James Bell is the head of PR and comms for Kia in America, and he's overseen the brand evolve from being a budget/used car alternative into a premium competitor, particularly in the EV space. Hot on the heels of announcing the affordable EV3 for the US, James speaks with Max to discuss how Kia isn't letting up on its EV platforms and strategy despite the doom and gloom of some US market forecasters. In fact, he's quite confident EVs are an inevitable future for passenger transport, even if some of his colleagues at other OEMs are taking big writedowns and blaming EVs for strategy failures.

Max and James go over
- Kia's reinvention as a premium, tech-forward brand competing with European auto
- The Georgia plants where many Kia are built in the US and consumers wanting desirable product regardless of origin
- The new EV3 which competes with the Bolt and Nissan LEAF as an affordable but desirable compact car
- His experience almost running out of range in a tiny Mercedes B-class electric during the very early days of EVs

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Check out the new Kia EV3

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Alan Clarke, executive director of Advanced EV Programs at Ford, joins Max to discuss his team's work on the Universal EV Platform—an ambitious plan to make low-cost, next-gen vehicles that make the existing Mustang Mach-E and Ford F-150 Lightning look old-school. Ford's first BEV efforts were well received but had no path to profitability and were simply too expensive for consumers. Now, his team of Tesla vets and auto industry outsiders is using first principles engineering to do more with less, starting with a Ranger-sized pickup truck around $30,000.

Max and Ed go over
- The engineering tradeoffs going into the design like battery chemistry choices
- Emerging use cases like vehicle to grid and vehicle to home
- What first principals engineering looks like and the benefit of starting fresh
- Merging Michigan and California cultures to create a startup environment inside of one of the world's largest automakers

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Check out Ford's Bounty Hunters video

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Ed Kim joins Max from AutoPacific, where he's the chief analyst, to discuss data and insights he's gotten from working with nearly every major OEM on EVs' near future outlook. The good news? There's lots of work on affordability. Also, Republicans really are warming to EVs, as our own polling also shows. The bad news? The affordable EVs can't come soon enough, as fire sales on existing inventory is likely unsustainable for the industry.,

Max and Ed go over

• The exciting recent news out of Detroit with Ford's Universal EV Platform
• The upcoming launch of the affordable R2
• The rise of software-defined vehicles across the industry
• Where the industry goes after the loss of the tax credit

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Resources and Links:
Check out AutoPacific's Insights

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Corey Cantor from the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) joins Max to discuss some positive trends for EVs going into the new year. 2025 was a rough year for EVs with the axing of federal support after Republican-led legislation dropped the $7,500 credit on new vehicles, and sales have shown it. However, automakers are bringing new compelling products out in mainsteam market segments, the used market has never been better for EV-curious shoppers on a budget, and fast chargers are expanding rapidly.

Max and Corey go over

• How providers like IONNA and Mercedes are racing ahead in charging
• The market effects of used EVs, plug-in hybrids, and range-extended EVs
• Advancing state and federal policies like surface transport reauthorization
• What this moment of recalibration means for the long term Western EV market

Staff writer for InsideEVs and auto journalist Kevin Williams joins Max to discuss his experiences reporting on and driving Chinese EVs. How compelling are they in 2026 and how do they stack up to Western automakers? What does he make of Canada's new policy to lift tariffs on them and allow Chinese cars into their market?

Max and Kevin go over

• The tech going into new EVs from Xiaomi, XPENG, Geely, and others
• How it compares to what Western OEMs have done
• Why China's EV market may not be as bulletproof as it looks
• Canada's warming to Chinese imports
• The feasibility of joint ventures with US and European companies

▶️ Watch the episode: YouTube
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Follow Kevin's work
View our new batch of polling at EVs for All America

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Veteran political guru and pollster behind EVs for All America, Mike Murphy, joins Max to chat about his scheming with Governor Newsom for a new California EV tax credit that could fit into the state budget. He also shares a new batch of polling we've conducted at EVs for All America, highlighting several interesting demographic shifts for EVs going into 2026; including a shrinking partisan gap (Republicans dislike EVs much less than they used to!). Join the two for a fun chat and a return to form for Directly Current in the New Year. The new season is on!

▶️ Watch the episode: YouTube
Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform

Resources and Links:
View our new batch of polling at EVs for All America

⚡ Stay Plugged In

• Subscribe to Directly Current
• Support EVs for All America
• Visit the EV Politics merch store

• Subscribe to Directly Current
• Support EVs for All America
• Visit the EV Politics merch store

• Subscribe to Directly Current
• Support EVs for All America
• Visit the EV Politics merch store