A Volkswagen Golf GTE plug-in hybrid. Photo: Alexander Migl / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
In today's issue:
France and Germany reportedly agree to weaken the EU's 2035 combustion rule further than Brussels proposed, trading it for "Buy European" rules
VW unveils the ID.4's replacement with physical buttons back, and the U.S. still has no date
Reuters emails show Tesla pressing a Dutch regulator to narrow its FSD review
POLICY CHECK
France and Germany have agreed to push for a further weakening of the EU's planned phase-out of new combustion engine cars, Handelsblatt and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, per Clean Energy Wire and The Driven. Handelsblatt cites three unnamed sources.
The trade: Germany backs France's demand for strict "Buy European" rules favouring EU-made products in public subsidies and tenders, and France backs looser rules for carmakers, per the same reports.
The Commission's December proposal cut the 2035 CO2 target to 90% below 2021 instead of 100%. The two countries now want 80% with no additional compensation, which would let carmakers sell many more combustion cars, according to EU diplomats cited by Handelsblatt.
For 2030, they would give carmakers five years instead of the Commission's three (2030 to 2032) to reach a 55% cut versus 2021, which industry insiders told the paper would let carmakers avoid hefty fines.
France and six other countries (Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal) had formed a blocking minority against going beyond the Commission's text, so France switching sides would likely secure a majority, per the reports.
Transport & Environment warned that the Commission's proposal alone would cut the battery-electric share of 2035 new-car sales to around 85%, per Clean Energy Wire.
According to the reports, Merz and Macron are expected to present the deal before EU leaders meet in Brussels on Oct. 15. Until then it is a reported negotiating position, not a decision.
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Also worth knowing
Reuters: Tesla Leaned on the Dutch Regulator to Ease Its FSD Review: Tesla spent months pushing the Dutch regulator RDW to scale back its review of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), including disputing a €365,000 bill, according to emails obtained by Reuters, per Electrek. The bill itemized testing permits, technical work and other services, and a Tesla employee balked at it in an April 2025 email, per Automotive News Europe. Separately, Tesla rebranded the system "Tesla Assisted Driving" across Europe on Oct. 8, per Tesla North. #news
A Tesla Model 3. Photo: Chanokchon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
VW Unveils the ID. Tiguan, the ID.4's Replacement, With Physical Buttons Back: Volkswagen revealed the ID. Tiguan, which Edmunds describes as essentially replacing the ID.4, with a row of real climate controls on the center stack, a 15-inch central screen and, for the first time in a VW, a 12-inch passenger display, per Edmunds. The European-spec car claims up to 372 miles of WLTP range, an internal estimate. VW says North American timing will come "in due course," per Edmunds; VW of America told MotorTrend it reaches the U.S. later next year as a 2028 model. #news
Photo: Volkswagen
Porsche's Nine-Month Deliveries Fall 16% on Weak China Demand: Porsche delivered 178,532 cars worldwide in the first nine months of 2026, down from 212,509 a year earlier, a 16.0% decline, per Reuters and Porsche's release. China is the biggest drag, down 33% to 21,493, and North America fell 13% to 56,088. In Britain, registrations rose 4.4% to 14,238, per Car Dealer Magazine, citing SMMT. The all-electric Cayenne has delivered 7,002 examples since launch, per Porsche. #market
A Porsche 911 GT3 Touring. Photo: Charles from Port Chester, New York / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Waymo Takes On Its First-Ever Debt: Waymo closed a $5 billion term loan from Blackstone and PIMCO, its first debt financing, to fund robotaxi expansion, per Waymo's own blog and Reuters. #analyst
Photo: Waymo
Reveals & culture
Ineos Grenadier Lands Its First Military Orders: The Italian Army has selected the Grenadier for a new fleet, which Ineos calls the first substantial order from a NATO country, and Austria has ordered armored versions through the converter Valentin Tusch GmbH, per Motor1, citing Ineos. Ineos has not disclosed the number of vehicles or the value of either deal. Austrian deliveries and trials start before the end of 2026, and Italian deliveries begin in early 2027. A separate British Army program, the Light Mobility Vehicle trials, is far from decided, per Motor1. #analyst
An armored Ineos Grenadier in Spanish national police service. Photo: Ineos
JAS Motorsport's Tensei Turns the Honda NSX Into a 35-Car, Manual-Only Restomod: Each of the 35 planned Tensei cars is rebuilt from a customer-supplied NSX donor with Pininfarina-designed carbon-fiber bodywork, a Judd-built 3.5-liter V6 making 414 hp at 8,300 rpm and a six-speed manual, per Motor1, citing Pininfarina. Pricing starts at €880,000 (about $959,000) before the donor car, taxes and customization. JAS and Pininfarina will show it publicly for the first time at the Paris Motor Show, and Motor1 says Honda is not directly involved. #enthusiast
Photo: Italdesign
A $7 Million Batmobile, If the Bidding Holds: The original hero Batmobile from 1992's "Batman Returns" is heading to auction with a $5-7 million estimate, per Carscoops. If it hits the high end, it becomes the priciest Batmobile ever sold at public auction.
Photo: via Carscoops (the Julien's Auctions lot)
Friday Fun: Weird Wheels
Ford Secretly Built a Mustang Pickup, and It Was Never Meant for Production: Ford's Experimental Vehicles Building metal shop turned an S550 Mustang fastback into a one-off pickup in Cyber Yellow, with a bed in place of the rear bodywork and reworked fenders, per Motor1, citing Ford Authority. Ford Heritage Fleet manager Matt Korczyk said apprentices built it to get hands-on concept-car experience. It is the first vehicle from the building to be shown outside it, and Motor1 reports no indication Ford ever considered a production version.
Quick links
Mexico's Auto Exports Post Their Worst Month of the Year: Mexico's auto exports fell 12% in September, the steepest drop since December 2025, while domestic sales rose 8%, per Automotive News and CBT News. See the US Auto Tariff Tracker for the running toll.
Chevy's Cheapest SUVs Get a Tech Overhaul: The 2027 Trax and Trailblazer add more than 20 standard safety features and a new Trailblazer Z71 trim with standard AWD, per Car and Driver; Chevy says both are having their best sales year ever, per Autoblog.
Civic Hybrid Borrows the Prelude's Fake Shifts: The 2027 Civic Hybrid Sport Touring gains Honda's S+ Shift paddle system from the Prelude, per Road & Track, while the Civic sedan's starting price rises to $26,290, per Motor Trend.
Recalls & legal action
VW Recalls the EV It Just Replaced: Volkswagen is recalling 22,524 2023-2026 ID.4s in the US over high-voltage battery fire risk, telling owners to charge no higher than 80% until a fix arrives, per Electrek and KBB. It lands the same week VW unveiled the ID. Tiguan as the ID.4's replacement.
Yesterday's picks
U.S. Dealer Inventory Hits 3 Million as Average Incentives Fall 8.4%: U.S. new-vehicle inventory reached 3 million units at the start of October, the first time it has hit that mark in 11 months, per Automotive News. Days' supply is 84, up from 73 a month earlier, and full-size pickups sit at 104 days.
Nissan Is on Pace for Its Worst Global Sales in 23 Years: Nissan is on pace to sell about 2.9 million vehicles this year, which would be its first full year below 3 million since 2003, when it sold 2.968 million, per Automotive News. Sales in China are down 27% this year, after falling 52% in August alone.
Mercedes-Benz Group Sold 491,700 Cars and Vans in Q3, With Record Global BEV Sales: Mercedes-Benz posted record quarterly BEV sales in Q3, up 61% year over year, even as overall deliveries softened on China weakness, per Mercedes-Benz Media. The electric GLC, CLA family, GLB and GLA are sold out in Europe for the rest of 2026, the company said.
Worth a listen
One episode from Car Curious, our sister car-podcast platform, picked out of everything the shows published in the last day.
What's Happening With 2027 Trucks? (TFL Talkin' Trucks, also at redcircle.com): The TFL hosts talk through what is changing on 2027 pickups, including Ford's F-150 warranty terms, and what that means for purchase timing, diesel towing and the privacy cost of connected-truck features.
TFL Talkin' Trucks
Car Curious also ran a themed recap today, Seven Car Podcasts on How Worried to Be About Your Connected Car, on what car shows are saying about connected-car data.
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