Happy Wednesday! It's September 24, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.
In this morning's edition, we're looking at automakers' disinterest in the continued habitability of our planet when there's profit to be had, as well as Stellantis' attempts to mitigate poor sales by cutting back on supply. We'll also look at a French investigation into Nissan, and the latest Ford recall.
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For decades now, there's been a song and dance between automakers and regulators. Automakers try to do the cheapest possible thing and charge the most for it, while regulators step in to say things like "Hey, maybe don't poison everyone and everything." Now, though, automakers want those regulators out of the picture — and the Trump administration has laid the groundwork. From Automotive News:
A group representing nearly all major automakers asked the Trump administration to roll back aggressive vehicle emissions limits that seek to force the industry to build a rising number of electric vehicles.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Co. and other major automakers, said in a filing with the Environmental Protection Agency that legislation signed by President Donald Trump in June will increase the effective price of EVs and could lead to a near-term decline in EV market share.
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The 2024 Biden rules aim to cut passenger vehicle fleetwide tailpipe emissions by nearly 50 percent by 2032 compared with 2027 projected levels. The EPA forecast between 35 percent and 56 percent of new vehicles sold between 2030 and 2032 would need to be electric.
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In July, the EPA proposed rescinding the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, removing the legal foundation for all U.S. greenhouse gas regulations, a move that would end current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from vehicle tailpipes.
We live in a world where the dumbest possible thing always happens, so expect this to work.
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The European auto market isn't looking so hot. Sales are stagnant, and automakers are scrambling to address the issue. Stellantis, for its part, is trying to cut supply to meet demand — and furlough thousands of workers in the process. From Automotive News:
Stellantis is pausing production at around six plants in Europe amid the region's weak car market.
The automaker will temporarily halt production of the Fiat Panda and Alfa Romeo Tonale at its factory in Pomigliano, near Naples, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, Stellantis said on Sept. 23. The plant's 3,800 workers will be put on furlough, it added in a statement.
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Other factories facing temporary production halts include Tychy in Poland, Eisenach in Germany and two plants in Spain, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Manufacturers usually earn a spot in TMS by idling one factory. Six is wild.
The French economy ministry's competition department informed Nissan Automotive Europe of the review last month, saying it was part of a broader effort to ensure companies were paying their suppliers promptly,according to an August 19 letter.
It plans to inspect Nissan's regional headquarters in Montigny-le-Bretonneux near Paris on October 7 as part of the process, the letter shows.
The scrutiny comes as the company is undertaking a sweeping global turnaround plan aimed at cutting $3.4 billion in costs and returning to growth.
The French government investigating Nissan is an interesting one, given that Nissan is a member of the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance that includes the partially French government-owned Renault. Is there any kind of conflict of interest to that? Who knows!
Ford
Ford fans, it's recall time again. Latest is an issue with the steering columns on Ford's heavy-duty trucks, which sounds simultaneously more severe and more limited in scope than many problems we've seen with the automaker this year. From Automotive News:
Ford Motor Co. is recalling 115,539 vehicles in the U.S. due to a defect that could cause the steering column's upper shaft to detach, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Sept. 24.
The issue, which can potentially lead to a loss of steering control, affects vehicles from model years 2020 through 2021, and includes F-250, F-350, and F-450 vehicles, the U.S. auto safety regulator said.
Ford dealers will inspect and repair or replace the faulty component free of charge, NHTSA said in the notice.
Recall number 112 in 2025! Give it up for number 112! You should probably stop taking a shot every time Ford issues a recall.
I highly recommend 5-4, a podcast about how much the Supreme Court sucks.
"This is a song about how, uh, sometimes you reach a point where you know they're going to kill you and when you come to that point, for a while, you feel resentful about it, 'cause you don't want to die, but then you start to really settle into your role as the person who wants to be killed, and you start to say to yourself, 'When they kill me, I hope my blood gets on them. That's going to be awesome, to see the gore from my innards spattering their guilty, filthy faces as they destroy me from top to bottom. Man, I wish they would do it today and stop putting it off. They think I don't know.'"
— John Darnielle
