A watershed period in the auto industry transition to EVs is approaching.
And the coming cleverness is not from China, but from the ranks of the so-called "legacy" car brands that so many early EV adopters have disparaged as having lost their relevance.
Tesla may have swept all before it in the EV stakes so far - including becoming the ACT's top-selling car of 2023 - but there are familiar industry players working on their own electric solutions which aim to reshape the market again.
Both Toyota and Nissan are building pilot production lines for their first generation solid-state batteries due out in the next three years.
Toyota, the world's largest car maker, and Japan's second largest oil refiner, Idemitsu Kosan, signed a deal six months ago for the mass production of solid-state batteries using proprietary technology which is said to rid these batteries of their durability issues.
Between them the two companies have around 200 patents on the technology, with Idemitsu Kosan providing the specific "solid" electrolyte used in the batteries.
When solid-state technology hits the required Toyota performance and durability standards - which are some of the most exhaustive in the international automotive industry - then the likes of Tesla and BYDs may be badly exposed on the most important areas of fast charging times, extended range, and boosted power output.
Solid state, too, provides more energy density which, in turn, means the batteries are lighter and takes up less room.
Heat always has been the solid-state battery's biggest enemy.
However, there's an almost exquisite irony in that a troublesome byproduct of the oil distillation process - sulphur - has now become a useful ally in solid-state durability.
Sulfide solid electrolytes are claimed to eliminate the heat-induced cracking of the EV battery.
The advanced development phase has finished, and the commercialisation process is now well in train. The cost of production is under intense scrutiny as the Idemitsu pilot plant in Chiba is built.
Toyota's role in this collaboration is straightforward. It already has a modest EV production capability and can quickly scale up if the consumer market responds well to the new battery technology.
Nissan started off the whole mass production EV idea back in 2010 but was rapidly out-teched and overtaken by Tesla and the Chinese scale-ups.
Solid state battery tech - with all its benefits - is potentially a way for Nissan to claw back some lost ground.
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz is preparing to roll out a small sedan which will challenge the world's best EVs on range.
The impressive CLA, revealed in concept form by tennis great Roger Federer in Munich late last year, is described as the company's "new hypermiler for the electric age".
Chief designer Gordon Wagener, who has been critical of the sameness of the Chinese EVs, said "we will make a difference with our iconic [design] and that will set us apart from that sea of sameness".
The CLA will have a predicted single-charge range of more than 750 kilometres and energy consumption of around 12 kWh/100km.
This comes from a new electric drive unit which has an 800-volt architecture and 93-per cent efficiency battery to the wheels over long distances.
It enables high-power 300+ kW DC charging including a 50 kW boost, which can deliver up to 400km of range in 15 minutes.
There will be a total of four models based on the small car concept: a four-door "coupé", a wagon and two SUVs. And it will have luxo cabin architecture which will make the Chinese brands
