Ferrari’s controversial Luce debut got plenty of attention, though perhaps not the kind Maranello was hoping for. Rather than have cross-town rival Lamborghini feeling like it’s behind the times, it appears as though the brand’s CEO is even more content now that the Lanzador didn’t remain on schedule for an earlier debut. He’s openly doubling down on the idea that Lamborghini was right to delay the brand’s first EV.

In a round table with journalists, asked about the reaction to the Luce, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said his company made the “right decision” in postponing its first fully electric car, arguing that customer demand for electric supercars simply hasn’t materialized the way much of the industry assumed it would.

Read: EV Plans Wait As Lamborghini Expands V8 And V12 Lineup

According to Handelsblatt, Winkelmann said Lamborghini has spent years monitoring demand in the luxury segment. To no one’s surprise who’s been paying attention, the company found that acceptance of electric vehicles hasn’t climbed at anything close to the pace many had forecast.

The automaker had planned to launch the all-electric Lanzador before the end of the decade. Initially, production was simply delayed. Now, it won’t happen until at least 2030, if not later, because acceptance for EVs within the brand’s target demographic was “close to zero.” For now, Lamborghini has scrapped it and is looking at a new hybrid model to join the lineup in the near future.

Importantly, European regulations currently call for a ban on the sale of new combustion-powered vehicles beginning in 2035, although exemptions for e-fuels and certain low-volume manufacturers remain under discussion. While many exotic-car makers spent the last several years announcing ambitious EV programs, Lamborghini now appears content to let others test the waters first.

That’s probably a wise move considering its positioning. While nowhere near as successful as Ferrari, Lamborghini has its position underneath Volkswagen Group going for it. It’s currently one of the most profitable divisions. In 2025, it generated €3.2 billion ($3.7 billion) in revenue. Even though operating profit slipped from €835 million ($970 million) to €768 million ($892 million), the company still posted a remarkable 24 percent operating margin.

Reviving a discontinued nameplate is one thing. Building it profitably is another. In an effort to improve efficiency, reduce complexity, and boost quality for the 2027 Bolt, Chevrolet is employing a new batch production process for the affordable EV at its Fairfax Assembly plant.

The new-and-improved Bolt, unveiled late last year, is currently being built in relatively low numbers of between 2,000 and 3,000 vehicles a month. It is produced in batches of 30 identical copies at a time, all painted the same color, and it allows the carmaker to provide suppliers with a fixed seven-day schedule of exactly which models it’s building and when, ensuring parts arrive on site at the perfect time.

Read: Chevy Promised 255 Miles, The New Bolt Beats It Anyway

The logic is mostly about paint. By building 30 identically specced Bolts at a time, the paint shop equipment doesn’t need to be changed or cleaned as often, since all 30 get the same treatment. Seven exterior colors are on offer, so there might be 30 blue examples moving down the line together, followed by 30 red ones, and so on.

Speaking with Auto News, Michael Youngs, director of GM’s Kansas City plant, noted that the factory also keeps clones of each Bolt configuration to easily identify any issues with the models it’s building. If it finds one, the car will be pulled from the batch and replaced by another.

A New Production Process

“It was an idea that we had to look across the enterprise, not just in the plant but to suppliers, to say, ‘How do we make sure we can be as efficient as possible as we launch the Bolt?’ And the concept of batch was born,” Youngs said.

GM will continue building the Bolt in batches like this when the Fairfax also starts manufacturing the Chevrolet Equinox in 2027 and a new Buick crossover the following year. Indeed, the Equinox and this Buick will also be produced in similar batches.

For now, the Chevrolet Bolt remains a small seller for the brand, particularly when compared to the first-generation model, which posted several years of 20,000-plus sales. Through the first three months of this year, Chevy delivered just 791 examples of the 2027 Bolt, meaning it barely outsold the BrightDrop 400 and 600 electric delivery vans.

Nissan has scrapped plans to build electric drive axles at a factory near its Sunderland home in the UK, even after committing roughly $65 million to the project it announced just last year. The about-face is the latest piece of collateral damage from a company trying to drag itself out of a deep financial hole.

The EV drive units, which package the motor, inverter, and reducer into a single assembly, were going to be built by Nissan’s JATCO subsidiary at the Sunderland site, which opened last year. The UK government had thrown in a £12 million ($16 million) grant to help get things moving, and the facility was on track to bring in 183 new hires, although only 20 have actually been brought aboard so far.

Read: Nissan’s Cuts In Europe Could Make Space For A Chinese Roommate

The initial plan was for the factory to produce up to 340,000 EV drive units each year and it would have joined other facilities that JATCO operates in Mexico, China, and Thailand. According to Nissan, the reversal comes as part of the RE:Nissan revival plan, which aims to turn around the company’s dire economic situation. Nissan is now reviewing whether the plant can be adapted to build other types of powertrains instead.

Fighting Falling Sales

Nissan’s EV business in Europe is having a rough run too. Nikkei Asia reports that Ariya sales fell 44 percent in the 2025 fiscal year compared to the year before. Leaf sales cratered by 99 percent, though that figure comes with an asterisk: the old car has been retired and replaced by a more affordable new crossover. Nissan is banking on the new Leaf to become its top-selling EV in the region.

The company says there will be no immediate job losses among the 20 staff working at the site while it assesses whether the plant can be adapted to produce other powertrains. Despite the expensive change in plans, a government spokesperson says it will continue to support the brand.

“The UK automotive industry is vital to the North East,” they told the BBC. “That’s why, through our Modern Industrial Strategy, we’re delivering nearly £1bn of DRIVE35 capital and R&D funding to strengthen manufacturers and local supply chains in the region.”

Stellantis just pulled the covers off a gigantic new global strategy, and buried beneath all the boring corporate jargon is something buyers will really care about. Affordable cars are back.

The company says it plans several new sensibly-priced vehicles for North America, including two models priced below $30,000, and seven coming in under $40,000, all before the decade ends.

Also: Stellantis Quietly Showed Dealers A New Chrysler Starting In The $20,000s

North America will receive 11 all-new vehicles by 2030 as part of a wider global product offensive involving more than 60 launches and 50 major refreshes. And rather than trying to push EVs to audiences that don’t necessarily want an electric car, Stellantis is still betting on a broad mix of powertrains. The company confirmed future plans include 29 EVs, 15 plug-in hybrids or range-extenders, 24 hybrids, and nearly 40 combustion or mild-hybrid vehicles.

The backbone of this new strategy is a fresh modular architecture called STLA One that will underpin more than 30 models globally. Launching in 2027, it’s designed to replace multiple existing platforms with one scalable setup, supporting everything from compact hatchbacks to midsize SUVs.

Stellantis says it’s engineered specifically for different propulsion systems and can feature steer-by-wire tech, STLA AutoDrive autonomy, and STLA Brain software architecture. It will also deliver something called STLA SmartCockpit to allow drivers more interaction with their cars, and EVs get cell-to-body battery integration to reduce cost and weight.

Related: Stellantis And JLR Want To Co-Develop And Build Cars In America

The automaker is also reshuffling its brand priorities. Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, and Fiat have now become the company’s four primary global brands and receive the lion’s share of future investment. Around 70 percent of development spending will go toward those names and the Pro One commercial vehicle business.

Other Brands Play Second Fiddle

Other brands still survive, though they’ll get what they’re given when it comes to hardware, rather than get a say in what that hardware is. Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Chrysler, Citroen, and Opel are positioned as strong regional players using shared technology and platforms. Maserati also gets a time extension with two new flagship E-segment models promised, while Lancia and DS continue operating as niche specialty brands. 

Europe’s side of the plan includes a fresh wave of compact crossovers, hybrids, and city EVs designed to better compete against Chinese rivals rapidly expanding across the continent. Those cars could include the return of the iconic back-to-basics Citroen 2CV. Stellantis is also teaming up with its long-time partner in China, Dongfeng, to build and sell Voyah-brand cars in Europe.

And earlier this week it announced it was partnering with Jaguar Land Rover to develop cars for North America, a deal that could help JLR sidestep punishing import tariffs on the European-built cars it sells in the US.

Stellantis

If you can’t beat them, join them. Stellantis keeps getting deeper into China’s automotive world, first with Leapmotor, and now with Dongfeng. Not content with building bargain-priced Leapmotors in Spain, Stellantis announced plans today for a new joint venture with long-time Chinese partner Dongfeng that could see premium Voyah-brand cars built in France for European buyers.

The proposed deal would create a Stellantis-led company split 51-49 between the two manufacturers. Its responsibilities would stretch beyond simply importing cars. The new business would oversee manufacturing, engineering, purchasing, sales and distribution activities tied to Dongfeng’s new-energy vehicles across selected European markets.

Related: Jeep’s Next EV Could Be Made In China Instead Of Ohio After Stellantis Deal

Though Stellantis hasn’t confirmed where production would take place, Autonews says Dongfeng would set up shop at the Rennes plant in Brittany, in western France. Once capable of pumping out more than 400,000 vehicles annually, the site’s output has slowed dramatically over recent years. Today it mainly builds the Citroen C5 Aircross, leaving plenty of unused capacity waiting for fresh products.

That’s where Voyah enters the picture. Dongfeng’s upscale EV brand sold relatively small numbers in Europe last quarter, but local production could completely change its prospects. Building vehicles inside Europe would help sidestep tariffs aimed at Chinese-made EVs while also satisfying increasingly important Made-in-Europe expectations.

Courage Enters Brave New World

One model being suggested as a likely production candidate is the Voyah Courage SUV (seen below). The dual-motor, 429 hp (435 PS / 320 kW) EV has a 4.9-second 0-62 mph (100 kmh) time, a claimed 292-mile (470 km) WLTP range and Chinese-made versions are already on sale in Europe.

The move also adds another twist to Stellantis’ growing dependence on Chinese EV know-how. Just last week, the company confirmed future Jeep and Peugeot electrified models will be built in Wuhan beginning in 2027 for China and export markets. That means future Jeeps sold abroad could owe plenty to China’s rapidly evolving EV ecosystem.

From M-Hero To Jeep

Jeep’s image has always played heavily on its rugged Americana and military-flavored heritage. But under Stellantis, the brand’s electric future – at least outside of the US – is tapping into Chinese technology, manufacturing and supply chains. Last year we reported on rumors that the Dongfeng M-Hero M817 SUV (seen below) could be transformed into a Jeep.

Peugeot last month showed the Concept 6 and Concept 8 sedan and SUV that previewed a sharp-looking pair of future models that will also be built in China by Dongfeng, both for domestic consumption and export to global markets.

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa framed the latest deal as a natural evolution of the companies’ decades-long partnership. “With this new chapter in our collaboration, we will give our customers an even greater choice of competitive products and pricing,” he said, adding the alliance combines Stellantis’ global footprint with Dongfeng’s advanced EV expertise.

Xpeng is the latest Chinese car manufacturer to dive headfirst into the world of robotaxis, unveiling a specifically equipped version of the GX and quickly starting production.

Unlike companies like Tesla, Rimac, and Geely that have designed bespoke robotaxis from the ground up, Xpeng’s model is essentially just a specially equipped version of the GX it sells to the public. Using the GX as the basis for its robotaxi will significantly help the car manufacturer cut development and production costs.

Read: 200 Robotaxis Stopped In Traffic, Now China Has Stopped Issuing Permits

Xpeng hasn’t said whether its self-driving GX has the range-extender powertrain of the consumer model or instead the same all-electric powertrain. What we do know is that it’s powered by four in-house Turing AI chips with 3,000 TOPS of on-board computing power. It also includes steer-by-wire.

The SUV has been developed exclusively in-house and offers Level 4 self-driving capabilities. As of January, Xpeng has been testing its L4 vehicles on public roads across China and plans to launch pilot operations for its robotaxi service in the second half of this year.

Humans Still Play An Important Role

Just like the robotaxis being tested by Tesla, Xpeng’s models will initially have a human supervisor behind the wheel in case anything unexpected happens. However, the Chinese firm plans to ditch these “safety officers” by early 2027.

The Xpeng GX robotaxi also differs from most others being tested in China in that it relies on a vision-only system, also like Tesla. This means there’s no LiDAR or high-definition maps, instead relying on cameras and an advanced AI model.

While we haven’t been able to find any images of the robotaxi’s interior, it apparently includes privacy glass, rear entertainment screens, plush new seats, and will be produced in five-, six-, and seven-seat configurations.

Xpeng is the latest Chinese car manufacturer to dive headfirst into the world of robotaxis, unveiling a specifically equipped version of the GX and quickly starting production.

Unlike companies like Tesla, Rimac, and Geely that have designed bespoke robotaxis from the ground up, Xpeng’s model is essentially just a specially equipped version of the GX it sells to the public. Using the GX as the basis for its robotaxi will significantly help the car manufacturer cut development and production costs.

Read: 200 Robotaxis Stopped In Traffic, Now China Has Stopped Issuing Permits

Xpeng hasn’t said whether its self-driving GX has the range-extender powertrain of the consumer model or instead the same all-electric powertrain. What we do know is that it’s powered by four in-house Turing AI chips with 3,000 TOPS of on-board computing power. It also includes steer-by-wire.

The SUV has been developed exclusively in-house and offers Level 4 self-driving capabilities. As of January, Xpeng has been testing its L4 vehicles on public roads across China and plans to launch pilot operations for its robotaxi service in the second half of this year.

Humans Still Play An Important Role

Just like the robotaxis being tested by Tesla, Xpeng’s models will initially have a human supervisor behind the wheel in case anything unexpected happens. However, the Chinese firm plans to ditch these “safety officers” by early 2027.

The Xpeng GX robotaxi also differs from most others being tested in China in that it relies on a vision-only system, also like Tesla. This means there’s no LiDAR or high-definition maps, instead relying on cameras and an advanced AI model.

While we haven’t been able to find any images of the robotaxi’s interior, it apparently includes privacy glass, rear entertainment screens, plush new seats, and will be produced in five-, six-, and seven-seat configurations.

Only a few years ago, big spending on EV production made sense to many automakers. It’s why Honda was so willing to commit to its CA$15 billion (about US$10.8 billion) project in Alliston, Ontario, Canada. Now, it’s parking that program indefinitely. Hybrids that are already in production will continue rolling out of the factory, but the EV side of the business is officially on hold.

Honda Global CEO Toshihiro Mibe announced the change in plans during a press briefing on Thursday. The facility was originally pitched as Canada’s first fully integrated EV ecosystem, combining vehicle assembly and battery production under one ambitious umbrella. At one point, it was expected to create roughly 1,000 new jobs and produce up to 240,000 EVs annually.

Read: The Next Honda Civic Is Getting Lighter, Sharper, And More Hybrid

Mibe said the company plans to spend the next three years restructuring its automobile business while redirecting resources toward hybrid vehicles. As we’ve reported, demand for hybrids has remained strong while EV growth has softened domestically. Honda delayed the project only last year, saying it would revisit market conditions before making a final call. Now, “pause” has become “indefinite suspension.”

The timing makes sense despite it also being less than ideal. According to CTV News, Honda posted a $2.7 billion loss, its first full-year loss on record, with the company pointing toward high EV-related costs and changing U.S. policy. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, EV incentives have been rolled back, and emissions regulations loosened, altering the economic math for automakers betting heavily on battery-powered vehicles.

At the same time, production of the Civic and CR-V at the Alliston plant will continue. In 2025 alone, Honda built around 400,000 vehicles in Canada, including approximately 198,000 Civics and 202,000 CR-Vs. More than 60 percent were hybrids.

Honda stressed that no current jobs are affected and no government money had actually changed hands despite roughly CA$5 billion in pledged support from federal and provincial governments. No doubt, this move will have implications for Honda for years to come. At least, for the time being, factory workers aren’t affected.

Honda has overhauled its product strategy and put hybrid technology at the center of the global lineup, a course correction triggered by the costly cancellation of several high-profile EV projects. The automaker pulled the wraps off two prototypes that appear to telegraph the next Accord sedan and Acura RDX SUV, alongside a commitment to launch 15 hybrid models by 2029

The Honda Hybrid Sedan Prototype and the Acura Hybrid SUV Prototype will both reach production within two years. Honda has not named either car or even confirmed a segment, but the proportions tell their own story. The fastback-style sedan looks like the next Accord, though the Civic can’t be completely ruled out, while the SUV is unmistakably the RDX successor.

More: Honda’s $15.9 Billion EV Disaster Just Delayed The Next Accord, Odyssey, And MDX

The sedan wears a five-door fastback profile, sharp surfacing, slim LED lighting, and a small amount of black cladding. The boxy nose recalls the Civic development mule Honda showed last year.

Honda Hybrid Sedan Prototype

On the other hand, the Acura SUV has a more sculpted body with aggressive front bumper intakes, toned shoulders, and V-shaped taillights. Its silhouette matches the official teaser from January 2026, leaving little doubt this is indeed a successor to the discontinued RDX.

More: Acura’s Losing Its RDX For Two Years, And Dealers Know What Happens Next

Both vehicles sit on a next-generation hybrid architecture due in 2027. Honda is targeting a 30 percent reduction in production costs and a fuel-economy improvement of more than 10 percent over 2023 levels. A new electric all-wheel drive unit is part of the package, alongside what Honda promises will be sharper driving dynamics. The next-gen ADAS suite follows in 2028.

Honda said that North America will be one of the “key focus regions” of the hybrid rollout. In 2029, the company will debut large hybrid models in the D-Segment and above, tailored to the needs of the region.

Acura Hybrid SUV Prototype

In order to support the rollout, Honda will “reallocate all excess capacity” at the Ohio plant to production of vehicles with gasoline and hybrid powertrains. Furthermore, all US plants will be converted to support production of hybrids.

Finally, the the joint venture between Honda and LG Energy Solution will switch part of the EV battery production to hybrid batteries while increasing local components by more than four times the current level to fight supply shortage and tariffs.

Other Markets

The Japanese automaker is doubling down on market-specific needs to stabilize its business foundation following a period of strategic realignment. In its home market, the focus shifts toward electrified kei cars, led by the upcoming N-Box EV scheduled for a 2028 debut. The next-gen hybrid and ADAS tech will be introduced in the updated Vezel, while the lineup will expand with Sport Line and Trail Line trim levels.

More: Honda Went To China, Saw The Future, And Reached Back To The 1960s

In India, the play is compact and midsize cars due in 2028, along with continued investment in the motorcycle business to expand local production. China is more complicated. Honda plans to use locally standardized components and roll out new electrified vehicles built on platforms supplied by Chinese partners.

Investing In Hybrids Over EVs

Honda is going through a challenging financial period, reporting its first annual net loss since 1957. The loss totaled ¥423.9 billion ($2.68 billion), largely driven by a massive ¥1.57 trillion ($9.94 billion) write-down following the restructuring and cancellation of EV projects.

Honda is still publicly optimistic about the recovery, targeting a record operating profit above ¥1.4 trillion ($8.86 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2029.

More: Honda’s $11 Billion Canadian EV Plant Just Got Shelved Because America Wants Hybrids

The investment plan tells you everything you need to know about where Honda thinks the next decade is going. Of the ¥6.2 trillion ($39.25 billion) earmarked through 2029, ¥4.4 trillion ($27.85 billion) goes to gasoline and hybrid powertrains, with another ¥1 trillion ($6.3 billion) for software.

Spending on pure EVs has been trimmed to ¥0.8 trillion ($5.06 billion). Anything beyond that gets decided after 2030, and Honda has made clear it would rather partner with someone else than build its next EV platform alone.

Honda

Porsche spent years telling us the future would be mostly electric. Now it’s scrambling to rebuild parts of the combustion lineup it already started phasing out, while simultaneously slashing jobs, shutting divisions, and reshuffling management to steady the ship and improve profits.

Having last month sold its stake in Bugatti and Rimac, the company this week confirmed plans to eliminate more than 500 jobs while discontinuing several electric-focused subsidiaries as part of a broader restructuring effort. Porsche is shutting down Cellforce Group, Porsche eBike Performance, and Cetitec as it narrows its focus back toward its main automotive business.

More: Porsche’s Profits Fell 93%, So It’s Selling Bugatti And Rimac

Cellforce was Porsche’s battery technology venture focused on developing high-performance lithium-ion cells for future EVs and motorsport applications. It “no longer has a sufficiently viable long-term perspective” and closes with the loss of 50 jobs, the company says.

Porsche eBike Performance, as its name suggests, handled electric bike drive systems and related hardware, but “fundamentally changed market conditions for e‑bike drive systems” means it gets the chop, and so do 360 workers. Cetitec, meanwhile, specialized in engineering and technical consulting services for automotive development programs. Sixty people in Germany are now looking for a new paycheck as a result of it being shuttered, along with a further 30 in Croatia.

Getting Back To Cars

“Porsche must refocus on its core business,” CEO Michael Leiters said, announcing the reset. “This is the indispensable foundation for a successful strategic realignment [and] forces us to make painful cuts — including our subsidiaries.”

The €1.4 Million Dashboard

At the same time, Porsche is also restructuring its executive board and folding the standalone Car-IT division into the wider research and development department led by Michael Steiner.

That’s a notable reversal because Porsche created the dedicated software-focused board role a few years ago specifically to recruit Sajjad Khan away from Mercedes-Benz, Automobilwoche reports. Khan had been tasked with modernizing Porsche’s infotainment and digital experience, and his influence is already visible in the electric Cayenne’s redesigned cockpit and connected features. That influence came at a price, though. Last year, Kahn reportedly earned €1.4 million ($1.65 m).

A bigger issue, though, is Porsche’s increasingly awkward product strategy. The company is preparing to kill the combustion Macan this summer despite demand for the gas-powered SUV still massively outweighing interest in the electric replacement in several markets, especially the US.

Porsche reportedly won’t have a new combustion or hybrid Macan (seen below testing in Audi Q5 mule form) ready until around 2028, leaving a painful gap in one of its most important model lines. Meanwhile, Chinese sales continue sliding as local EV brands offer cheaper alternatives loaded with flashy technology. It’s good that Porsche is grasping the nettle, but the pain isn’t going to disappear overnight.

Honda’s electric future in North America just took its second major hit in as many months. The company is now hitting pause on plans for a massive EV and battery plant in Canada, and it might not restart anytime soon.

The project, originally announced in 2024, was going to be huge, with $15 billion CAD ($11 bn USD) earmarked for a new factory in Alliston, Ontario. But Honda has decided to shelve the plan indefinitely while it reassesses the market, Nikkei Asia reports.

Related: Honda’s $15.9 Billion EV Disaster Just Delayed The Next Accord, Odyssey, And MDX

It’s not hard to see why the plans collapsed. EV demand in the US isn’t where Honda expected it to be, and that’s forcing a rethink. Instead of going all in on electric, the company is doubling down on hybrids, which are selling strongly right now.

Policy changes haven’t helped either. The removal of federal EV incentives in the US has made electric cars more expensive overnight, while relaxed efficiency rules have reduced the urgency for automakers to push EVs hard. There’s also the issue of tariffs and trade uncertainty between the US and Canada, which adds another layer of risk to any long-term investment.

“American tariffs and changes to US domestic policies are creating real pressures for automakers, prompting some to delay or scale back investments in electric vehicle and battery projects,” Industry Minister Melanie Joly told Canada’s CTV News.

Already Delayed

Honda had already delayed the Alliston EV project once, pushing the timeline for the car plant and related battery plant back by two years in May of 2025, despite having already acquired the land and locked in financial help from Canada. Now it’s taking things further by putting everything on ice while it watches how the market evolves, though it will still build the Civic and CR-V at its existing Alliston plant that was opened in 1986.

Multiple Future EVs Scrapped

The shift in powertrain philosophy is already showing up in Honda’s new EV product plans. The company is winding down the Prologue EV, which it co-developed with GM, and earlier this year scrapped three exciting new Honda and Acura electric cars and SUVs destined for North American roads, even though they were in the final stages of development. Not long after that, Honda and Sony confirmed they were abandoning their plans to launch EVs under the Afeela brand.

Instead of EVs, Honda will focus on hybrids in North America, which are gaining popularity with buyers, and extend the life of existing models to save cash. That doesn’t mean Honda is abandoning EVs completely. It still has flexible production lines in Ohio that can build gas, hybrid, or electric models depending on demand, having spent $1 billion to upgrade the site. But for a while at least, fully electric models won’t be part of Honda’s future in the US or Canada.

Honda

Ford hangs its hat on the creation of the assembly line. Now, it’s literally tearing one apart in the middle of the night. That’s a part of the brand’s new strategy to win over more buyers. If it’s successful, the work it’s doing now will allow it to not just beat domestic automakers in the U.S., but to compete against China worldwide with a cheap but robust electric car.

More: Ford’s $30K Pickup Wants To Beat Cybertruck At Its Own Game

The “skunk works” project has been underway for quite some time now. Led by former Tesla and Apple employees, the team is aiming for something unheard of. It involves the confirmed $30,000 EV pickup truck (which can end up leading to several forms of cars) that offers some 300 miles of range and Mustang-like performance. That’s the kind of car that doesn’t exist in America, but it does exist elsewhere, namely China.

Ford’s CEO Jim Farley has tested Chinese cars in his everyday life. He’s also had a front row seat to the billions that his brand has burned through in building out its own EV platforms. According to the Wall Street Journal, that’s included too many parts, too much complexity, and old-school processes that don’t translate well to the EV space. So the team is cutting everything it can as aggressively as it can.

The manufacturing process itself is being flipped on its head. Instead of traditional step-by-step assembly, Ford is moving toward a modular system with large cast sections and fewer touchpoints. Put another way, it’s how Tesla and Chinese automakers build EVs today. According to Jolanta Coffey, the vehicle program director, “We’ve never blown the whole thing up before and just started over. If and when we build this, we will rewire Ford.”

All of this comes at a turning point for much of the industry. Automakers abroad are continuing their push toward electrification while domestic automakers rethink the near future. Hyundai Motor CEO José Muñoz, recently said of competing with Chinese EVs, “It is impossible… Unless they are subsidized by the government.” Ford’s betting he’s wrong. We all get to see who ends up being right as Ford is aiming for a 2027 launch.

Rivian broke the mold by bringing the R1T, an electric pickup truck, to market before anyone else. Now, it’s trying to gain a far more stable foothold in the industry with its all-new R2. A new report sheds light on how Rivian cut costs but evidently not quality in this new SUV. According to the brand, it costs around half as much to build as the R1S despite keeping the performance and utility that fans love.

At the core of the R2’s cost-cutting approach is ruthless simplification. Rivian says its new zonal electrical architecture slashes wiring complexity, trimming 2.3 miles of harness length and reducing connectors by 60%. High-voltage cabling is down 70% thanks to consolidating multiple power modules into a single unit.

The same philosophy carries over to the powertrain. Rivian’s new “Maximus” drive unit uses 41% fewer parts than the Enduro units found in the R1 lineup. By integrating the inverter directly into the drive unit and even using its housing as a mounting structure, Rivian cuts both material cost and assembly time.

Read: Rivian Lost $416 Million Last Quarter And Just Bet Bigger On Georgia

According to InsideEVs, even the sensors got a rethink. Swapping ultrasonic sensors for corner radars yields a claimed 50% cost reduction, a move that reflects a broader trend toward fewer, more capable components. In theory, that could help Rivian reduce repair costs, a known concern for the brand.

The front suspension ditches the more complex double-wishbone setup used in the R1 for a simpler MacPherson strut design, cutting costs by 70%. Large die-cast sections reduce underbody part count by 90%, while rear doors shed 65% of their complexity.

There’s also a less glamorous but equally important factor: scale. When Rivian launched the R1T and R1S, it was a newcomer building expensive, low-volume vehicles. Now, with higher production targets in sight, it can negotiate better supplier pricing.

Something as basic as a windshield reportedly costs half as much on the R2 compared to the R1. Add in the fact that the R2 is simply smaller, and therefore uses fewer raw materials, and the math starts to make sense. At this point, all that’s left is to see how Rivian executes on production and sales.

Nissan is backing away from its big electric vehicle ambitions in Mississippi, scrapping plans to build battery-powered models at its Canton plant as the US market cools faster than expected.

The decision follows a broader rethink inside the troubled company as EV demand softens and government incentives disappear. Nissan had once positioned the Mississippi factory as a key pillar of its electric future, with multiple models planned before the end of the decade.

Related: Nissan’s New Skyline Is Coming To America As The Q50, And It May Bring Back The Manual

Those timelines had already slipped, having been pushed back by nine months last year, and now the entire program has been shelved. Nissan made the U-turn to “better align with market conditions, customer demand and Nissan’s updated strategic direction,” a brand spokesperson told Auto News.

Instead of building EVs, the automaker is pivoting toward more traditional vehicles, including pickups and SUVs built on a rugged body-on-frame setup. A new generation of products is in the works, starting with a revived Xterra expected later in the decade. More models will follow, all sharing a common architecture designed to cut costs and boost efficiency.

Five New ICE Models

The new ladder chassis will spawn at least five trucks and SUVs, Auto News says, its sources revealing that those vehicles will have 70 percent parts commonality and be identical from the front seats forward.

That shift reflects changing buyer preferences. Gas-powered vehicles and hybrids are proving more resilient, while fully electric models have struggled with concerns over charging infrastructure, range, and upfront cost now that federal tax credits are no longer available. EV sales actually fell last year in the US, even as they continued to rapidly gain ground in Europe.

EV Investment Scrapped

The Canton plant that we were told five years ago was getting $500 million of investment so it could pump out thousands of EVs per year, will remain central to Nissan’s North American plans, just with a different focus. It already produces models like the Frontier pickup and Altima sedan, and the new strategy aims to build on that foundation with larger, more profitable vehicles tailored to US tastes.

And Nissan isn’t abandoning electric vehicles entirely. It will continue selling existing models like the Leaf (shown below) in the US, but its future lineup will definitely concentrate more on hybrid technology as a stepping stone.

Nissan

Affordability is in vogue these days, but apparently not at Audi. Quite the opposite as the brand is killing off the entry-level A1 and Q2.

Tucked in an announcement about their assembly network, Audi revealed production of the Q2 will end in Ingolstadt this April. Its death will apparently make room for the upcoming A2 e-tron.

More: Audi Confirms The A2 Is Back, Prays It’ll Sell This Time

While the Q2 was never offered in the United States, the compact crossover was introduced in 2016 and started at €29,000 ($33,862) in Germany, which made it significantly cheaper than the €44,600 ($52,066) Q3. It was relatively popular as consumers snapped up 887,231 units over the past decade. However, sales dropped off in recent years.

The Q2 isn’t the only model going away as A1 production is “winding down” in Martorell, Spain. The entry-level hatchback was introduced in 2010 and generated 1,389,658 sales over two generations.

The latest version started at €22,950 ($26,792) and was offered in Sportback and Allstreet guise. Like the Q2, the A1 proved successful at launch but sales tapered off in the past few years.

It’s not all bad news as the two models will effectively be replaced by the A2 e-tron. The compact EV debuts this fall and is expected to ride on the MEB+ platform that underpins the ID.3 Neo. The mainstream electric hatch recently debuted with 58 and 79 kWh battery packs as well as a WLTP range of up to 391 miles (630 km).

Electric Sports Car Arrives In 2027

Besides announcing the death of the A1 and Q2, Audi confirmed their electric sports car will go into production in 2027. It will be built at their Böllinger Höfe site, which specializes in small-series production.

The model was previewed by the Concept C and will essentially be Audi’s version of the Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman. As you may recall, it was a two-seat sports car with a retractable hardtop, a minimalist interior, and an all-new design language.

A little over two years after unveiling the R2 concept, the production model is now being built in Normal, Illinois. That’s particularly impressive considering a tornado hit and damaged the facility last Friday.

Rivian didn’t have much to say about the production process itself, but noted the first vehicles will undergo a series of final quality and validation checks. If everything pans out, the first customer deliveries will begin later this spring.

More: Rivian’s Most Affordable Model Arrives First In Its Most Expensive Form

The automaker called production a “milestone moment” for the R2 and said it means the “manufacturing process has been verified, every weld has been checked, every software string has been validated, and every interior material has been scrutinized to meet the high bar we set for ourselves and for you, our community.”

Rivian’s COO Javier Varela went further as he said the R2 “represents a major advance in engineering excellence and manufacturing efficiency, driving meaningful improvements in cost and quality.” Those sentiments were echoed by CEO RJ Scaringe, who called the vehicle “incredible.” The executive added he can’t wait until customers get their hands on the EV.

The R2 is being launched in $57,990 Performance guise, which features a dual-motor all-wheel drive system developing 656 hp (489 kW / 665 PS) and 609 lb-ft (825 Nm) of torque. It enables the model to accelerate from 0–60 mph (0-96 km/h) in as little as 3.6 seconds and have a range of up to 330 miles (531 km).

The range-topping variant comes nicely equipped with a Black Crater Signature interior with Birch wood trim as well as 12-way power front seats with heating and ventilation. They’re joined by heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, and a nine-speaker premium audio system.

Early models also come with a Launch Package, which includes a lifetime subscription to Autonomy+ as well as a towing package that enables the crossover to haul 4,400 lb (1,996 kg). Buyers will also find a green anodized key fob as well as an available Launch Green paint job.

A more affordable R2 Premium is scheduled to follow later this year. It starts at $53,990 and has a dual-motor all-wheel drive system with 450 hp (356 kW / 456 PS) and 537 lb-ft (727 Nm) of torque.

The R2 Standard lineup is set to arrive in 2027 and offer Short and Long Range variants. The former will cost “around $45,000” and have a range in excess of 275 miles (443 km).