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A daily hot lap of headlines from the auto industry and car culture, curated by The Drive’s editors.
Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, a daily sweep of today’s top headlines from the auto industry and car culture, curated by The Drive’s editorial team. Each story gets a short summary and a link to the original source if you want to dive deeper. Senior Editor Adam Ismail is in transit on assignment and I’ll be your driver this morning.
Here’s what’s cooking on Monday, October 12, 2026:
🔋 After killing its upcoming 0 Series EVs and taking a $15 billion loss Honda is betting its future on hybrids. The Japanese automaker is planning no less than 15 hybrid models all set to arrive by 2030 with most models set to come to the U.S. market. [InsideEVs]
😍 The Citroën 2CV is back! The icon has been reborn and debuted in concept form over the weekend in Paris ahead of formally arriving in 2028. The concept is said to preview a small £13k (about $17,000) EV that will arrive in 2028. It’s so adorable and I love it. [Autocar]
☕️ Of course a van version of the 2CV concept that baristas could only dream about debuted as well. And it’s just as adorable while also seemingly functional looking. [Autocar]
🤏 Volkswagen, a company that built a reputation around small, well-packaged vehicles is struggling in a today’s era. CEO Thomas Schäfer said small electric cars are the hardest part of the automaker’s business despite the latest cost-sharing strategies. It’s a real bad day when VW can’t compete in the small car segment. [Automotive News]
☘️ Alfa Romeo proved it still has its design mojo with the debut of the Cuorerosso. Said to preview the Italian automaker’s future the concept features a twin-turbo V6 and stunning design with gorgeous curves and a fastback silhouette. [Autocar]
🅱️ Peugeot reconnected with its Group B rally-car roots with the debut of the E-T16. The 805-horsepower tri-motor EV wildly reimagines a hero for a new electric era. It’s cool. [Top Gear]
🇨🇳 Geely, the Chinese automaker that is the parent company of Volvo, is offically coming to the Canadian market. The automaker announced it will sell cars under its namesake in 2027, but specific models haven’t been called out, yet. [InsideEVs]
🔫 The BMW Concept 7 Protection debuted as a vision of what a armored luxury sedan hiding in plain sight can look like. BMW said the goal is to have this armored car blend in rather than stand out. Production has not been confirmed as it’s only a concept, for now. [Motor1]
⚠️ The National Highway Traffic Administration is looking into Tesla’s Robotaxis reportedly speeding through school zones. The probe is looking into an estimated 1,000 vehicles from the 2026 model year. The situation complicated Tesla’s rollout of its Robotaxi service. [Bloomberg]
🏁 Weekend race winners:
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Charlotte: Layne Riggs for Front Row Motorsports
- Intercontinental GT Challenge Indianapolis 8 Hours: Kyle Washington, Riccardo Pera, and Ayhancan Güven for GMG Racing
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Charlotte: Corey Day for Hendrick Motorsports
- MotoGP Indonesia Grand Prix: Marco Bezzecchi for Aprilia
- Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix: Max Verstappen for Red Bull
- NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte: Chase Briscoe for Joe Gibbs Racing
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As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media. He’s also a World Car Award juror.
