+++ New-car buyers might expect to wait a while for their ride if they’ve ordered some fancy personalization option, like a Porsche paint-to-sample color. But some drivers expecting to take delivery of their ordinary electric BMW this summer might have to wait until fall simply because they wanted something that’s supposed to be standard. That’s apparently the situation facing some iX1 customers in Europe, where production disruptions tied to the humble 17- and 18-inch wheels are reportedly forcing builds to be paused and slowing deliveries by months. “There are still enough wheels for production in May, but already in June the capacities will not be sufficient”, a BMW production manager wrote in a letter to dealers. Though the cause of the mess-up wasn’t revealed, and the manager said BMW was in contact with the supplier, he admitted “it will probably take some time before this bottleneck is resolved”. This isn’t some limited-run supercar needing carbon fiber center-lock wheels. We’re talking about the smaller, cheaper wheels many customers specifically choose because, while they might not be as attractive as bigger rims, they’re affordable and deliver better ride comfort. But most importantly for an EV, they also deliver the best electric range. BMW’s suggested workaround is to move buyers into 19-inch wheels instead. But the larger wheels reportedly require customers to upgrade into pricier trim packages, adding roughly €1.900 to the bill. Buyers might also lose a bit of driving range. A bone-stock iX1 on 17 inch wheels claims 515 km of range, but switching to 19 inch drops that to 509 km and going with 20 inch, it falls to 491 km. Strangely, the short-supply the standard 18s deliver 504 km of range, so it’s only those who wanted the no cost-option 17 ich wheels that’ll lose out in terms of range by upgrading to 19 inch. For customers waiting on expiring leases or trade-ins, the delays could be a real pain. One dealer reportedly pushed an iX1 delivery back by roughly 3 months, leaving the customer stuck figuring out transportation in the meantime. It wouldn’t be so bad if we were talking about a niche product, but the soon-to-be-facelifted iX1 is a big deal on a continent where electric sales are still booming. “The iX1 has become our bread and butter vehicle,” one dealer told. +++
+++ The HONDA PRELUDE is not the quickest new sports car on the market. It packs a 184 horsepower hybrid 4-cylinder engine and a trick transmission. Those hoping for a high-performance Type R variant might just have to buy a Civic Type R instead. In an interview, Honda Australia’s boss quashed any hopes of a Prelude Type R variant. President and CEO Jay Joseph said that Honda designed the Prelude around the hybrid powertrain from the start. Joseph notes that the hybrid powertrain “fits” the car, adding, “when we planned it as a global vehicle, as a global model, everything made sense to us”. Joseph also revealed that it would require a huge investment to adapt the Prelude into something worthy of the Type R badge. While the platform is adaptable, the work it would need to become a Type R would require a full ground-up development and millions of dollars worth of investment. He notes: “There’s some level of interchangeability that’s inherent to a platform approach, but at the same time, we’ve made so many adaptations of the platform for this specific vehicle”. While we might not get a high-performance, high-powered version of Honda’s sleek new coupe, owners can enhance the vehicle in other ways. Earlier this year, Honda Racing Corporation announced a slew of aftermarket parts for the Prelude, including suspension upgrades, wheels, aerodynamic goodies, and more, but it made no mention of any powertrain upgrades. +++
+++ MERCEDES-AMG is making a decisive return to V8 power, heralded by the incoming CLE 63 Mythos coupé. AMG’s variant of the CLE has thus far been available with only a turbocharged straight-6, but the Mythos will bring a new V8 derived from that introduced by the facelifted S-Class. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre engine has a flat-plane crank (typically reserved for supercars) and in the S-Class it produces 530 hp and 720 Nm. That’s sufficient to propel the 2-tonne saloon from rest to 100 kph in 4.4 seconds. AMG is expected to turn up the wick on the powerplant for the new CLE 63 Mythos, which is the second car in its exclusive Mythos range, following the SL Purespeed roadster. Just 250 examples were made. It’s possible that the CLE’s version of the V8 could tip over 600 hp, giving it a 0-100 kph sprint time of less than 4.0 seconds. The coupé’s chassis will undergo significant modification to cope with the extra power. A new prototype has been caught testing at the Nüburgring sitting notably lower and wider than the existing CLE 53. It also wears different bodywork to previous test mules, with a more cohesive, motorsport-inspired look lying beneath the camouflage. Indeed, it bears a strong resemblance to AMG’s previous Black Series models, yet it appears even more extreme. AMG’s return to V8s comes after its attempt to downsize engines and make up for the power deficit with hybridisation was panned. An AMG insider previously told that the 4-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain used in the C63 and GLC 63 “failed to resonate with our traditional customers”. What’s more, the cost of re-engineering that four-cylinder engine (also used in the SL 43 and A45) to meet the incoming Euro 7 emissions standards was “very high”, prompting the rethink. +++
+++ With Chinese brands undercutting legacy Europeans on price month after month, the VW Group is running out of easy answers, but one of them might already be sitting on a production line in Pune. SKODA ’s entry-level Kylaq, built and sold in India, could be exported to Europe and slot in as one of the region’s cheapest new cars. With the Elroq and Enyaq already pulling strong numbers, the smaller Kylaq looks like the natural plug for the bottom of the range. The Kylaq broke cover in late 2024 and sells in India for just 759,000 rupees, roughly €6,800 at current exchange rates. It wouldn’t land in Europe at anything close to that figure, but it would still come in well under the Fabia, Skoda’s current entry point at just under €24.990 on the Dutch market, and that gap is exactly what’s drawing the boardroom’s attention. “If you look at the Fabia and squeeze everything out, you get below €23.000”, Skoda chief executive Klaus Zellmer told. “If you look at the price of a Kylaq, there is a massive gap. There is a business rationale that you can challenge and see whether that makes sense”. The Kylaq has been an instant hit in India. As of January this year, more than 50.000 had been sold locally, helping to double the VW Group’s Indian sales to 70.600 units in 2025. It rides on the VW Group’s MQB-A0 budget architecture, developed specifically to take on rivals from Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki in the local market. Admittedly, the mini-SUV isn’t particularly exciting. Power comes from a 1.0 turbocharged 3-cylinder making 115 hp and 178 Nm, paired with either a 6-speed manual or an optional automatic. Still, for a crossover measuring just 3.995 mm long, shorter even than the Fabia hatchback, the engine has clearly proven adequate for Indian buyers. If Skoda is to sell the model in Europe, it will need to homologate it for local regulations and offset the emissions produced by the 3-cylinder by ramping up sales of its electric and plug-in hybrid models, or risk failing to comply with emissions laws. As it stands, the all-electric Elroq is among Europe’s best-selling EVs, only trailing the Tesla Model Y with 94.106 sold last year. The electric Enyaq is also popular, with more than 78.000 sold in Europe throughout 2025. +++
+++ The car business in the UNITED STATES has a useful little metric called days’ supply and right now it is not being kind to Stellantis. After battling through bloated inventories across the United States, the company finally made progress in 2025, significantly reducing a build-up of models across the Chrysler, Jeep, Ram and Dodge brands. That progress did not last. Inventories across the 4 brands have swelled well past the industry average again, with Dodge leading the wrong way. End-of-April figures put the U.S. industry average at 78 days’ supply, down a single day from 79 and well off the 95-day peak from January and February. The trend is moving the right way for the industry as a whole. Stellantis is not moving with it and its 4 American brands are still sitting on far more metal than dealers can shift. Dodge is in the least enviable position with 142 days’ supply as of the end of April. Not far behind are Chrysler and Ram, both at 135 days, and then Jeep at 128 days. The first non-Stellantis brand also dealing with huge inventories is Buick, currently sitting at 119 days. Others with well-above-average scores include Mini (113), Mitsubishi (109), Lincoln (106) and Genesis (104). As I discovered last month, some car manufacturers have inventories below the industry average. Toyota and Lexus continue to operate well below their rivals, with Toyota at 36 days’ supply and Lexus at 38 days. Others operating below the average include Honda (48), Cadillac (64), Infiniti (65), Chevrolet (72), Audi (72), Kia (76), BMW (77) and Subaru (78). In March, Porsche was also below the average at 78 days, but has since crept up to 80. Figures also show the average listing price of a new vehicle climbed 0.9 percent in April to $49.025. That likely played a role in the month’s other headline number, with total new car sales slipping from 1.115 million in March to 1.093 million in April. +++
+++ 4 years ago, VINFAST announced plans to build a new production facility in North Carolina that would start making vehicles in 2024. A symbolic groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2023 and the plant was heralded as the first electric vehicle manufacturing facility in the state as well as its “largest economic development initiative”. Local leaders were optimistic as the first phase of the development called for an investment of up to $2 billion. This would have built a massive 1.800 acre complex that would be broken up into 5 main production areas including a body shop, a general assembly area, a press shop, a paint shop, and an energy center. The plant was supposed to build the VF 7, VF 8 and VF 9, and have an annual production capacity of 150.000 units. Production had slipped to 2025 at that point but, by July of 2024, VinFast hit pause following a disastrous US launch. At the time, they suggested production would begin in 2028, although the plant would be smaller than originally anticipated. While that’s just a brief overview of events, North Carolina has had enough. Attorney General Jeff Jackson sued the Vietnamese automaker over allegations the company “breached its agreements with the state for the development of an electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility in Chatham County”. It’s not hard to understand why the Tar Heel state is miffed as VinFast was award a Job Development Investment Grant to build the plant and the North Carolina General Assembly appropriated $450 million to support “site preparation, transportation improvements, and water and sewer infrastructure associated with the project”. The AG’s office noted VinFast cleared and graded the site in 2023, but has since “failed to meet key obligations and performance requirements” as promised in agreements with the state. These were designed to protect taxpayer money and would require the automaker to repay “certain site preparation funds if specified benchmarks were not met”. More importantly, the agreement “granted the state the right to acquire the project site if the company failed to satisfy key performance requirements”. VinFast is nowhere close to achieving what they promised as the agreement reportedly called for the facility to be operational by July 2026 and create 1.750 jobs by the end of the year. The North Carolina Department of Justice notified VinFast they had defaulted on their agreement in January and they intended to acquire the site.VinFast protested and claimed they met construction deadlines and would open the facility in 2028. However, the lawsuit ultimately aims to acquire the property, so it can be used by someone who will actually build a facility on the site and create jobs. In a statement, Attorney General Jackson said “VinFast agreed to build a factory and create jobs for North Carolinians. It didn’t do either”. He added: “When North Carolina makes a deal, we build in protection for taxpayers. VinFast broke the deal, so we’re using that protection to find a project for this site that will create jobs”. While the plant has been delayed for years, VinFast apparently tried to blame the recent elimination of the clean vehicle tax credit for stalling progress. According to a statement, the company said “Recent changes in US policies related to the EV industry have impacted the project timeline, requiring additional time for us to evaluate appropriate implementation conditions”. +++
+++ The XC60 is old and VOLVO does not care. Despite a model cycle stretching back nearly a decade, it remains the brand’s best-selling vehicle and a freshly camouflaged prototype caught testing in Europe suggests Gothenburg is getting ready to give it yet another refresh. The timing is also interesting, given that the most recent facelift only arrived for the 2026 model year. The current, second-generation XC60 first arrived in 2017, with a mild refresh in 2021 and a more thorough facelift in 2025. Volvo pulled the wraps off the all-new electric EX60 earlier this year, but the tech-heavy newcomer is not being asked to push its combustion-powered sibling out of the lineup. Spy photographers caught the prototype in Spain wearing minimal camouflage. The front end has been reworked more than the disguise suggests, with slimmer headlights flanking a more intricate grille. The bumper has been retouched too, losing the triangular side intakes that defined the outgoing look. The profile appears to be carried over from the 2017 original. At the back, the Swedish carmaker has applied black tape to hide the LED taillights, which gain longer horizontal extensions on the redesigned tailgate. The latter has a slightly smaller pocket for the license plate and a simpler design. The rear bumper also appears to be cleaner, with provisional tailpipes sticking out from the bottom. The dashboard of the prototype appears to be covered, though major changes inside the cabin are unlikely. The recent facelift already brought new materials, a larger 11.2-inch touchscreen, and a faster processor for the Google-powered infotainment, among other upgrades. The real headline of this third mid-lifecycle update may very well sit beneath the skin. According to the latest reports, Volvo is preparing the XC60 to meet Euro 7 emission regulations. A heavily reworked plug-in hybrid setup is rumoured to deliver an EV-only range of 200 km. Take the figure with a grain of salt, but it would be a significant leap from the current 82 km, edging closer to the Chinese-spec XC70 with its range-extender powertrain. The updated XC60 is expected to break cover in the first half of 2027. Production currently runs in Sweden and China, and from late 2026, the automaker will add XC60 assembly to its Ridgeville plant in South Carolina. +++