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Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Quick, dense, and lacking fluff, 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.
It’s cold and there’s snow on the ground again in Minnesota. The first cup of coffee is gone and it’s definitely time for a second, so let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: My wife’s 2015 WK2 Jeep Grand Cherokee High Altitude with the Hemi V8, and I still love this thing. On Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tires this thing is just a monster in the snow.
🔋 BMW’s aiming for EV sales to match that of its gas-powered cars in four years with the continued rollout of its next-gen electric vehicles; the sales gap is wide with the German automaker only having 17.9% of its deliveries in 2025 being electric.
💰 Audi’s pinning its hopes on the upmarket Q9 SUV to help stop the bleeding and boost 2026 profits.
🔋 LG said it will produce batteries in Michigan for Telsa to the tune of $4.3 billion for the automaker’s energy storage system business.
🏭 VinFast said it will resume production of its North Carolina plant this year despite the fact its losses are growing.
🧑⚖️ Tesla’s Cybercab name has an issue: the name is owned by a French beverage company.
🇯🇵 Nissan is joining Honda and Toyota by importing U.S.-built vehicles to Japan starting with the Murano.
🛻 The 2026 Ram 1500 BackCountry is the automaker’s latest off-road model and it slots between the Warlock and the Rebel.
⚙️ Porsche is developing a new shift-by-wire system that would enable a gearbox to change between being an automatic and manual setup.
🏷️ A prototype for a Mullen EV surfaced on Facebook Marketplace.
🔋 The Audi A2 nameplate is officially returning on an electric hatchback, though it’s unlikely to come to America.
🔨 RENNtech’s bringing back the Mercedes-Benz AMG Hammer with a hand-made V12 engine.
🔌 Toyota filed two patents for plug-in hybrid truck powertrains.
💸 Amazon reportedly owes New York City almost $10 million in idling fines.
Got a news tip or feedback? Drop us a line at tips@thedrive.com
As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media. He’s also a World Car Award juror.
