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Driving a manual vehicle is a lost art. Hopes of a revival have fallen flat. With the rise of EVs and autonomous vehicles, only a few die-hards are holding on. Less than 1 percent of new vehicles made for the U.S. market in 2025 were stick shifts, according to preliminary government data. At just 0.6 percent, it was an all-time low. That’s a precipitous drop from the 34.6 percent of vehicles with manual transmissions produced in 1980. | The Washington Post ($)

For decades, Volkswagen Group’s prowess in selling German-engineered cars around the world helped support a growing army of some of the auto industry’s best-paid workers back home. Now, that once-unshakeable business model—and the vast workforce it sustained—is under threat like never before. Volkswagen is facing challenges on multiple fronts. Chinese electric vehicles have eroded its business in China, which for years subsidized operations back home. Chinese brands are now making inroads into Volkswagen’s European heartlands, and President Trump’s tariffs have added billions of dollars in costs to its import-reliant U.S. business. Progress in reducing the workforce has been slow, with the company relying on early retirement programs and voluntary layoffs to keep peace with the union. At the end of last year, Volkswagen still employed about 660,000 workers, roughly one for every 14 cars it sold. Toyota Motor Corporation, the only company similar in scale, employed roughly 410,000 to sell 11.3 million vehicles—about 28 vehicles per employee. The Detroit Three have sales-to-staff ratios in the mid-20s. Germany is an expensive country in which to produce cars, costing more per worker than anywhere else, according to the VDA, the local trade body. Even within Europe, automotive labor costs in countries such as Portugal, Romania and Hungary are less than a third of German levels, according to VDA calculations. | The Wall Street Journal ($)

Lucid Motors is denying a report that it’s weighing filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Lucid denied the rumors as being "completely false." Lucid’s denial comes after its stock price sunk more than 50% on Tuesday, its biggest intra-day drop ever, according to Bloomberg News. The stock has recovered from the free fall, and was trading at $4.72 a share as of 2:46 p.m. ET, about 14% lower than its opening price. The company recently named a new CEO and has laid off more than 2,000 employees this year as part of a sweeping restructuring ahead of the expected launch of its smaller, more affordable electric SUV later this year. Earlier Tuesday, an electric vehicle blog published a report citing two unnamed sources who said the company was considering either filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection or going private on the recommendation of consulting firm AlixPartners. Twork said AlixPartners is assisting Lucid on strengthening its operations and “nothing else and has not recommended bankruptcy to management or the Board.” AlixPartners has been a go-to consulting firm for struggling electric vehicle companies in recent years. | TechCrunch ($)

High-tech features are making vehicles more expensive and difficult to repair, putting pressure on already strained car owners and posing an existential crisis for mom-and-pop mechanics, analysts and consumer advocates say. At issue is the shift from mostly mechanical vehicles to "big four-wheel rolling computers," as one auto industry analyst said. Local mechanics say they're facing roadblocks accessing the tools and information needed to work on modern vehicles, potentially giving dealerships a monopoly on maintenance and repairs of new models. | The Detroit News ($)

Automakers have long counted on parts-sharing to keep costs down—not just across individual lineups, but even across brands and market segments. Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform became the poster child for modern parts-sharing architectures in the 2010s, and many other automakers have since consolidated their lineups to the bare minimum of fundamental platforms to make manufacturing cheaper and more consistent. But there are downsides. VW Group has long been accused of offering the same sausage in different lengths, as it were, and commonality across brands tends to invite accusations of cost-cutting and even badge-engineering—sometimes fairly, in both cases, but not always. Now, imagine that sort of commonality across not just multiple brands under the same corporate umbrella, but across multiple manufacturing entities. That’s what the Japanese auto industry is reportedly considering. | The Drive

The automotive industry’s increasing use of over-the-air (OTA) technology makes it more susceptible to cyberattacks, analysts say. OTA technology is wireless tech that can deliver new software, firmware, fixes and data to internet-connected devices. The growing penetration of OTA technology in the auto industry has raised concerns, however, particularly regarding transportation infrastructure. | CNBC

In 1975, Singapore became the first city in the world to implement congestion pricing, charging drivers a fee to cross checkpoints and enter a central zone. It’s a concept that later spread to London, Stockholm, Milan and most recently New York City. In 1998, the checkpoints were replaced with “Electronic Road Pricing” using wireless transponders inside vehicles — another widely copied tolling innovation, used across the US in systems like E-Z Pass and FasTrak. Now Singapore is launching its latest overhaul, known as ERP 2.0, which relies on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to manage tolls. By the end of this year, every Singaporean driver is expected to use this new system. ERP 2.0 is the first system of its kind in the world, and it offers an early picture of ways that satellites could change how governments collect vehicle data, mitigate gridlock, and share real-time information with drivers. It also opens the door to a longstanding dream of transportation reformers: distance-based road pricing. Calculating vehicle fees based on actual journeys and corresponding externalities like congestion would be an efficiency upgrade compared to gas taxes, which penalize owners of older cars, enable drivers of electric vehicles to avoid paying, and impose the same fee on trips at 8 a.m., when roadways are often full, as at 8 p.m., when they are not. | Bloomberg ($)

The supercars of the 1980s still look as good as ever, but even an ordinary crossover can beat them in a straight fight. A Skoda electric crossover—the Elroq vRS—that was quicker than a Ferrari Testarossa, Lamborghini Countach, and Porsche 944 Turbo in a drag race at the hallowed Dunsfold track. | The Drive

Buoyed by billions of dollars in federal investment in charging infrastructure and a generous $7,500 consumer tax credit, the electric vehicle market in the United States hit historic highs, climbing from annual sales of roughly 490,000 in 2021 to more than 800,000 in 2022 — an increase of approximately 60 percent. Many experts believed that the United States was now poised to enter the fruitful second phase of what’s commonly known as an S-curve, in which early interest in an emerging technology gives way to widespread adoption. If they were right — and data from other parts of the globe suggested they were — the rollout of long-range electric SUVs was more than savvy thinking. It was an investment in the future. Under the second Trump administration, the EV tax credit was eliminated and tailpipe-emission standards were gutted, which more or less instantly drove down sales of new battery-powered vehicles and encouraged the so-called Big Three — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the maker of the Dodge, Chrysler, Ram and Jeep brands — to refocus their considerable resources on trucks and plus-size SUVs. Assembly lines at EV plants went dormant, and the battery plants that had sprung up around the country in the Biden years were unceremoniously closed or repurposed for other tasks, like the manufacture of industrial battery storage units. Thousands of workers lost their jobs. In purely financial terms, the combined cost of this industry about-face remains nothing short of staggering: This year, Stellantis alone was forced to write down $26 billion in EV-related losses. (Ford reported a slightly less ghastly $19 billion loss.) But somehow, it’s the long-term repercussions that look worse. | The New York Times ($)

In the United States, we have been blessed with a power grid that instantly responds whenever you flick on the lights. It works mostly as expected, cooling our homes, charging our laptops and phones, running lifesaving equipment. But as we plug more things into the grid, it will come under unprecedented strain. Virtually every economic goal that American politicians might strive for — growing the economy, reinvigorating the manufacturing sector, fighting climate change or just making life more affordable — will require big upgrades to the electricity system. Lately Americans have become fixated on the explosion in data centers and the power needs of artificial intelligence. That is actually a small part of a much bigger problem. Our grid is too old and our supply of electricity too small. If we don’t meet this moment, we will face an impoverished future of more expensive, less reliable energy, and slower economic growth. In a worst-case scenario, we could see Americans defect from the grid entirely, raising costs for everyone. Something needs to change now. | The New York Times ($)

Peter Navarro, The White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, argues that BYD is plundering global car markets. In response, Europe is dithering, Canada is opening America’s northern gate, and Mexico is becoming the southern staging ground for China’s assault on the U.S. auto market. He believes this is how industrial wars are lost: not by surrender but by letting the predator encircle markets while its would-be victims temporize. | Politico

The U.S. auto industry has to be prepared to take on China’s fiercely competitive carmakers and expect that one day they will break into America, Ford Motor Company's executive chairman said Tuesday. “We have to go toe-to-toe with China,” said Bill Ford, the automaker’s executive chair, at an Axios event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. “We can’t expect to keep them out forever, and we have to be able to beat them at their own game.” Ford’s remarks come as a bipartisan bill moves through Congress aimed at effectively banning Chinese cars from the U.S. entirely. Ford Motor has said it supports the legislation and its aim of protecting the U.S. industrial base. China’s automakers—powered by copious state subsidies and advanced technology—have displaced competitors around the world, but they are currently kept out of the U.S. by tariffs and national-security restrictions. A Senate committee is expected to vote Wednesday on the anti-Chinese car bill. A similar bill is pending in the House. | The Wall Street Journal ($)

BYD can unseat Toyota as the world’s biggest carmaker by sales without access to the U.S. market, according to the executive spearheading the Chinese group’s global ambitions, suggesting it will intensify an aggressive European expansion. Rivals were stunned last month after Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s founder and chief executive, announced a plan to wrestle the crown from the Japanese carmaker within five years through rapid advances in charging technology and explosive overseas growth. The electric-car maker sold 4.5mn cars last year, far below Toyota’s 10.5mn, a total dependent on the Japanese company’s access to the lucrative U.S. market and its continued sale of internal-combustion-engine models. “I think he made this ambitious target [to achieve] with our own organic growth,” Stella Li, who heads BYD’s international operations, told the Financial Times. “We don’t need the US market to achieve that.” Li also said the Shenzhen-based group could seize the title from Toyota, which has held it since 2020, without making an acquisition to drive sales. Wang’s announcement was met with scepticism from within the car industry given BYD’s lack of access to the U.S. market, the second biggest after China. | Financial Times ($)

BYD launched the new Denza Z at the Goodwood FOS this weekend. While the electric supercar costs nearly $200,000, it’s still cheaper —and faster — than a Porsche 911 Turbo S. The Denza Z “marks a watershed moment for the global auto industry,” BYD said after introducing the electric supercar at the Beijing Auto Show in April. BYD’s sub-brand, Denza, is preparing to go head-to-head with Europe’s top luxury automakers like Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. The Denza Z arrives as “the world’s first intelligent supercar,” according to BYD, delivering “shattering high performance,” 5-minute Flash Charging, and its latest breakthrough technology. BYD announced that the electric supercar will be available in three variations: Coupe, Spider, and Racing. As the first vehicle based on BYD’s e3 platform, all Denza Z models are equipped with three electric motors, one in the front and two at the rear, delivering a combined 1,582 hp (1,604 PS). When equipped with the optional semi-slick tires, the Racing variant can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in as little as 1.96 seconds with a top speed of 217 mph. | Electrek

Over the past 15 years, as China’s share of global manufacturing surged to around one-third, the share of loss-making industrial businesses jumped from about 10 percent in 2010 to nearly 25 percent last year, according to the MERICS China Overcapacities Monitor. This dynamic exists across everything from steel and cement to cars, computer chips and robots. Take the automotive sector for example. Domestic car sales last year totalled 23.9mn against estimated production capacity of 45mn to 50mn. Sales are highly concentrated among a clutch of leading companies. According to HSBC, more than 70 per cent of EV sales — including plug-in hybrids — are being soaked up by 10 brands, leaving 47 others jostling for the remainder. In the shrinking market for petrol and diesel cars, 10 brands have about 70 percent of sales and 73 others compete for the rest. In interviews and private meetings with dozens of auto executives, industry analysts and economists over recent months, no one seems clear on the path Beijing will take. Until recently, state rescues of failing auto companies were expected — this was neatly illustrated by the nearly $1bn bailout of NIO in 2020. However, one senior Chinese auto executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said cash-strapped local governments would struggle to do this today. Keyu Jin, a professor at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology who documented the Nio rescue in her book, The New China Playbook, said officials in China were “keenly aware” of the pervasiveness of low profitability and overcapacity, and they know that “not doing anything about it is also not a long-term solution”. Jin expects that in sectors with “significant expertise and also global dominance” — such as EVs — local governments will instead encourage consolidation. | Financial Times ($)

As companies like Waymo and Tesla bring self-driving taxis to more cities, the messier aspects of serving unpredictable humans are becoming harder to ignore. Passengers are falling asleep, spilling drinks, dropping food, vomiting, experiencing medical emergencies and, in at least two instances, giving birth in the cars. They stumble out of the vehicles and forget to close the doors, forcing the operators to pay nearby gig workers to do it. These seemingly minor nuisances are becoming a drain on municipal resources and complicating the rollout of robotaxi service. So many robotaxi customers have nodded off in the midst of a ride that Austin police and firefighters even have a name for the incidents: “sleepers.” The Texas capital recorded 99 such calls in Waymo’s first nine months of service there, said Roger Patterson, a commander with Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. If tired or wasted passengers fall asleep in a traditional taxi or rideshare, the driver can shout or shake them awake. Not so in a robotaxi. Remote assistants monitoring the cars try talking through the speakers and checking on passengers with interior cameras. But if they get no response, company protocols often require them to call 911. And first responders have to assume the worst. | Bloomberg ($)

Automakers developing self-driving cars are betting on car insurance discounts becoming one of their chief selling points. While the technology and the laws around it remain divisive, consumers excited about self-driving capabilities boast about safety gains and time back in the car for work or entertainment. And if reduced crash risk could also slash their insurance bills? Even better. Experts say that insurance companies will likely face pressure to offer more affordable car insurance if self-driving cars prove to be safer and lower insurers' costs. However, cheaper insurance is not guaranteed, and there are several reasons why self-driving technology may ultimately fail to deliver significant savings. | Money

Waymo and Uber are trading thinly veiled jabs in a gathering lobbying battle, despite being nominally partners. The two companies have different goals, with Uber wanting to protect and grow its position linking consumers to transportation, and Waymo aiming to disrupt the economics of ride-hailing and build its own brand. Uber's efforts to slow and shape the process of robotaxi deployment, while offering a defense, also suggests anxiety about the potential outcome of widespread robotaxi deployment cannibalizing its business. | Bloomberg ($)

A decade ago, then-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said he saw autonomous vehicles as an existential threat to the ride-hail company's business model. “What would happen if we weren’t a part of that future? If we weren’t part of the autonomy thing? Then the future passes us by,” Kalanick told Business Insider. In the years since, Uber has settled on a strategy that, rather than see it build and operate its own self-driving cars, puts it on track to become the place where riders can get connected with any ride, driven by a human or robot. “We think there are going to be many AV players around the world, and we want to be the go-to commercial platform for all of them,” now-CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told investors in 2024. Since then, the company has signed agreements with more than 25 major robotaxi players, with driverless vehicles from Waymo, Nuro, Baidu, Inc., and Volkswagen’s MOIA either available or soon to be available on the Uber app in several global cities. Now, according to documents viewed by WIRED and another obtained through a public records request, Uber’s lobbyists are pushing to build that strategy into law. The company’s representatives have pressed lawmakers to deploy autonomous vehicles on what it calls “hybrid networks,” where human drivers work alongside robots as the new tech grows. In New Jersey, a lobbyist representing Uber took the strategy a step further, circulating legislative language that would, for a period of three years, require any platform offering driverless ride-hailing services to have human drivers serve 85 percent of its rides. The language would likely prevent self-driving vehicle developers, including Waymo, Zoox, and Tesla, from operating their own ride-hail apps in the state—effectively forcing them onto another ride-hail app if they hope to enter the market and limiting competition for Uber, the country’s reigning ride-hail leader. | Wired ($)

Waymo activated fully driverless operations in Las Vegas this week, with Denver, San Diego, and Tampa next in line. Rides open to Alphabet Inc. employees first, then to the public. The scale behind the announcement: roughly 4,000 robotaxis, more than 20 million trips completed, and around 500,000 paid rides per week earlier this year, against a stated target of 1 million weekly rides by the end of 2026, with London to follow as the first international market. Two details in the list deserve more attention than the headline. Denver is Waymo’s first snow-and-ice market. Every previous launch city is warm and dry, so this is the first time the “generalizable driver” thesis meets a real winter. And Tampa was not on the previously disclosed 2026 target list. Waymo is adding cities while executing on the existing ones. | The AV Market Strategist

Hyundai Motor Company workers began a three-day partial strike as their union demands bigger bonuses and guarantees jobs won’t be lost to AI and robots. The union is pushing for a performance bonus tied to 30% of the previous year’s consolidated net profit and a full monthly salary system to insulate fixed incomes from automation. The work stoppage could incur losses of more than 18.7 billion won per hour, with the three-day disruption carrying significant weight due to South Korea's role in Hyundai's manufacturing network. | Bloomberg ($)

When Hyundai unveiled its new humanoid robot worker named “Atlas” in January, tens of thousands of Korean auto employees gaped at the 6-foot-2 robot strutting across a trade-show stage, its joints swiveling a full 360 degrees. The union’s response was blunt: Atlas would never step onto a production line without workers agreeing first. This week, Hyundai’s auto workers in South Korea have gone on a partial strike. It is the car industry’s first factory stoppage addressing humanoid robots. | The Wall Street Journal ($)

The assembly line that built the world’s first truly modern electric car has been decommissioned after 14 years. Tesla started mass production of the Model S at the former General Motors and Toyota Motor Corporation factory in Fremont, California, in 2012, with the Model X SUV joining the lineup in 2015. That chapter is now officially over, as the part of the factory that used to assemble the two flagship EVs has been stripped out to make room for humanoid robots. Tesla shared a short video showing the decommissioning process of the original Model S and Model X assembly line, saying that the whole process took just 46 days. | Inside EVs

Auriga Space signed a three-year research partnership called a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, to explore whether electromagnetic accelerators can offer a cheaper, faster-firing alternative to conventional missile interceptors for shooting down drones. Drone swarms built from cheap, mass-produced aircraft can now overwhelm air defenses simply by being numerous and disposable, forcing defenders to burn through expensive, slow-to-replace interceptors just to knock down machines that cost a tiny fraction of the price. That imbalance played out starkly during this year’s U.S. military campaign against Iran, when American forces fired more than 1,000 Patriot interceptors but received only 172 new ones back in return, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank that tracks defense supply chains. Each PAC-3 Patriot interceptor costs roughly $4 million to build, and the Center’s analysis found that American stockpiles will not fully recover from that deficit until 2029 at the earliest, a gap that has pushed military planners to search for fundamentally different approaches rather than simply asking factories to build conventional interceptors faster. | Defence Blog

Our Automotive Ventures “Car of the Week”: a 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP400 S Series I by Bertone. | RM Sotheby’s

How can autonomous technologies make cars dramatically safer, while also bringing out the worst in human behavior? Is the solution to enable the car to monitor its unruly passengers? | CBT News ($)

Corey Lydstone from CarGenius AI interviewed. | AutoSuccess

PromptPath enables your team to master every phone and in-person interaction, putting people skills front and center, building the kind of trust that turns shoppers into buyers. | PromptPath

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