC cites a Cox Automotive forecast that Hyundai (including Genesis) could post about 511,421 U.S. sales in Q3 (+6.5% YoY) versus Ford’s about 504,172 (−7.1%), potentially making Hyundai the No. 3 seller behind GM and Toyota for the first time. Analysts point to thin Detroit hybrid lineups amid high fuel prices (AAA national average about $4.48/gal) and Ford F-Series supply disruptions. Cox raised its 2026 U.S. light-vehicle outlook by about 2% to 16.1 million. Ford said it still led Hyundai through August and highlighted cost advantages of Korea-built imports.
Links:
Commentary:
In this U.S. market, hybrid gaps rewrite the leaderboard faster than pure-EV slogans.
6. Ford recalls ~86 Mach-Es with replaced battery modules: repeated DC fast charging may risk power loss and HV fire (Safety)
Summary:
Morning Overview reports Ford told NHTSA that roughly 86 model-year 2023–2025 Mustang Mach-Es (Ford’s own count ~83) that previously received a replacement Battery Energy Control Module under unrelated repairs may report a full state of charge incorrectly; after repeated DC fast charging, that can lead to unexpected loss of propulsion and elevated high-voltage fire risk. Ford says it has no reports of crashes, injuries or fires tied to the condition. Owner warning letters are targeted for about October 26, 2026, with a free software reflash remedy aimed for December 2026.
Links:
Commentary:
Small population, big signal: EV safety risk can ride in on service parts, not just the factory line.
IV. Charging & Heavy-Duty Energy
7. Parkopedia partners with Voltality for real-time EV charging data across four SEA markets (Charging / Exports)
Summary:
electrive reports Parkopedia and charging-data aggregator Voltality will deliver auto-grade live charging data to OEMs in Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia—covering about 4,500 sites, 15,000 connectors and 23 charge-point operators. The pitch is that carmakers, especially Chinese brands, can skip country-by-country CPO deals; operators joining Voltality gain in-car visibility across the four markets. Parkopedia says SEA EV uptake is rising while infrastructure and digital charging experience still lag.
Links:
Commentary:
For China OEM exports, the next hurdle is less “are there chargers?” than “can the car find a working one?”
8. Australia’s Exploren commits ~A$30 million over two years for 600+ new DC fast chargers (Charging)
Summary:
The Driven reports Exploren (part of EVSE Australia) will invest about A$30 million over two years to expand its public network, add more than 600 DC fast chargers, modernize existing sites and add contactless payments so drivers need fewer apps. Many new sites aim for 200 kW+ plugs. Australia has put more than 150,000 BEVs on the road this year alone, straining demand; Exploren’s 2025 Engie ANZ network buy already added 200+ locations.
Links:
Commentary:
In a penetration climb, operators compete on payment friction and uptime—not plug counts alone.
9. Canada’s first two Tesla 1.2 MW Megachargers installed in British Columbia (Heavy-duty charging)
Summary:
Driving.ca reports R.R. Plett Trucking installed Canada’s first two Tesla-brand ~1.2 MW Megachargers (MCS) in Langley and Kamloops, with more planned in Golden, B.C., and Calgary to support an order of 12 Tesla Semis. The company says the chargers can add up to about 60% range in ~30 minutes; a commercial dual-post Megacharger starts around US$188,000 before installation. Versus ~3-hour DC fast charges on its Volvo electrics, MCS could enable double shifts; Plett says the sites will also open to other fleets.
Links:
Commentary:
Beyond Semi factory headlines, megawatt corridors are what make electric Class 8 trucks double-shift viable.
10. U.S. Green Water & Power hits ~10,000 charging ports in three years; more L2 and DCFC contracted (Charging)
Summary:
DriveTech News reports Green Water & Power (GWP) and Autel Energy energized their 10,000th U.S. Level 2 port about three years after starting the rollout—nearly 10 ports a day. GWP says it has contracts for 3,000+ more L2 units and 100+ DC fast chargers at hotels, apartments, schools and hospitals. The network has delivered about 16.6 million kWh, claims ~99.72% average uptime, and estimates more than 22,000 metric tons of CO2 avoided.
Links:
Commentary:
Destination and property charging is scaling quietly—the other main lane beside highway DCFC.
V. Supply Chain & M&A
11. India’s BlueBinaries to buy MicroNova’s automotive testing unit as NovaBinaries (M&A / SDV)
Summary:
MediaBrief reports Chennai-based mobility engineering firm BlueBinaries signed a definitive deal to acquire the automotive testing business of Germany’s MicroNova AG; the carved-out unit will operate as NovaBinaries GmbH, focusing on HiL systems, test automation, virtual validation and software test factories. MicroNova, based near Munich in Vierkirchen, supplies European OEMs with its EXAM automation platform. BlueBinaries cites ~$50 million projected annual revenue for the business and aims to scale toward ~$100 million as the industry moves into SDV and AI validation.
Links:
Commentary:
Software-defined vehicles make “can you validate it?” a capacity bottleneck—test-tool M&A is globalizing fast.
Today's Summary
- Batteries: GM puts recycled Ni/Co/Mn into production EVs; Mercedes keeps dual solid-state bets with ProLogium and Factorial.
- Robotaxis: Tesla’s Texas registrations clear 500 while Waymo’s Ojai-led Texas fleet jumps ~49% in three weeks—Texas is the densest AV duel.
- Market & safety: Hyundai may pass Ford in U.S. Q3 sales even as a small Mach-E BECM recall flags service-chain risk.
- Charging: SEA in-car charging data, Australian DCFC spend, Canada’s first Megachargers and U.S. property ports past 10,000 extend charging beyond highway plugs.
Daily Framing:
A closed-loop battery proof-point day, a Texas robotaxi arms-race day, and a global charging fill-the-gaps day—materials narrative, AV fleet counts and megawatt/property charging moved in parallel.
This digest is compiled from real-time search results and is for reference only.