Facing an uncertain economic environment that threatens to undermine demand for retail sales, including new vehicles, the Federal Reserve Board voted to cut interest rates. But it’s far from clear that will be enough to head off an automotive downturn worsened by anticipated tariff-driven price hikes. More from Headlight.News.
Hyundai plans to locally produce 80% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S., the automaker announced Thursday. As part of a $55 billion global investment program it will spend $2.7 billion to expand the electrified vehicle plant near Savannah, Georgia hit by an ICE raid two weeks ago, boosting its production capacity to 500,000 vehicles annually. More from Headlight.News.
Japan reached a trade deal with the Trump administration that will lower tariffs on its auto imports to 15%. That’s nearly half what the president’s trade war initially imposed on Japanese-made vehicles – but its still six times more than the duties in place before the Trump trade war – which means thousands of dollars in potential price hikes should automakers pass the tariffs on to consumers. More from Headlight.News.
A total of 30 vehicles – six cars, five trucks and 19 utility vehicles – made the cut as NACTOY revealed the semifinalists chosen by its 50 U.S. and Canadian journalists. Here’s a look at the vehicles in the running for honors as North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year.
Now it’s Toyota’s turn. The automaker is recalling nearly 600,000 vehicles sold under both the Toyota and Lexus badges because their digital instrument panels can fail. Similar problems have plagued its competitors this year, notably Ford, reports Headlight.News.
Few vehicles have had more of an impact on the U.S. automotive market since the turn of the Millennium, even though Nissan Leaf has slipped into relative obscurity in an increasingly crowded EV segment. Can it regain its early luster? That’s what the Japanese automaker hopes as it rolls out an all-new 2026 Nissan Leaf offering a new crossover design, improved performance, substantially better range and plenty of other reasons to check it out. Add a surprisingly affordable price according to this Headlight.News review.
By the normal scheme of things, we should have to wait a few years to see Subaru make even modest changes to the Solterra EV it launched in 2023. But the 2026 Subaru Solterra gets some surprisingly notable updates, starting with the Tesla-style NACS charging port. Here’s our review.
Another day, another big Ford recall, it seems, the automaker now announcing it needs to fix faulty rearview cameras in about 1.9 million vehicles. It’s the second time this problem has cropped up recently – and now brings the total number of recalls involving Ford products to well over 100 this year. Headlight.News has more.
The battle of the behemoths heated up with the launch of the new Ram RHO. While not a full replacement for the monstrous TRX, it’s got the power and features to tackle even the toughest off-road environments. Add some serious luxury features and a price to match. Read the whole review at Headlight.News.
The new BMW iX3 is the first all-electric model based on the automaker’s Neue Klasse platform – but it won’t be the last. The Bavarian automaker’s CEO said Monday that 40 new and updated products using the “new class” technology will roll out over the next two years. Up next: the i3, an all-electric version of the 3-Series, reports Headlight.News.
Polestar’s next model is set to make its debut at IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich this week and it could position the Swedish automaker as a serious contender to performance products like the Tesla Model S, the Lucid Air and Porsche Taycan, with a top-end model set to deliver nearly 900 horsepower and gobs of tire-spinning torque. Here’s more from Headlight.New.
Setting the stage for the upcoming Munich Motor Show, hometown automaker BMW on Friday launched one of its most important product lines in decades. The new iX3 SUV is the first production version of the all-electric Neue Klasse and offers up to 400 miles range, ultra-fast charging and a new design language soon to reshape the rest of the BMW line-up. Headlight.News has more.