- Elon Musk’s AI firm blames unauthorized change for chatbot’s rant about ‘white genocide’ – Guardian
- Toyota to release new EV with Subaru in N. America, Japan in 2026 – Mainichi
- Jaguar’s Rebrand Might Get a Rebrand—Would That Make It a Re-Rebrand? – Motortrend
- Toyota overhauls supply chain process, gives 52-week forecasts instead of 13-week – Automotive News
- Musk’s xAI Grok white genocide posts violated ‘core values’ – CNBC
- How Ivan Espinosa’s shock therapy aims to restart Nissan ‘heartbeat’ – Automotive News
- Pandastic: Fiat cuts the starting price of its new baby SUV by £1000 – Autocar
- Rivian’s Software Chief on Architecting Volkswagen 2.0 – Bloomberg
- Silicon Valley’s New Hold on Washington – Wall Street Journal
- Hyundai India’s quarterly profit declines nearly 4% on weak domestic demand – Reuters
- Hungary continues to woo China as BYD opens up European centre, creating 2,000 new jobs in the region – Fortune
- Flavio Briatore Has Just Taken Over Alpine and Has a Promise to Keep – New York Times
- LG Energy faces obstacles diversifying US anode supply chain for EV batteries – Nikkei
Friday Morning Auto News, May 16, 2025: “White genocide” blamed on rogue employee. Toyota releases new EV. Jaguar’s re-rebrand. More.
Thursday Morning Auto News, May 15, 2025: Musk needs options. Nissan urges faster trade talks. Geely profits triple on record sales. Musk’s Grok hallucinates about “white genocide.” More.
- Elon Musk Needs More Options – Bloomberg
- Nissan CEO urges faster Japan-U.S. trade talks – Reuters
- Geely Automobile’s Profit More Than Tripled on Record Sales – Wall Street Journal
- Exclusive: Musk took leased cars back so Tesla could use them as “robotaxis.” Instead, Tesla sold them – Reuters
- Toyota slashes cross-shareholdings by $3.7bn – Nikkei
- Musk’s Grok makes “white genocide” claims on X about South Africans – Axios
- Zeekr: Q1 Earnings Snapshot – Washington Post
- Forget SUVs: Minivans are having a renaissance—and they’ve never been this plush – Fortune
- Toyota bZ4X Touring revealed as rugged SUV-estate – Autocar
- Geely, in leadership shakeup, appoints Zeekr head as new group CEO; Q1 profits jump – Automotive News
- First look: The future of Apple CarPlay has arrived, and it’s in an Aston Martin – Autocar
- Emirates in Talks with Musk’s SpaceX to Get Starlink on Flights – Bloomberg
- Chery doesn’t rule out UK factory but says more growth needed first – Autocar
- Tesla Stock Is Falling. Options Activity Is Off the Chart. – Barrons
- The 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland Is Like L.L. Bean Boots, But a Car – Motortrend
- The bosses of Renault and Stellantis have teamed up to campaign for the survival of small, affordable cars in Europe – Autocar
- Japanese automakers face $19B hit from Trump’s tariffs – Automotive News
- Volkswagen’s chunky new range-extender SUV is looking unlikely for Europe… – Autocar
- VW Group names veteran exec Werner Tietz as R&D boss – Automotive News
- Musk’s election PAC sued over alleged failure to pay $100 to petition signers – Reuters
- Stellantis to return Maserati production to its Modena hometown – Reuters
- Japanese car parts makers invest $115m more in Mexico – Nikkei
Wednesday Morning Auto News, May 14, 2025: Waymo recalls 1,200. Baidu robotaxis coming to EU. Tesla shipping Chinese parts again. More.
- Alphabet’s Waymo recalls over 1,200 vehicles after collisions with roadway barriers – Reuters
- China’s Baidu plans robotaxi expansion to Europe and Turkey – Automotive News
- Baidu prepares to launch driverless taxi in Europe, WSJ reports – Reuters
- Tesla to resume shipping Chinese parts for Cybercab, source says – Reuters
- BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz recall cars in China, Geely offers to buy Zeekr: 7 EV reads – SCMP
- U.S. consumer finance watchdog scraps Toyota settlement – Automotive News
- 2026 Toyota C-HR – Toyota
- Elon Musk Says Starlink Is Coming to Saudi Arabia – Businessinsider
- Volvo wants its US and China businesses to operate more independently – Autocar
- The Cybertruck was supposed to be apocalypse-proof. Can it even survive a trip to the grocery store? – Guardian
- Baidu’s robotaxi unit plans Europe expansion – CNBC
- Volvo CEO: long-range PHEVs could come to Europe – Autocar
- Freelander due UK return as electrified 4×4 with JLR design – Autocar
- Stellantis freezes plan to overhaul dealer structure in Europe – Automotive News
- Ford to recall more than 273,000 vehicles – Reuters
- Porsche faces mounting problems, rattled by China slump, weak EV demand and U.S. tariffs – Automotive News
- Daimler Truck expects Q2 North American orders to be roughly on Q1 levels – Reuters
- Honda delays electric vehicle expansion in Canada – Bnnbloomberg
- Workers strike in protest against job cuts at Ford Germany – Reuters
- Hot new Vauxhall Mokka GSe primed as sub-brand goes EV-only – Autocar
- Honda Says U.S. Tariffs Will Erase $4 Billion From Profits – Autoblog
Tuesday Morning Auto News, May 13, 2025: Rare earth magnets released. EV credit imperiled. Nissan in crisis, closes 7 of 17 plants. More.
- Exclusive: Beijing has issued first rare earth magnet export permits, Volkswagen suppliers on the list – Reuters
- U.S. House Republicans seek to kill EV tax credit, loan program – CNBC
- Nissan to shut more factories, double planned job cuts after massive loss – Automotive News
- Honda projects a 70% annual profit nose-dive this year because of Trump tariffs – Fortune
- Renault Expects 2.2-bn-euro Hit From Nissan Restructuring – Barrons
- Nissan announces new cost-savings measures, withholds FY2025 estimates – Reuters
- Honda Signals Profit Drop as Carmakers Brace for Trump Tariffs – Bloomberg
- Battery maker CATL’s IPO goes against the current – FT
- Honda sees tariffs cratering profits, postpones Canada EV outlays – Automotive News
- Nissan takes axe to costs after tough year; Honda sees profit falling – Reuters
- Honda signals profit drop as carmakers brace for Trump tariffs – Japantimes
- Volkswagen to ‘re-engage’ in China EV market by third quarter of 2026, CFO tells FT – Reuters
- JLR records best profit in a decade as it primes new EVs – Autocar
- Tesla Has Some Robotaxi Explaining to Do Weeks Before Launch – Bloomberg
- Toyota reveals new name, upgraded tech for its sole U.S. EV – CNBC
- India’s Tata Motors tops fourth-quarter profit view on higher JLR sales, lower costs – Reuters
- D.C. Tesla registrations rise amid local backlash – Axios
- WeRide CEO Explains How Uber Deal Will Help Make Its Robotaxis Safer – Businessinsider
Monday Morning Auto News, May 12, 2025: Strike at Ford Germany. Polestar narrows loss. Nissan cuts 20,000. More.
- Ford’s Germany workers to strike at Cologne plants – Reuters
- Polestar narrows quarterly loss on cost-saving push, improved demand – Reuters
- Nissan to more than double planned job cuts to 20,000 globally – Nikkei
- Tesla manager claims he was fired for warning Elon Musk is at fault for tanking EV sales – Fortune
- China’s Rare Earth Curbs Have ‘Changed Psychology’ at US Firms – Bloomberg
- Toyota to reveal new RAV4 on 21 May – Autocar
- Polestar Trims Losses on Cost Cuts, Sales of High-Margin Models – Bloomberg
- Stellantis eyes November for start of hybrid Fiat 500 production – Reuters
- Polestar Trims Losses on Cost Cuts, Sales of High-Margin Models – Bloomberg
- Import-reliant Mazda braces for U.S. sales decline, withholds outlook on tariffs – Automotive News
- The Final Frontier of Luxury in Autos Is Sound – Bloomberg
- Tesla Stock Is Back Above $1 Trillion. It’s All About China. – Barrons
- Chinese Elite’s Favored Car Brand Is Getting a Modern Makeover – Bloomberg
- Nissan to cut over 10,000 more jobs globally, NHK reports – Reuters
- Volkswagen Sells Green Hybrid Bond as Issuers Rush to Market – Bloomberg
- Zaoui’s Co-Founder Bets on Franco-Italian M&A With Milan Move – Bloomberg
- New 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLB to be ‘massive step up’ – Autocar
- China’s Voyah enters Middle East with Abu Dhabi flagship store – Chinadaily
- Spain’s Indra seeks to buy Iveco’s defence business, El Economista reports – Reuters
- U.K. announces $1.3B AESC gigafactory funding deal – Automotive News
- Lotus Cars Are Driving on Fumes in the Trade War – Bloomberg
- Long road to go until AI passes its driving test, says Li Auto CEO – Chinadaily
- Uber eyes Chinese firms for robotaxi expansion – Chinadaily
- Musk says testing gold card visa program in ‘quiet trial’ – Fortune
- Toyota faces biggest hit from Trump tariffs among auto companies – Fortune
Friday Morning Auto News, May 09, 2025: ‘Musk has destroyed the brand.’ Nissan ditches plan for EV battery plant. U.S. carmakers against U.K. deal. More.
- In a first, a pension fund has voted to block new investments in Tesla: ‘Musk has destroyed the brand’ – Fortune
- Nissan abandons plan for EV battery plant in southern Japan, Nikkei reports – Reuters
- U.S. Carmakers Question U.K. Deal – Wall Street Journal
- Audi CEO expects ‘more bearable’ tariff regulation in coming months – Automotive News
- Audi plans to sell Italdesign, Italian unions say, as the struggling VW Group brand seeks savings – Automotive News
- More Hong Kong IPO hopefuls emerge as sentiment draws global investors – SCMP
- Ex-Tesla Worker Must Pay Company’s Costs Defending Bias Claims – Bloomberglaw
- AM Rina revealed as 5.0-litre V8, manual tribute to the 1960s – Autocar
- Volvo Sells €500M Bond as Tariff Concerns Weigh on Automakers – Bloomberg
- US exceptionalism becoming a matter of perspective – Reuters
- Stellantis: Auburn Hills virtual reality lab improves assembly lines – Freep
- Audi CEO expects ‘more bearable’ tariff regulation in coming months – Reuters
- BYD and Chinese EV peers eye South Korea as export market – SCMP
- Win for UK cars will not cushion the probable blow to taxpayers – FT
Germany BEV Monthly: Tesla kaputt.
Can you spot the Tesla on the chart of April BEV registrations in Germany? Read the fine print: Tesla managed to sell all but 885 units in Europe’s largest auto market, that’s nearly half of what Tesla moved in April 2024. What’s worse (and mostly overlooked in the media) Tesla’s Jan-April Germany sales are down a whopping 60.4%, pulling the rug from under the usual argument that Tesla’s first month of the quarter usually sucks: All four months of German Tesla sales sucked big. Also, those pent-up registrations of the refreshed Model Y, predicted as the antidote for flagging sales, don’t seem to be happening.
Are Tesla’s sales down because Germans have turned BEV-averse? The opposite is true: German BEV registrations rose a massive 53.5% YOY, reports Germany’s regulator Kraftfahrt Bundesamt. A rising tide should lift all boats, except when they are under water. Tesla, a company operating an alleged “gigafactory” outside of Berlin, has been out-BEVed by most “legacy” OEMs, even by China imports of BYD and SAIC. And it’s not just Germany turning on Tesla. Tesla sales have gone miserable all over Europe. Even in Tesla’s adopted home-market China, “Tesla’s China-made electric vehicle sales fell 6% in April from a year earlier, extending declines for a seventh month, as the U.S. automaker grapples with intense competition from its Chinese rivals and a tarnished image in Europe,” Reuters writes.
Gone are the days when Tesla fans were proud of their best-selling Model Y. Now in Germany, 9 out of the Top 10 best-selling BEVs are Volkswagen Group models, led by the Volkswagen ID.7, the ID.3, and the ID.4/ID.5. Sure, the Y still is Tesla’s best-selling model, but it sold only 639 units out of a Tesla-total of 885. All hopes of Tesla fans were pinned on the Model Y, but it is not a sales-savior, it is a bust. On the German April BEV best-seller charts, the Y landed on Rank 25 (!!!!) behind such famous BEV brands as the electric Fiat 500, the Hyundai INSTER, and the battery-operated Opel Corsa.
Thursday Morning Auto News, May 08, 2025. Tesla’s Robotaxi trademark refused – too generic. Fed waits to see how trade war shakes out. Toyota forecasts 35% profit drop. More.
- Tesla’s ‘ Robotaxi ‘ trademark refused for being too generic, TechCrunch reports – Reuters
- Toyota forecasts a 35% drop in profits as Trump’s auto tariffs begin to bite – Fortune
- Fed Waits to See How Trade War Shakes Out: Evening Briefing Americas – Bloomberg
- 2026 Corolla Cross – Toyota
- Toyota Stock Is Falling. The Tariff Impact Is Surprisingly Small. – Barrons
- Tariffs could force import-reliant Mitsubishi to revive U.S. output through Nissan joint investment – Automotive News
- Baidu’s Apollo teams with Car Inc to launch autonomous driving rental service – Reuters
- How bad software can ruin an otherwise decent car – Autocar
- Exclusive: BYD aims to sell half its cars outside China by 2030, sources say – Reuters
- BYD, SAIC boost sales of combustion-engines cars in Europe – Automotive News
- Tesla’s India country head steps down, Bloomberg News reports – Reuters
- Uber Is Focusing on Suburbs to Grow Its Ride – Hailing Business – Businessinsider
- Modi Sends a Message to Trump With UK Trade Deal – Bloomberg
- Toyota sees 21% full-year profit decline as tariffs take a bite – CNBC
- Toyota expects $1.2 billion tariff hit in April, May driving 20% profit drop – Automotive News