Downshift: Afeela Is Dead, More Backup Camera Recalls, and Stellantis Says Chrysler Is Safe

Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.

TDS aims to bring you all the biggest headlines in the automotive world every morning. Stories are summarized in a few sentences at most with links to follow for more information, for the especially curious. Happy Wednesday, let’s see what’s cooking.

🔊 Episode 9 of The Drivecast, The Drive’s new weekly podcast, will go live later today. Be sure to stay tuned, whether you listen on The Drive, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

🪦 It’s official: Sony Honda Mobility has pulled the plug on the Afeela project after Honda pulled the plug on its own 0 Series EVs, the joint venture announced Wednesday morning. The Afeela 1 electric sedan was to share a platform with the now-canceled EVs, so the shift in planning for Honda essentially doomed SHM as well. It’s the end of a saga for Sony that began all the way back in 2020, when it first showed off its Vision-S concept at CES, before Honda got involved. SHM says it will refund all reservation holders.

📹 Toyota will recall nearly 145,000 Lexus models, including the NX250, NX350, RX350, and TX350, due to rearview cameras that may not function properly when reversing. Dealers will update the relevant software free of charge.

🎥 Ford is also recalling about 255,000 SUVs, including the Explorer as well as the Lincoln Aviator, Nautilus, and Navigator, for wonky image processing module behavior that may impact the backup camera as well as ADAS features. This flaw should be corrected by an over-the-air update, if owners can’t bring their vehicles in for service.

🌟 Stellantis’ North American design boss, Scott Krugger, reaffirmed to media that the company is committed to the Chrysler brand in light of its recent leadership change. “There’s a lot going on in the studio, there’s a lot of interest in [Chrysler] from the highest levels of this company right now. We know there’s a place for Chrysler,” Krugger said, per Automotive News.

🇦🇺 Aussies love their pickups as much as Americans, but the Ford F-150, which only launched in the country three years ago, has had a rough go of it due to quality-control “teething problems,” CarSales reports. Ford Australia says a new process is in place to shore those up, including left-to-right-hand-drive conversions.

🚐 Mercedes-Maybach has teased the VLS, an especially opulent version of Merc’s upcoming VLE van that the brand describes as a “grand limousine.”

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