The week in EV tech: Glitz on the coast, grit from Detroit

By Nick Godt Published August 17, 2025

Welcome to Digital Trends’ weekly recap of the revolutionary technology powering, connecting, and now driving next-gen electric vehicles.

Monterey Car Week and its jewel event The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering have become the automotive world’s most exclusive runway. Here, the richest of the rich—and the most daring of the designers—unveil concept cars that seem plucked from sci-fi dreams. Yet in the same week, a very different kind of revolution was also announced by Ford: a $30,000 midsize EV pickup, born from a new software‑designed, small‑battery platform meant to power a whole new “family” of affordable electric vehicles. It’s a reminder that while ultra‑luxury is dazzling, democratized EV tech isn’t just possible—it’s on the horizon.

At The Quail, brands unleashed show‑stoppers resting somewhere between movie props and next‑gen vehicles.

·       Cadillac’s Elevated Velocity concept redefined luxury and utility with flair: gullwing doors; bold 24‑inch wheels; and modes like Terra for off‑road, Elements Defy vibrating debris off the body, and Sand Vision for enhanced visibility in dust storms—all wrapped in cabin amenities like red‑light therapy and a “waterfall” screen embedded in the steering wheel.

·       Karma Automotive impressed with its Kaveya super‑coupe and “GT‑UV” study—complete with a production‑ready interior, carbon‑fiber structure, and a blistering 1,000 hp electric drivetrain.

·       A wave of ultra‑luxury and performance electrics also made their presence felt: from Rimac’s 2,107‑hp Nevera Rhypercar (price: ~$2.5 million), to Acura’s RSX prototype, powered by an in‑house EV architecture and showcasing Honda’s e:Architecture, soon to reach production. Not to mention Mercedes‑AMG’s futuristic Concept GT XX with 1,341 hp from triple axial‑flux motors, a radical performance blueprint.

Set against this spectacle of excess, these vehicles illustrate the creative peak of EV tech: performance, luxury, radical design—yet firmly perched out of reach for most of us.

Now look at the other end of the spectrum: Ford’s bold announcement of a $30,000 midsize EV pickup, built on a software‑defined vehicle platform, sparked a collective intake of breath—not for its headline price, but for its implications.

This ‘universal EV Platform’ is designed with a small, affordable LFP (lithium‑iron‑phosphate) battery, fewer parts, and an architecture structured to spawn a family of cost‑efficient models. More than just building a pickup, Ford is signaling the arrival of integrated EV tech where intelligent software, battery management, and production‑scale efficiency converge.

Unsurprisingly, Ford CEO explicitly framed the move as a technological and price war with BYD—China’s EV champion known for cost‑effective batteries and platform economies. Ford’s plan is a direct challenge to the global dominance of affordable EVs emerging from Asia, blending scale, simplicity, and local battery production to undercut and compete.

Ford’s new generation of EVs will be built as software-defined vehicles, meaning their core systems—everything from performance tuning to infotainment and battery management—will be controlled by centralized software platforms. Much like a smartphone, they’ll receive over-the-air (OTA) updates, enabling Ford to introduce new features, improve efficiency, enhance safety, and fix bugs without a trip to the dealership.

This concept first became reality in 2012, when Tesla introduced OTA updates in its Model S, setting a new standard for connected vehicle technology. In the years that followed, Chinese EV startups NIO and XPeng adopted similar software-first architectures, launching their own OTA-capable vehicles around 2018. By 2021, American EV makers Lucid and Rivian also embraced the software-defined model, reinforcing the shift away from the traditional, hardware-centric approach to vehicle design.

Today, SDVs are becoming increasingly commonplace across the industry. For drivers, this means owning a more adaptable and future-ready vehicle—one that can evolve over time. Automakers can remotely update vehicle behavior, improve range estimates, refine infotainment interfaces, and even introduce entirely new capabilities after the car has been sold. This also paves the way for personalized experiences and subscription-based features, where owners can unlock upgrades or tailor their vehicle’s digital environment on demand.

What’s most compelling is the contrast—and the convergence—of these stories.

On one side, Monterey’s lawn dazzles with what’s next-level bold: solar visions, luxury interiors, hyper‑performance, AI‑driven cabins, and exaggerated power figures. On the other, Ford offers a quieter, yet perhaps revolutionary pivot: EV tech embedded in affordability, not as an afterthought, but as its core. Software-defined platforms mean updates, performance, safety, and user features can be upgraded without hardware overhaul—a glimpse at how mass‑market EVs can evolve fast.

This isn’t just a tech fantasy. It signals that EV solutions for the mainstream are maturing. Deep integration of cost‑effective battery chemistry, lean parts architecture, and software-centric control are what make an attainable EV reality—not just for well‑heeled collectors, but for everyday families.