Once given up for dead, the midsize pickup segment is booming — but faces a real battle as more players get set to enter the game. Get the story at Headlight.News.
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Toyota Scraps Plans For All-Electric LF-ZC Flagship
Toyota’s scrapped plans for the LF-ZC, the sedan that was set to serve as the new Lexus flagship. The move, Toyota said, reflects “fluctuations in market demand and the workload associated with vehicle planning and manufacturing,” and marks a sharp turnaround in EV strategy by the Japanese automaker’s new CEO. More from Headlight.News.
UAW Strikes Key Supplier, Potentially Crippling GM, Ford and Stellantis
Detroit’s Big Three automakers face the prospect of running short of key components for some of their most profitable models as the United Auto Workers Union strikes supplier American Axle. More from Headlight.News.
Mitsubishi Set to Enter U.S. Midsize Pickup Market — With Help from Nissan
Mitsubishi is the latest automaker to announce plans to enter the increasingly crowded market for midsize pickups. The move is part of the troubled Japanese automaker’s push to expand its light truck presence in the U.S. and requires a helping hand from Nissan, reports Headlight.News.
Iran War Oil Crisis May be Adding $700 or More to Your Annual Fuel Bill
Three months after the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, fuel prices are hovering in the mid-$4.00-a-gallon range. And that’s hitting the average American motorist hard in the pocketbook. Tthose driving gas-powered vehicles can expect to pay an extra $706 a year for fuel should the war drag on and gas prices hold at current levels. Headlight.News has more.
Oil Shortage Takes Another Step Toward Critical Mass
The ongoing war with Iran poses plenty of automotive-related problems, including higher gas prices, but there is a looming crisis when it comes to lubricants, which will only add to the draw on the bank accounts of Americans. Get the details at Headlight.News.
Hybrid Sales Set Record, Propped Up Weakening U.S. Auto Market
Hybrid sales set a record in April, accounting for about one in seven new vehicles sold by U.S. dealers – in the process helping prop up an otherwise weakening overall market. By year-end that could reach one in five, and it’s not just fuel prices driving the surge in hybrid demand. Headlight.News has more.
Automakers Warn Tariffs May Force Them to Drop Entry Models
At a time when the typical buyer now spending around $50,000 to drive off the dealer lot, millions of American motorists are being forced out of the new vehicle market. Budget buyers could soon find their choices even more limited, however, depending upon negotiations to update the U.S. -Mexico-Canada Agreement. How that shakes out may lead a number of U.S. and foreign-owned automakers to drop their most affordable models.
Nissan Outlines Plans for New Product Portfolio, Leaner Operations and Growth in U.S. Market
Let by CEO Ivan Espinosa, senior Nissan officials spent nearly an hour Thursday morning outlining a grand plan meant to move beyond the massive cuts it was forced to make over the last few years. It calls for a smaller, more focused product portfolio, new powertrain technologies, more tech features, a leaner product development and manufacturing system – and growth in the key markets of the U.S., Japan and China. Headlight.News has more.
Nissan Sets New Direction with New “Vision” Plan
Breaking News: Nissan will streamline its vehicle line-up, even while adding more powertrain options, CEO Ivan Espinosa announced during a Tuesday morning news conference on Tuesday morning Tokyo time. The strategy, dubbed “Mobility Intelligence for Everyday Life,” will also see the second-largest Japanese automaker put more emphasis on “AI-defined vehicles.”
Next-Gen Nissan Rogue Launching as Hybrid Only
Nissan is getting ready to roll out an all-new version of its best-selling product line. But it will be taking a big risk with the 2027 Nissan Rogue. It’s not just the fact that the compact SUV will be offered solely as a hybrid for at least the first year, but the fact that this will be Nissan’s all-new e-Power technology which takes a radically different approach from the hybrids currently on the road. Headlight.News has more.
Kia Set to Launch Electrified Body-on-Frame Pickup in U.S. by 2030
Kia will follow sibling Korean brand Hyundai in launching a midsize pickup, one in what’s expected to be a family of body-on-frame trucks bound for the U.S. market by 2030. The Kia model will be offered with various powertrain options, including a hybrid and an extended-range EV package, reports Headlight.News.