Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Quick, dense, and focused, TDS gathers the latest automotive headlines from around the globe and places them in one spot. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
The first cup of coffee is gone and I’m definitely ready for the second, so let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Spending the week with the 2026 Mazda CX-70 and find the turbocharged inline-six to be smooth, but the tuning almost feels like in Normal mode it’s being restrained. The steering is nicely weighted, but the suspension seems less happy on broken, frozen, heaving pavement than the last CX-90 I drove in the summer months.
💡 Toyota is keenly aware it can not ramp production of the new 2026 RAV4 quickly enough to meet demand; the automaker told dealers worried about lost sales to get creative and make up the volume with other vehicles noting the large stockpile of trucks on dealer lots along with the opportunity to expand sales of similarly-sized vehicles such as the Crown, Crown Signia, bZ, and upcoming C-HR.
🤝 Ford and Geely are reportedly discussing a partnership that would see the Chinese automaker utilize the American automaker’s factory space in Europe to produce vehicles–enabling Geely to step around tariffs–while also potentially creating a framework for shared vehicle technologies to defray costs.
👀 The electric Kia PV5 van was spotted testing in Michigan with U.S.-market design changes, which indicate the automaker might bring its funky-looking electric van to our market.
💺 The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class will be available without leather in the base trim, but the German automaker won’t offer a leather-free model in the U.S.
🏭 Scout’s U.S. factory being built in South Carolina has now blown past its original budget by 50% with reports of the automaker now spending $3 billion.
🔋 General Motors’ strategy for cheaper EV batteries is now all about going hyper local with investments in sourcing American materials.
🎉 Early production of the electric BMW i3 is now underway in Munich with customer cars said to be rolling off the assembly line in the second half of 2026.
🍾 Subaru began production of the 2026 Forester Hybrid at the automaker’s Lafayette, Indiana plant, marking the first hybrid the Japanese automaker’s made in the U.S.
🏎️ Adrian Newey’s first Aston Martin Formula 1 car finally took to the track, though it came later than the competition.
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