Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Dense, quick, and complete, TDS is your one-stop-shop in the morning with all the latest automotive news you need to know gathered from around the globe placed in one spot. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
🚨 The second episode of The Drive‘s new podcast, The Drivecast, will go live later this morning. Stay tuned.
It’s Friday, the first cup of coffee is gone and it’s definitely time for a second. Let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Headed into the weekend with the 2026 Mazda CX-70 and have realized the front seat heaters, which have three levels of heat, can get extremely warm, which is lovely in Minnesota during the winter. I also find myself loving the buttons, knobs, and toggles for the climate control system, but man this infotainment system is just clunky with its Audi MMI-like scroll wheel interface in the year 2026.
💸 Stellantis announced a 22.2 billion euro ($26.5 billion) loss attributed to the company’s reversal on EV product plans; the automaker’s stock plunged as much as 25%, bringing share prices to their lowest point since the company now known as Stellantis was formed in 2021.
🔋 General Motors’ Global Vice President Scott Bell told Chevy dealers “don’t give up” when it comes to EVs, and that the automaker believes in the product despite current headwinds.
🔜 Infiniti dealers were told this week in Las Vegas as the National Automotive Dealer Association convention the QX65, which will be a coupe-like version of the QX60 crossover, will arrive in May.
📈 BMW of North America CEO Sebastian Mackensen believes the German automaker is poised to continue its sales record streak in the U.S. thanks to the influx of fresh product in the pipeline.
🔋 Jaguar Land Rover said it will unveil a smaller electric Range Rover later this year that is “unique” and nothing like what’s in the automaker’s lineup today; it’s expected to replace the Velar in the model mix.
🔋 Mercedes-Benz AMG will debut a coupe-like variant of its upcoming electric SUV in the second half of 2027.
🙅♂️ Audi execs shunned rumors that that the automaker’s electric sports car has been cancelled.
🔨 Ford’s going to take a page out of Tesla’s manufacturing playbook with its $30,000 electric truck with large unicastings to make production simpler and less expensive.
6️⃣ Mercedes-Benz AMG confirmed the C 63 plug-in hybrid with its turbo-four powertrain will be replaced by a turbo-six-powered C 53; the next C 63 is expected to have a twin-turbo V8 under its hood.
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