+++ AUDI ’s losing streak continues as the automaker reported a disappointing first quarter. Sales fell 6.1% to 360.106 units globally as the company navigated “challenging market conditions”. North American sales (excluding Mexico) plummeted 27% to 35.464 units. The company said the decline was “primarily attributable to US tariffs and the end of subsidies for electric cars in the USA”. Unfortunately for Audi, the situation could get worse as President Trump has threatened to increase tariffs to 25%. However, the automaker is gearing up to launch the redesigned Q7 and all-new Q9 this year, and they’re expected to appeal to Americans. Chinese sales (excluding Hong Kong) fell from 144.471 units last year to 127.109 this time around. That’s a decline of 12% and the company blamed this on “macroeconomic uncertainties, a market environment that remains highly competitive, and model changes”. Audi also said they’re being impacted by the war in Iran. The company didn’t elaborate, but they’re likely referring to delivery issues caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. While there was a lot of bad news, European sales were up and the company sold more than 30.000 plug-in hybrids. The latter figure represents a nearly 160% increase from a year ago. Zooming out, Audi Group sales fell 6.1% as Audi’s lackluster performance was echoed by a decline in Bentley sales. Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati also saw declining revenues. Speaking of which, the Audi Group had combined revenues of €14.2 billion and an operating profit of €588 million. However, after taxes, the profit falls to €559 million. Audi CEO Gernot Döllner noted the challenges and said, “In a world where our customers’ expectations are increasingly diverse from region to region, it is clear the ‘world car’ business model is becoming less and less viable”. Instead, he believes the company needs “market-specific solutions and models” such as a special brand in China as well as the A2 e-tron, which is “designed for and built in Europe”. +++
+++ Data from AUSTRALIA ’s Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council reveal that, of the 92.591 new cars, SUVs, pickups, vans and trucks sold in April 2026 (up 2.2% over the same month in 2025), 16.4% were battery-electric. This works out to 15.185 vehicles. In contrast, April 2025 saw just 6.010 new EV sales. It’s not just EVs that saw strong numbers; hybrids were also in demand. In fact, 18.162 new hybrids found homes in April 2026, bolstered by the first full month of sales of the Toyota RAV4, which bagged best-selling car in Australia. Plug-in hybrids also saw 9.628 new units shifted in April 2026. While EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids were enjoying the limelight, partly driven by tax incentives, traditional gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles took a hit in April 2026. Sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles saw a decline of 30.1% in comparison with April 2025 figures. Diesel-powered new vehicle sales were down by 21.7%. These declines could also be attributed to the ongoing war in the Middle East, which has significantly affected crude oil deliveries to Australia. This has resulted in rising prices at the pump, as well as some scattered shortages. For April 2026, BYD’s Sealion 7 SUV dominated the EV rankings, with 1.780 units sold. Meanwhile, the Tesla Model Y sold nearly 1.000 fewer units, although it was up 193.6% year-on-year, as last year’s model was due for replacement. The BYD brand as a whole shifted 7.702 new units. Other strong sellers in the Chinese EV space include the Geely EX5 with 1,202 deliveries and 1.006 units from Chinese brand Zeekr, of which 973 were its 7X. Shifting our attention to the car segment, Tesla’s Model 3 narrowly beat BYD’s Seal, with 403 versus 370 deliveries. Despite a 21.6% reduction in year-on-year sales, Toyota remained top dog in Australian new vehicle sales through April 2026. They shifted 15.185 units, followed by BYD with a 7.702 new unit tally. BYD’s rise to second place means that Ford and Mazda, the historical second and third-place finishers, are now fifth and sixth, with 5.748 and 5.636 units respectively. However, the Ford Ranger held on to the silver medal as the second best-selling vehicle, sandwiched between the RAV4 and Hilux. When looking at Australian new car sales as a whole, the new third- and fourth-place occupants for April are Kia and Hyundai, with 6.450 and 6.002 units sold respectively. Of course, these 2 automakers also have EVs and hybrids in their portfolio. The same is true for Chery in 8th place and MG in 9th, while Isuzu rounded off the top-10 ahead of Mitsubishi. +++
+++ FORD is in talks with Geely over the sale of part of its Valencia plant so the Chinese giant can build Geely-badged cars in Europe for the first time and it will start with a compact crossover. The deal would have Volvo’s parent company take control of the Body 3 assembly hall; the line which previously built the Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max. The Valencia plant has an annual capacity of 300.000 cars but, as only the Kuga is now built there, it isn’t operating close to that limit. Such a deal would give Ford’s European division a sizeable cash injection at a time when sales are slumping. The report states that Geely will look to produce cars based on its modular GEA platform, which can accommodate electric or plug-in hybrid power across a range of body sizes. At first, it would look to build the Galaxy EX2, a Puma-sized electric crossover. This was the best-selling car in China, where it’s badged the Galaxy Xingyuan, last year. Industry sources quoted in the report claim that Geely could also build a Ford model at the plant, based on the GEA platform. Last year, Ford confirmed that Valencia would be the home of an incoming new crossover that would indirectly replace the Focus and be sold with hybrid and electric powertrains. The car was to be built alongside the similarly sized Kuga and was expected to use its C2 platform to avoid the need for costly alterations to the production line. However, this new tie-up with Geely could open the door for it to instead be built on the GEA platform. Ford has long been keen on utilising partnerships for its European models: the Capri and Explorer use Volkswagen’s MEB platform while 2 new EVs based on Renault’s Ampr architecture are due before the end of the decade. For Geely, the Valencia deal would allow it to avoid the EU’s costly 18.8% tariffs on EVs imported from China. The deal between Ford and Geely over the sale of the plant is already “very advanced”, with suppliers in and around the city already being contacted by Geely. +++
+++ The malaise at BMW, Mercedes and the Volkswagen Group is deepening. The 3 automakers from GERMANY generated a combined operating profit of only €6.3 billion in the first quarter of 2026; a 23 percent drop, marking the fourth consecutive decline. To put this in perspective, the Volkswagen Group alone earned €8.3 billion in the first quarter of 2022; more than all 3 companies combined today. BMW’s return on sales has now fallen to just 5 percent, while Mercedes’ is at 6 percent, even surpassed by its volume brand Skoda, which achieves an 8.3 percent margin. +++
+++ 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. 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. +++
+++ JAGUAR will confirm the name of its electric grand tourer on 12 May. It has to this point been known as the Type 00, the name applied to the dramatic concept car revealed in December 2024, and by its codename, X900. It will, however, carry a different moniker through to production. The car will mark a total reset for the British brand in both its design and engineering, but it remains to be seen whether it will inherit a historic name (as the previous F-Type followed on from the E-Type) or something new. The finished car will be revealed in September, with the first customer cars earmarked to hit the road early next year. The low-slung GT is underpinned by the new Jaguar Electric Architecture, designed specifically for the brand’s new wave of EVs. It is Jaguar’s stiffest car yet (with torsional rigidity of 50.000 Nm/deg) and its most aerodynamically efficient, with a drag coefficient of less than 0.25. A tri-motor powertrain with 1 unit on the front axle and 2 at the rear will yield more than 1.000 hp as well as 1.300 Nm of torque. Battery capacity will measure around 120 kWh for a range of more than 640 km, and it will be suspended by 2-chamber air springs and adaptive dampers at each corner, riding on 23 inch wheels as standard, although 21 inch will be available as an option. +++
+++ LUCID ’s already difficult road to profitability just got a little bumpier. The EV startup has suspended its 2026 production guidance while incoming CEO Silvio Napoli reviews nearly every aspect of the company’s operations, and the timing says a lot about where Lucid currently stands. The company admits that it has too many cars and not enough orders. Just a month ago, Lucid reaffirmed plans to build between 25.000 and 27.000 vehicles this year despite a supplier issue that disrupted Gravity SUV deliveries for nearly a month. Now that guidance is gone entirely. Instead, it now says that it has “elevated inventory”. In other words, production is ahead of demand. Lucid’s inventory problem appears to be getting worse. During the first quarter alone, the company built 5.500 vehicles but delivered just 3,093 of them, leaving roughly 2,400 extra EVs sitting in inventory. That imbalance helped push inventory levels to nearly $1.47 billion by the end of March, up sharply from late 2025. Napoli, who previously led industrial giant Schindler Group, appears focused on imposing stricter financial discipline almost immediately. During Lucid’s earnings call, he said the company needs to become “more cost-efficient” and make “clear choices on where to invest and, just as importantly, where not to”. Lucid’s quarter was messy beyond just inventory. Revenue climbed 20 percent year over year to $282.5 million, but that still fell dramatically short of Wall Street’s expectations of roughly $440 million. Meanwhile, losses continued piling up. The company posted a staggering net loss of more than $1 billion during the quarter and burned through roughly $1.44 billion in free cash flow. For now, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund remains Lucid’s financial lifeline. The automaker says that it should keep operations funded into the second half of 2027. Between now and then, Lucid will want to flip the balance between production and demand. Otherwise, things could get a lot worse. +++
+++ Automakers are doubling down on combustion engines. Despite the effort to get consumers to buy electric vehicles, people can’t seem to quit gasoline. Some buyers are harder to convince than others, like those who want a MERCEDES-MAYBACH . During a media roundtable for The Devil Wears Prada 2, Maybach boss Markus Bauer revealed, “it’s hard to convince” someone who wants a V12 to buy a V8. The automaker continues to offer a V12 engine in the new Maybach S-Class, but it is not available in every market due to regulations. The twin-turbo 6.0-liter V12 engine makes 621 horsepower in the S 680 and it is available in the United States. “I’m happy that in the strongest V12 market, which is the US, we can continue to sell the V12”, Bauer said, and it’s unlikely to disappear from Maybach’s lineup anytime soon. He added: “The V12 and Maybach go very well together. Our ambition is always to offer the V12”. In the last year, numerous automakers have pledged to keep combustion engines around. Porsche said just over a month ago that it will keep gas engines around “far into the next decade”. Ferrari has promised to continue building them, too, including its V12. Toyota, Bentley and Audi have made similar pledges. In June 2025, Mercedes-Benz announced it would make a “course correction” and continue building internal combustion engines longer than initially planned. Volkswagen has hedged its bets, with its new EV platform capable of supporting gasoline engines. Even Mini has abandoned its plan to ditch the gas engine as consumers reject electric vehicles. +++
+++ How important is heritage if you’re choosing a car in 2026? This is a question all so-called legacy brands are having to ask themselves in this new era of seemingly endless Chinese start-ups, all offering highly specified and sophisticated new cars, but ones without any real sense of place or soul. And it’s one that is particularly poignant for STELLANTIS , a conglomerate encompassing brands that, collectively, have hundreds of years of history behind them. With new-ish leadership at the top, as well as a more streamlined and reactive set of decision-makers, Stellantis says it now has the drive and creative spirit to fully exploit the heritage of its brands. Among that top brass is Gilles Vidal. And if the name sounds familiar, you’d be right. He was the architect of Peugeot’s design revolution that saw it go from frumpy to fabulous in the late 2010s, and after a small hiatus at Renault overseeing the 5, 4 and Twingo, he’s returned as head of European design for the whole Stellantis group. Vidal’s new job is not just to oversee, but also to co-ordinate all the European brands’ design houses. He’ll work closely with Stellantis global head of design Ralph Gilles, who reports to the new CEO, Antonio Filosa. This near-direct line to the very top should help streamline decision making, and bring a new sense of power and independence to the design teams. But this is a tough role and Vidal arrives at a time of great pressure for Stellantis as it wrestles with profitability challenges that go to the core of this huge company. There’s also been criticism of having too many synergies from a design and technical perspective across the different models. These were driven by Stellantis’ former boss, Carlos Tavares; a numbers man by nature. It seems the very soul of the brands is at stake, and Stellantis’ top brass know it. Under his remit, what can Vidal do to help adjust course? To find out, I met him in his main studio just outside of Paris, and it’s clear he’s very aware of the mountain he and his teams have to climb. First, there’s the strategy: the key reason for bringing such a wide-ranging group of previously diverse car brands (including Alfa Romeo, Citroen, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Opel and Peugeot) into one conglomerate is the ability to streamline development and create large synergies. Ultimately, that’s critical for any modern company to survive. But it also coincides with the seismic shift to electrification. Gilles said, “As you’ve noticed, we are living the biggest revolutions of the last few centuries in the industry, and in our world as well. “So we need to adapt to that. We need to adapt accordingly”, he continued. “We are talking Stellantis as a company, but the general public doesn’t care so much about Stellantis. You buy a Peugeot or an Opel or a Fiat. You don’t buy a Stellantis car. So we need to be super-sharp about what our brands stand for. The brands are the biggest asset of the company from the public perspective, even if we want to optimise Stellantis as a company and what it does”. In order to deliver this, Gilles acknowledges Stellantis needs to push the variations between its brands much harder, saying: “We now have 100 percent freedom to take it the way we want. So still within the limits of fitting the budgets and the programs and the briefs that we have, but the idea is to be super pushy in order to define what’s right for the future”. So how far can this variation go? “Either you have multiple platforms and they can adjust a little bit”, Vidal said. “Or maybe you have only one or two, and they are more flexible. Then you have interchangeable modules or components, like Lego Technic kind of thing. All to deliver more specific products. But what’s true and clever for one brand could be stupid for another. So that’s where we need to have flexibility. “We are challenging all platforms for the future because we need to optimise everything that’s not visible from the client’s eyes. Ultimately in the end, everything deserves to be challenged”, he said. “The fruit of those optimisations needs to be delivered to the cockpit experience, to more room inside or to a lower car so you reduce the weight and you make the aerodynamics better, so the range gets better. That’s a true client-orientated outcome”. But there are still risks involved. Gilles continued: “We need to stand out from the crowd, which means finding breakthroughs and shocking ideas. Shocking in a good way. Not shocking in a bad way, but shocking in a world that accelerates more and more in terms of delivering very creative answers and solutions. This variation and flexibility will, by extension, allow Gilles and his teams the technical freedom to execute the designs required from each brand, but this is far from a fix-all solution. In the case of mainstream brands such as Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep and Opel, this level of modularity has worked well, but it’s not the same for all of Vidal’s brands. When it comes to those with more specific mandates, such as Maserati, Alfa Romeo and to a lesser extent DS, things are more challenging. Does an ultimately more flexible, but less profitable platform need to be engineered; the sort that Jaguar has invested in for its new Type 00 GT, or the one Porsche has just cancelled after 3 years of intensive development? This is where Vidal acknowledges the issues, and confirms that Stellantis is yet to make any specific choices about how the jewels in its crown will finally receive the love they deserve. Stellantis says it will have answers for us with a huge presence at the Paris motor show this October. At that point we’ll get a real glimpse into where the brands, from Alfa Romeo to Peugeot, are really heading. +++