Photo: Ceer
In today's issue:
Saudi Arabia's first homegrown car company, a joint venture with Foxconn (the company that assembles iPhones), builds an 850-horsepower gullwing EV.
Europe's new-car market is now more than half electrified, hybrids included.
Hyundai recalls the Ioniq 9 because power-folding rear seats can trap a child's limbs.
A CAR INDUSTRY, BOUGHT WHOLESALE
Both are wedge-shaped EVs with gullwing doors, an 800-volt platform and three motors, delivering a claimed 850 horsepower and a 0-to-62-mph time as low as 2.6 seconds, per Electrek.
Neither the engineering nor the design is homegrown: Ceer sources its electric drive systems from Hyundai Transys and Croatia's Rimac, and its design director is Rob Melville, McLaren's former design chief, per InsideEVs.
It's the kingdom's first domestic auto brand, launched in 2022 under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's push to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy away from oil, with five more models planned over the next five years, per InsideEVs.
The cars aren't headed to the US anytime soon. Ceer says its vehicles are "tailor-made" for Saudi Arabia and neighboring markets, per InsideEVs.
A country can now assemble a car company from outside suppliers in four years flat. The test is whether Saudis buy it.
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Also worth knowing
Europe's New-Car Market Just Went Majority Electrified: European registrations rose 4.6% to 835,409 units in August, with battery-electric sales up 52% to help electrified powertrains cross 50% of the market for the first time, per Automotive News Europe. Chinese brands grew 111% in the same window, the month before Brussels asked Beijing to voluntarily cap hybrid exports over a more-than-tenfold surge in imports. #market
Porsche's CEO Says No More Cuts Are Coming. VW's Board Discussed 4,100 More.: Porsche CEO Michael Leiters told staff in a memo that no further job cuts are planned "beyond the already-agreed programs," per Reuters. The memo followed a Handelsblatt report, cited by Automotive News, that VW Group was weighing roughly 4,100 additional Porsche job cuts to close a €700 million overhead shortfall. Leiters's carve-out covers cuts "beyond agreed programs" only, leaving the 4,100 number technically untouched. #analyst
Photo: Porsche997SBS / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Mercedes Warns Two German Plants Could Close: Production chief Michael Schiebe told workers the plants stay open only if Mercedes secures cost reductions, framing it as a need for "framework conditions that boost productivity," per Automotive News Europe. It lands the same week Volkswagen accelerated its own restructuring after German auto workers staged nationwide protests, per Automotive News Europe. #analyst
The FTC Just Published Real Guidance on What "Advertised Price" Means: The FTC's new FAQs, published Sept. 15, say an advertised car price must be the total a customer actually pays, excluding only government-required charges like taxes, and that figure must be the most prominent number in the ad, per the FTC and its press release. It's staff interpretation of the FTC Act, not a new rule: the agency's last attempt at a formal dealer-pricing rule, the CARS Rule, was vacated by the Fifth Circuit in January 2025 and formally withdrawn this February. #market
Reveals & culture
GM's New Diesel Is Named After the Thing That Kills Cobras: GM teased its 8.3-liter "Mongoose" turbo-diesel V8, headed for the refreshed 2027 Chevy Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD, per GM News. The name and teaser video take direct aim at Ford's "Scorpion" diesel; GM hasn't released specs but is expected to beat Ford's 500 hp and 1,200 lb-ft, per Motor1. #enthusiast
Photo: GM
A Mad Max Wasteland Car Is on Bring a Trailer: A flame-shooting, F-150-based recreation of the "Humungus Machine" from The Road Warrior is listed for auction, per Car and Driver. With gas prices where they are, leading a wasteland raiding party might be the more honest option.
Photo: Bring a Trailer
Recalls & legal action
Hyundai Recalls Ioniq 9 Over Seats That Can Trap Kids: Hyundai is recalling 2026 Ioniq 9 EVs because power-folding rear seats can trap a child's limbs, the same defect previously found on the Palisade and Kia Telluride, per Road & Track. 5,360 vehicles are affected. → If you own one: Don't let kids operate the second-row seat controls until the software update lands.
Photo: Hyundai
Quick links
Kia Prices the 2027 K5 From $27,690, Kills the EX Trim: Kia's midsize sedan drops to three trims (LXS, GT-Line, GT) for 2027, arriving largely as a carryover with 17 standard driver-assist features, per Kia Media and AutoGuide.
Cadillac's Dealer Inventory Barely Moved in August: Cadillac's dealer stock dipped slightly in August 2026 and remains roughly flat year over year, per GM Authority.
Europe's Automakers Want More Time on Battery Rules: ACEA is asking Brussels to delay stricter EU-UK battery sourcing rules due in 2027 until the end of 2029, warning of up to €1.47 billion in tariffs in the first year alone, per Electrive.
Yesterday's picks
Stellantis Recalls 97,349 Wagoneers Over Roof Crossbars That Can Detach: Under-tightened pivot bolts can let a roof crossbar come off at speed; dealers fix it free, and owner letters start Oct. 8, per Carscoops.
US EV Registrations Fell 31% in July, the 10th Straight Month of Decline: EV registrations slid 31% to 85,714 and their share of the market fell to 6.2% from 8.9% a year earlier, even as Tesla held its share steady at 57.7%, per Automotive News.
The week in attention
How many separate outlets ran a headline naming each company over the last 7 days, across the 560+ sources we monitor. Press releases and Reddit are excluded, so this counts what got written about, not what got announced.
CATL: 17 outlets this week, about 7 in a median week. Most of it: "Gasgoo Daily:CATL Launches TECTRANS II Battery Platform; VOYAH Unveils Huju P Intelligent Chassis; 2027 GAC AION i60 Goes on Sale".
McLaren: 57 outlets this week, about 25 in a median week. Most of it: "McLaren Confirms First Hybrid Performance SUV Due In 2028".
GAC: 17 outlets this week, about 10 in a median week. Most of it: "GAC launches KD assembly plant in Cambodia with TH Group - Automotive World".
Quieter than usual: Aston Martin (17 outlets against about 31).
Most covered overall: Volkswagen Group, Stellantis, General Motors.
Worth a listen
One episode from Car Curious, our sister car-podcast platform, picked out of everything the shows published in the last day.
Alternative forms of combustion #332 (The Intercooler, also at YouTube): Gez Medinger and Andrew Frankel take apart Tesla's claim that its new Roadster will use rocket thrusters to hit 60 mph in 1.1 seconds, then work through how rotary, Miller-cycle and hydrogen engines try to squeeze more out of combustion.
The Intercooler
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