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The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news roundup serving up the biggest automotive headlines from across the globe. The Downshift gets you up to speed with quick recaps of stories, fit with links for those who want to dive deeper into the news. Here’s your bulletin for Tuesday, June 2, 2026. 📈 Hyundai has announced its May sales figures, and while overall sales have increased by 3% against May 2025, the biggest story is that the…

The M xDrive system also includes an Active M Differential that splits the torque across the rear axle, helps maximise traction, and includes specifically tuned traction control and stability control settings.  Plus, the driver can choose how the all-wheel-drive behaves, with one option being a pure rear-wheel-drive mode that deactivates the stability control. It’s the same as in the bigger BMW M3 and M4. Advertisement – Article continues belowFundamentally, the 473bhp twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six engine and eight-speed automatic transmission in the new M2 xDrive are the same as in the regular model. However, the motor features so-called “BMW M Ignite” technology.…

While a handful of enthusiasts downright refuse to acknowledge the existence of sports sedans — instead insisting that only coupes and convertibles can be “real” sports cars — the performance-oriented four-door market isn’t dead. Sure, traditional sedans are a dying breed, as sporty SUVs with more cargo space and decent handling have taken over. However, manufacturers such as BMW and Genesis still offer luxurious rides with plenty of power. The BMW 3 Series Sedan has been around for decades, with its history in the United States stretching back to the late 1970s. Its fastest variant, the M3, has had a…

The BMW M2 is now available with the option of four-wheel drive for the first time, meaning every M car can now be had with two driven axles. The M2 xDrive has been revealed ahead of it going on sale in late summer, priced from £74,255 – around £4000 more than the standard rear-driven M2.  That’s also around £12,000 more than its closest comparable rival, the five-cylinder, 4WD Audi RS3 hot hatch; the M2 is now the only mainstream two-door sports coupé on the market, having outlived the Porsche 718 Cayman, Toyota GR Supra, Alpine A110, Jaguar F-Type and Audi TT RS.…

It wasn’t that long ago that most drivers were fine with whatever GPS app came on their phone. You just typed in an address, followed the blue line, and crossed your fingers about traffic. It was simple, and you knew what to expect. While many of us were looking the other way, the habits and needs of modern drivers shifted with remarkable speed. Car industry data show that full-size pickup trucks consistently rank among the top three best-sellers in the US, selling millions each year. SUVs sell even more, making up more than half of all new car…

Market share of world’s top EV battery makers (Jan-Apr 2026) Market Share of World’s Top EV Battery Makers (Jan-Apr 2026) Company Market Share (%) Installations (GWh) CATL 40.1% 141.4 BYD 14.2% 50.0 LG Energy Solution 9.1% 32.0 CALB 5.1% 18.1 Gotion High-tech 4.4% 15.6 SK On 3.5% 12.3 Panasonic 3.4% 12.0 Eve Energy 3.3% 11.5 Svolt 2.6% 9.3 Sunwoda 2.5% 8.7 Others 11.8% 41.7 Seven Chinese companies rank among the top 10, commanding a combined 72.2% share of the global EV battery market. CATL’s market share increased compared to the same period last year, while BYD saw a slight decline.…

Hollywood’s complicated romance with artificial intelligence just got a whole lot more interesting. Martin Scorsese, the 83-year-old director behind Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and The Departed, has signed on as a partner and adviser to Black Forest Labs, a fast-growing AI image generation startup. As reported by the New York Times, Scorsese used the company’s technology during preproduction for a new film and released a video from his New York office explaining his enthusiasm. For an industry that only three years ago went on strike partly over AI protections, this is a remarkable turn of events. Scorsese is using AI but…

So, where do we even begin with this particular story? Frankly, we’d love to get the inside scoop, and we spent a good portion of the day trying to find just that. At a glance, the photo above appears harmless enough. It’s a T-shirt with an American flag in the background, Ram Power in big letters in the middle, and a good ol’ Ram pickup truck front and center. But look closer. Is this actually a teaser for the upcoming midsize Ram Daktoa? Only if it’s an older Toyota. And we haven’t even discussed the problem with the Stars and…

How do we know EVs are here to stay? Electric terminal brand Orange EV just announced a new, record single order that includes 600 new electric Class 8 trucks, proving that there’s a genuine market for HDEVs even without Federal incentives. If it makes cents, it makes sense, and as we enter the fourth month of war in Iran and a closed Strait of Hormuz continues to drive up oil and fuel costs, more and more heavy fleets are taking a fresh look at EVs – and the math seems to be mathing, with new Orange EV leases growing 272%…

Sony ended its big State of Play showcase with a major reveal: the next God of War. The new title is called God of War Laufey, and is once again developed by Sony’s Santa Monica studio. Currently, the game doesn’t have a date, but it’s coming to the PS5 whenever it does launch.This time, instead of perpetually furious dad Kratos, players will take control of Faye / Laufey, as the title implies. That means that while the tone of the game seems somewhat similar to past God of War titles, the gameplay looks quite different, with much more aerobatic action…