Toyota’s Sales Keep Climbing Despite Every Reason Not To: TDS

Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.

The Downshift is our daily summary of all the auto industry headlines you need to know. News is recapped with a few sentences with links to dig deeper if you wish, and it pairs great with a warm caffeinated beverage of your choosing. Let’s kick Monday off, shall we?

📈 Toyota fended off supplier headwinds due to the war in the Middle East as well as U.S. tariffs to record 11.3 million sales globally for the fiscal year that has just concluded, per Bloomberg. In the U.S. specifically, the automaker claimed nearly 2.52 million vehicles sold across Toyota and Lexus brands, a 7.7% increase over the prior period. The results for March alone better reflected the current predicament facing manufacturers, though, with global sales tumbling 6% year-on-year.

💡 Nissan has patented a pickup truck tailgate design that allows the gate to roll up and over top of the bed, to allow drivers to carry longer items without dropping the tailgate normally, per Autoblog.

💶 Kia is on a campaign to cut prices in Europe to better compete with Chinese automakers, Reuters reports.

📱 Audi has introduced the refreshed Q4 E-Tron, and while its infotainment screen has grown, it’s also come at the expense of climate-control buttons.

⚡ Hyundai and Kia have extended the warranty for the Integrated Charging Control Unit in their EVs to 15 years or 180,000 miles, whichever comes first, according to Electrek. ICCU faults have caused loss-of-power issues for some owners, and the automakers have tried to address them previously through recalls and software updates.

📜 A new bill in California would prevent the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles from collecting surplus fees from auctioned cars without notifying the previous owners, and offering instruction as to how they can claim the money they are legally entitled to, per CalMatters.

🏁 Weekend Race Results:

• WRC Rally Islas Canarias: Sebastien Ogier won for Toyota
• NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Talladega: Corey Day won for Hendrick Motorsports
• MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix: Alex Marquez won for Gresini Racing
• NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega: Carson Hocevar won for Spire Motorsports

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