Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news roundup serving up the biggest automotive headlines from across the globe.
The Downshift gets you up to speed with quick recaps of stories, fit with links for those who want to dive deeper into the news. Here’s your bulletin for Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
📈 Hyundai has announced its May sales figures, and while overall sales have increased by 3% against May 2025, the biggest story is that the company sold 39% more Sonatas compared to that same period one year ago—8,456 examples, versus 6,082. It echoes similar gains for the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, as sedans are showing signs of life again in the U.S. [Hyundai]
🎱 Toyota has given the GR86 a slight update with improved throttle calibration, shifter feel, and new interior trim options. [Toyota]
🏭 United Auto Workers at GM’s axle plant in Three Rivers, Michigan, owned by Dauch Corp, walked off the job on Monday. According to individuals said to be familiar with the matter, the company has about two weeks of axle inventory currently on hand. [Reuters]
🐎 Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna backed up the decision to offer the Luce in an interview, saying, “There are clients that are telling us, ‘I will become your client if and only if you have an electric traction car. Otherwise, I will not take an [internal-combustion vehicle] because I have to be consistent with the messaging that I’m giving to my son and my daughter.'” The chief executive also restated a commitment to support a diversity of powertrains, and that Ferrari will never offer a Level 3+ autonomous car. [Drive]
🍏 The Mazda MX-5 Miata has received a new color called “Zinc Green,” which barely qualifies as green and is so flat and gray that it’d be more at home on a Bronco. [Mazda]
🚘 Mini is reportedly reintroducing dual exhaust tips and adding more quirky colors to its repertoire in an effort to “get back to how it was launched in the U.S,.” in the words of one dealer that attended a BMW retailer meeting last month. [BMW Blog]
⚡ BYD’s sales finally rose for the first time in nine months in May, up precisely 0.3% from the same period one year earlier. [Bloomberg]
🦊 Foxtron—the EV-making arm of Foxconn, the electronics manufacturing giant best known for making iPhones—has announced a Tesla Model Y rival powered by an LFP battery pack that looks a little more minivan than SUV. It’ll go on sale first in Taiwan. [InsideEVs]
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