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Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news roundup bringing you the biggest automotive headlines from around the world.
Every item in The Downshift includes a link you can follow for the deeper story. Here’s your bulletin for Monday, June 22, 2026.
🤖 Xiaomi has set the first-ever record for a fully autonomous lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with its YU7 GT electric SUV clocking 10:29.483 around the famed circuit. As you’d expect from that time, it’s not a blistering run; the SUV reaches a top speed of 130 mph on the back straight, even though it has about 1,000 horsepower and once managed a 7-minute, 22-second lap with a human driver at the wheel. Still, as Xiaomi said, this effort is just a starting point, and it’ll be interesting to see how long it takes automakers to close that three-minute gap between man and machine, if that’s even possible. [Electrek]
🏭 Toyota is now manufacturing RAV4s in Kentucky, supplementing Canadian and Japanese production for the brand’s hottest vehicle. [Automotive News]
🛻 In other RAV4-related news, the SUV’s top engineer told an Australian outlet that while Toyota is not currently planning a unibody, RAV4-based pickup truck, the concept is “quite appealing,” and that, “deep in our heart of hearts, we all think, wouldn’t that be fun?” [Drive]
💸 “Porsche must be able to make money even with fewer cars,” CEO Michael Leiters told a German newspaper over the weekend, saying that the sports-car maker is planning to build fewer than the 280,000 it sold last year, and that he wants to bring back the 718 Boxster and Cayman models to bring in new customers. [Bloomberg]
🌍 BYD is serious about its expansion into Europe, with its VP of business for the region saying, “Our strategic goal is to be perceived as a European manufacturer in five years from now.” The Chinese automaker is planning a second factory on the continent, in addition to one in Hungary that is expected to come online by the end of the year, and wants to build out a fast-charging network there. [Automotive News]
🤑 The only Enzo Ferrari ever finished in the red-orange shade Rosso Dino was just auctioned for over $13 million through DuPont Registry’s online platform. The vendor says it’s the most expensive car ever auctioned online. [DuPont Registry]
🏁 Weekend race results:
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at San Diego: Layne Riggs won for Front Row Motorsports
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at San Diego: Austin Hill won for Richard Childress Racing
- MotoGP Czechia Grand Prix: Marc Márquez won for Ducati
- IndyCar at Road America: Christian Lundgaard won for Arrow McLaren
- NASCAR Cup Series at San Diego: Corey Heim won for 23XI Racing
Got a tip or feedback for TDS? Reach out to tips@thedrive.com
Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.
