New Nissan Micra EV – no longer a ‘granny car’, Google announces Gemini updates

The iconic Nissan Micra is set to return in late 2025 as a fully electric vehicle (EV), marking a significant shift for the popular compact car. Designed with European customers in mind, this sixth-generation model aims to combine an assertive new personality with zero-emission mobility, signalling a major step in Nissan’s electrification offensive across Europe.

The launch is part of a broader strategy that will see Nissan introduce four new fully electric models by 2027, including new versions of the LEAF and JUKE. Designed at Nissan’s Design Europe (NDE) in London, the new Micra boasts an “audacious and assertive” exterior, moving away from its long-held “grandma car” image to appeal to a younger, broader audience. Tech Digest 

Chinese giant BYD is already making a major impact on UK car buyers with its rapidly expanding range of electric cars. Now it’s aiming to win more sales on a fresh battleground – the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) market.  The brand’s executive vice president, Stella Li, has revealed plans to supplement the existing BYD Seal U DM-i – the sole BYD hybrid model currently sold in the UK – and the Seal 06 DM-i that will be arriving soon with a succession of new PHEV cars for Europe.  Li explained: “We’re going to continue to bring more PHEVs here, the DM-i, and then different models.” Autoexpress

UK retailer Marks and Spencer has warned that disruption from a devastating cyber attack is likely to continue until July. The retail giant revealed the significance of the breach in an update on Wednesday, which has led to online clothing and home orders being suspended since it was targeted last month. Bosses warned that it is expected to wipe £300m from profits, as food sales have been hammered after the attack reduced availability across its stores. Telegraph 

Elon Musk has said he is committed to remaining as Tesla’s chief executive for at least five years, as the electric carmaker faces pressure from consumers and the stock market over his work with Donald Trump’s government. The world’s richest man said he will cut back on political spending after heavily backing the US president last year. Tesla has borne the brunt of the outrage against Musk over his work with Mr Trump as part of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which implemented cuts across the US federal government. Sky News 

Hacked AI-powered chatbots threaten to make dangerous knowledge readily available by churning out illicit information which the programs absorb during training. The engines that power chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude – large language models (LLMs) – are fed vast amounts of material from the internet. Despite efforts to strip harmful text from the training data, a report concludes that it is easy to trick most AI-driven chatbots into generating harmful and illegal information, showing that the risk is “immediate, tangible and deeply concerning”. The Guardian

Today at its I/O conference, Google has announced a new AI Ultra plan, which will be offered alongside the newly-renamed AI Pro plan (previously known as AI Premium). AI Ultra is $249.99 per month and will initially be available in the US only with an offer to get the first three months at 50% off. It has 30TB of Google cloud storage and includes YouTube Premium. AI Pro remains $19.99 per month as before. Google says Ultra gives you the most powerful models with the highest rate limits, as well as early access to its “most exciting experimental AI products before anyone else”. GSM Arena