Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Short, tight, and dense, TDS gathers the latest automotive headlines from around the globe and puts them in one place. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
🚨 A quick heads up that the editorial team will be off on Monday due to the holiday and TDS will return on Tuesday.
The first cup of coffee is gone and it’s time for a second so let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Heading into the weekend with the Lexus LS and am realizing the laundry list of features one might expect in a flagship that costs $94,990 that are missing including a surround-view camera system.
🇨🇳 Ford and China’s BYD are reportedly in talks for the Blue Oval to source batteries from the Chinese automaker for upcoming hybrids, though it’s unclear at this point how the two would set the arrangement up to avoid heavy tariffs.
📉 Porsche reported its worst sales slump in 16 years attributed mostly to poor demand in China, but notably every third car the automaker sold in Europe last year was electric.
🎉 Mercedes-Benz is gearing up for a busy year with a slew of new vehicle debuts.
🔋 Ford CEO Jim Farley said the automaker’s $30,000 electric truck has hit the prototype stage and is “like the Apollo or Gemini mission.”
🥳 Rivian is celebrating as the startup automaker announced the upcoming R2 has now hit the manufacturing validation stage with units rolling off the assembly line.
🫸 The electric Genesis GV90 SUV has reportedly been delayed, again, and will now enter production in the second half of 2026.
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