It’s four years since the last Tokyo Motor Show took place, and even then, it was fading into obscurity. Organizers hope to give it a boost of adrenaline in an updated form — and with a new name. While foreign brands are largely absent, again, there’ll be lots happening at the new Japan Mobility Show as the nation’s automakers charge in with an assortment of all-electric concepts and production models.
Sometimes you can’t wait for the day to end, and that’s probably the case for Tesla investors who watched the stock stumble since the automaker delivered a weak third-quarter earnings report, sending shares tumbling for two days in a row. Among those hardest hit, CEO Elon Musk whose own holdings have now lost more than $20 billion in value.
Any foreigner who has tried to negotiate Tokyo’s narrow, windy and painfully crowded roads knows what a challenge that can be. But General Motors and Honda say they’re confident they’ve got a better way to navigate traffic, with the partners set to launch service by Cruise robotaxis in Japan’s capitol starting in 2026.
The Nissan Hyper Punk is easily the edgiest of four EV concepts the automaker will formally reveal at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo next week. The body looks like it emerged from an origami studio. But the Hyper Punk concept could easily find a fit in Japanese manga – or, as it turns out, the Fortnite online game.
GM manufacturing chief Gerald Johnson took an end run around UAW leaders by providing striking workers a detailed look at the company’s latest contract offer. “These are not poverty wages,” he stressed, noting many union employees will make over $100,000 before benefits. GM, Johnson stressed, simply can’t offer any more if it hopes to remain competitive.
Within a week of its 2019 launch, Tesla claimed to have logged 250,000 advance reservations for the Cybertruck, and CEO Musk claims the number is now up to 1 million. Yet, even with the all-electric pickup finally in production, it very well could turn into a bust, CEO Elon Musk telling investors and analysts “We dug our own grave with the Cybertruck.”
Talk about a halo car. Toyota offered up a mysterious teaser image Thursday hinting at a new model in the works. It took a little detective work for Headlight.News to figure out what it is. But we’ll give the secret away. Check out this report for more on what to expect with the 2025 Toyota Camry.
With rare exception, everything Volvo brings to market, going forward, will be all-electric. And that includes the brand’s first minivan. Images of the Volvo EM90 have begun leaking out and, not surprisingly, it bears a more than passing resemblance to the ZEEKR 009, the all-electric people-mover also being launched next year by the Swedish automaker’s Chinese parent, Geely.
Once again, GM is delaying production of some of its new battery-electric vehicles, this time announcing that production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV pickups won’t start rolling out of the suburban Detroit Orion Assembly Plant until late 2025. But, as Headlight.News reports, limited numbers of Silverado EV commercial models are being produced at a second plant.
Ford dropped a shift at the Dearborn, Michigan plant assembling its all-electric F-150 Lightning. The automaker blamed “multiple constraints,” for the move, but the UAW says the production cut comes as sales “have tanked.” If anything, Ford had expected a growing surge in demand as it prepares a major expansion of capacity at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center.
Slow to enter the EV market, Toyota is making up for lost time. And it’s signaling its shift in direction at this week’s Japan Mobility Show where it will unveil two all-electric concept vehicles, including one that could become a battery-powered successor to the Toyota Supra.
Nearly five weeks in, there appears to be no immediate end in sight for the UAW’s strike against Detroit’s Big Three. In his first appearance since the union’s contracts with his company expired, Ford Chairman Bill Ford spoke out, warning the walkout could destroy the American auto industry, and saying “We need to come together to bring an end to this acrimonious round of talks.”