Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
TDS summarizes all the morning’s biggest auto industry headlines into one quick read, so you can get up to speed and on with your day. Each item contains a link you can follow for deeper info. They don’t contain coffee, though, so you’ll have to grab a cup of your own.
Happy Wednesday, here’s what’s happening.
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☝️ Volkswagen has revealed its new ID 3 Neo EV. While it isn’t due for sale in the States, it’s an example of VW putting all its feedback into practice, with a dashboard that sheds practically all capacitive touch controls and sliders for real, physical buttons.
💸 In other VW news, the conclusion of ID 4 production at the company’s Tennessee plant in favor of the new Atlas is expected to eat into its first-quarter earnings, Reuters has reported citing a management call.
🚐 Honda is recalling about 440,000 Odyssey minivans, ranging from model-year 2017 up to and including 2022, for side airbags that may deploy at inappropriate times, like when hitting potholes or speed bumps. Owners will need to bring their vehicles in for service, which requires flashing new software that can’t just be downloaded over the air.
😇 BMW told Australia’s CarSales that it’ll consider launching some new “brand shapers” (read: enthusiast or halo models) only once it’s completely revitalized its core lineup.
🔌 Ionna, the North American EV charging network founded as a joint venture between eight automakers, has announced a partnership that will bring 350 charging stations to Circle K locations. It’s also still very much trying to make the word “rechargery” happen, which is unfortunate.
🔋 Chinese battery giant CATL has announced a new partnership with SAIC-GM-Wuling to bring 10-minute charging to market in a race against BYD, per Electrek.
💷 An all-new, V8-powered Jensen Interceptor, called the Interceptor GTX and built by Jensen International Automotive, a company that has specialized in restoring the British company’s classic cars, will debut this spring, Autocar reports.
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