Musk's Mess In Europe Allows Vw To Clean Up In Ev Sales

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It's August 21, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, VW's penitence for its diesel sins is starting to salary off, much tariff delirium eases immoderate of nan symptom for European automakers successful nan U.S., Nissan looks to make immoderate speedy rate by trading its location base, and a mini callback from Mitsubishi. 

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A decade ago, Volkswagen sewage caught retired connected its "clean diesel" claims by immoderate scrappy assemblage students who independently tested nan emissions connected a TDI vehicles and recovered measurement much pollutants coming retired nan tailpipe than nan onboard computers recorded during emanation testing. Shady package was nan culprit, and VW spent $37.2 cardinal successful recalls, fines, and fixes for its soiled diesels, and nan vulnerability of nan cheating done different automakers chicanery into nan public's eye. 

In consequence to nan Dieselgate scandal, VW leaned difficult into EVs. The institution had a extremity of beating best-selling Tesla astatine its ain game, a strategy that saw income flailing until recently. Thanks to nan emergence successful value of VW's EVs and nan driblet successful Musk's cachet successful Europe, VW has yet complete taken nan EV giant. From Bloomberg: 

The group's conveyance income accrued successful nan 2nd quarter, driven by a 38% summation successful world EV deliveries from nan erstwhile year. VW's updated ID models—a hatchback, an SUV crossover and a full-size sedan—have garnered praise for caller interiors and revamped software. In Europe its latest battery-powered cars person outsold Tesla's successful caller months, benefiting successful nary mini portion from Elon Musk's governmental antics, but besides from improved quality. The group is connected way to beryllium Europe's apical EV shaper for 2025, up of Tesla, Stellantis and Renault.

VWs early EVs near a batch to beryllium desired, but it looks for illustration European buyers person forgiven nan institution for some its bald-face emissions cheating (on a continent wherever they return that benignant of this very seriously) and its shaky first steps into nan electron-powered car world. The preamble of a €25,000 hatchback adjacent period could beryllium nan nail successful nan Tesla income coffin that VW has been looking for. A bully point too, arsenic income successful nan world's largest EV market, China, are looking weaker each nan clip acknowledgment to nan crisp emergence of home manufacturers. 

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Tariffs man. They spell up, they spell down, they disappear, they reappear, and each connected a whim contempt tariffs being nan business of Congress and not nan president, according to nan Constitution of these United States. But who cares astir that document; it was written by guys who wore tights and said successful funny accents.

The existent tariff complaint betwixt nan U.S. and our accepted friend connected nan world stage, occidental Europe, has travel down from 27.5% to a measly 15%. You tin really consciousness emotion betwixt our 2 governments. From Reuters: 

Cars and car parts will beryllium taxable to nan 15% tariff, compared to nan 27.5% they look now, but only from nan first time of nan period successful which nan European Union introduces arsenic legislative connection to region its tariffs connected U.S. business goods.

The associated connection besides says that nan U.S. and nan EU intend to judge and supply communal nickname of each other's standards for cars.

The EU besides promised to bargain $750 cardinal successful earthy gas, oil, and atomic merchandise earlier nan extremity of this decade and "at least" $40 cardinal successful U.S. AI chips, according to Politico. The benignant of metals utilized successful building cars coming into nan states from nan EU, for illustration steel, aluminum, and copper, will enactment astatine 50% but nan 2 powerhouses will activity connected lowering that complaint arsenic good arsenic reducing overproduction of nan metals. The EU will apt driblet tariffs connected incoming cars to 0%, arsenic nan EU is axing each tariffs connected U.S. equipment coming into nan country.

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Things aren't going awesome at Nissan. Its caller CEO wants to shutter accommodation successful bid to statement up nan car manufacturing giant's financial health. Instead of closing down factories, CEO Ivan Espinosa is looking to unload nan company's 22-story HQ successful nan bosom of Yokohama, a larboard metropolis southbound of Tokyo. It looks for illustration Nissan mightiness person recovered a purchaser successful Japanese existent property giant KJR Management, a subsidiary of KKR & Co. The marketplace likes nan deal, but if they tin propulsion it disconnected remains unclear, according to Bloomberg: 

KKR and KJRM are considering ways to raise money to finance nan imaginable transaction, and nan woody includes leasing nan agency backmost to Nissan for 10 years, nan group said. Discussions are ongoing and nan parties progressive whitethorn determine against proceeding pinch a deal, they added.

Shares of Nissan roseate 1.5% successful Tokyo trading Thursday, aft jumping arsenic overmuch arsenic 3.7% connected nan news of its agency sale. Nissan and KKR representatives declined to comment.

Nissan is connected its backmost ft successful this difficult situation of perpetually shifting tariffs and changing customer desires. An aging and, let's look it, boring statement up, perpetually shifting tariffs and monolithic debt–$5.6 cardinal is owed adjacent year–all conspired against that long-sought return to profitability. Remember Nissan, it's amended to pain retired than to slice away. 

Mitsubishi

Speaking of car companies fading into obscurity, Mitsubishi has a callback retired on 91,697 Outlander and Outlander Hybrid SUVs. The rear hatch connected these vehicles could autumn connected owners unexpectedly, resulting successful injury. 

This isn't nan first back-end callback Mitsubishi has issued this summer. In June, nan automaker recalled nan aforesaid vehicles but connected a overmuch larger scale; astir 200,000 Outlanders some hybrid and gas-only were recalled complete faulty backup cameras. The rumor past was package that could lead to stiff displays, that successful move could lead to folks backing up into things. Now nan existent rear hatches are affected, and will request much than conscionable a package update to clear things up. 

Check your recalls periodically folks, you really don't want to get astatine nan infirmary and person to explicate that your Mitsubishi tried to eat you.

We don't talk astir Ransom E. Olds enough. He was an innovator who was miles up of Ford and nan Dodge brothers astatine nan move of nan century. He had his curved-dash Oldsmobile connected nan marketplace erstwhile different early Detroit automakers were still futzing astir pinch quadricycles. Plus what a name! Not capable Ransoms moving astir anymore. 

Love a wild, messy female pinch fat thumps and rhymes. Maybe don't blare this 1 successful nan mediate of your office.