The War in Iran Is Saving China’s Biggest EV Maker Right Now: TDS

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

TDS gets you up to speed on all the critical automotive headlines of the morning, and it’s designed to pair well with a cup of coffee. Really brings out those citrus notes, in my opinion. Stories are summed up in a sentence or two with links to follow deeper, if you wish. Happy May, happy Friday, let’s hit the road.

📊 On one hand, China’s EV juggernaut BYD is going through it, notching its eighth-straight month of overall sales decline, and an April where it recorded 16% fewer deliveries than a year earlier, per Bloomberg. However, look outside its cooling domestic market, and the company is thriving; thanks to the war in Iran driving up oil prices and turning customers toward EVs, BYD’s exports leaped by a whopping 71% last month.

📉 Hyundai and Kia deliveries slid in April by 1.7 and 2.8 percent, respectively, though year-to-date sales remain up, Auto News reports.

🫰 Detroit’s Big Three plan to get more than $2.3 billion in tariff refunds from the federal government cumulatively, with Ford expecting $1.3 billion and General Motors and Stellantis looking at about half a billion each, according to Automotive News.

💺 Ford is recalling 180,000 Bronco and Ranger vehicles, from model years 2024 to 2026, for loose front-seat height adjustment bolts that could dislodge while driving, according to NHTSA documents.

🏭 Rivian has slightly downsized its future Georgia plant from an expected 400,000 vehicles per year to 300,000 due to a $2 billion reduction in a federal loan, Auto News reports.

🚙 Nissan had planned to build two EVs at its Canton, Mississippi plant but will no longer, the company told suppliers on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. That facility will now be the future home of body-on-frame SUVs, including the upcoming Xterra.

🌍 Stellantis is reassuring the market that its partnership with Chinese EV maker Leapmotor to sell the company’s products within its European dealer network is not cannibalizing sales of its homegrown Opel, Peugeot, and Vauxhall brands, per Mopar Insiders.

🧱 A Corvette ZR1X will pace this year’s Indy 500, with Indiana University football coach Curt Cignetti at the wheel, IndyCar has announced.

🪰 Bugatti’s bespoke Sur Mesure team has unveiled its latest creation: A polka-dotted W16 Mistral called the “Fly Bug,” believe it or not.

🏁 Weekend Races to Watch:

• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Texas: Friday, May 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern on FS1
• Formula E Berlin E-Prix: Saturday, May 2 at 10 a.m. Eastern on Roku Sports
• NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Texas: Saturday, May 2 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on CW
• NASCAR Cup Series at Texas: Sunday, May 3 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on FS1
• Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix: Sunday, May 3 at 4 p.m. Eastern on Apple TV
• IMSA SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca: Sunday, May 3 at 4:10 p.m. Eastern on NBCSN

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