Captainmorlypogi1959 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
In today's issue:
For the first time in at least 15 years, a car that isn't an F-150 or RAV4 leads U.S. sales: and it's the Honda CR-V
Ford's BlueCruise usage doubled to 12 million hands-free hours in six months, even as NHTSA's fatal-crash investigation into the system remains open
A record 24% of new-car buyers now take out 84-month loans, per Experian data, as vehicle prices hit a fresh high
UPSET OF THE YEAR
Honda's CR-V posted a midyear U.S. tally of 226,114 units, beating the F-150 (estimated 209,311 year-to-date) and the RAV4, per Automotive News: the F-150 has been the industry's top seller in 15 of the past 16 years.
CR-V sales surged 19% in May and 30% in June, per Automotive News, while Honda's June volume of 133,781 units, up 17% year-over-year, was the brand's best June in five years, per Reuters.
Ford sold 549,200 vehicles in Q2, down 10.3% year-over-year, with F-Series down 11% due to aluminum supply shortages and EV sales collapsing 40.7%, per CBT News.
Honda didn't just win by default: strong hybrid retention and lease hold rates kept CR-V inventory turning while rivals ran short, per Carscoops.
Ford's employee-pricing promotion, active since May 1 and expiring July 6, per Carscoops, failed to arrest the decline: Lincoln fell a separate 15.8%, largely from axing the Corsair.
Honda held supply while Ford and Toyota stumbled on aluminum and new-model timing. Whether the CR-V holds the crown in H2 depends on whether F-150 production catches up before Toyota's new RAV4 ramp completes.
Also worth knowing
Record 24% of New-Car Buyers Now Take 84-Month Loans: A record 24% of borrowers chose 84-month terms or longer in Q2 2026, per Automotive News citing Edmunds data, while average new-vehicle asking prices hit nearly $52,000, a fresh record, per Motor1. Dealers are flagging negative equity and buyer lockout as a growing consequence. #market
VW's CFO Is Fighting His Own CEO Over Chinese Car Plans: Volkswagen's CEO wants to import a China-developed SUV to Europe as early as 2027 and potentially build Chinese-designed models in European factories to sidestep tariffs, per Carscoops. VW's own CFO publicly opposes the plan, and separately, VW's software unit Cariad just ended its autonomous-driving joint venture with Bosch, per Automotive News Europe. #analyst
Tesla Model Y L Arrives in the U.S. at $61,990 for Three Rows: Tesla launched the long-wheelbase Model Y L on July 2, 7 inches longer than the standard car, with 325 miles of range and a six-seat cabin, at $61,990 for the Launch Series (or $63,630 with shipping), per Automotive News and Carscoops. It will be built at the Austin factory, replacing the now-discontinued Model X as Tesla's family hauler. #market
GM Locks In Micron for DRAM as Chip Shortage Batters Rivals: GM signed a long-term Strategic Customer Agreement with Micron Technology to secure memory and storage chips for its next-generation vehicle platforms, per Just Auto and Interesting Engineering. The deal comes as Automotive News reports a DRAM shortage is hitting automakers especially hard, with tier-one suppliers absorbing price increases their contracts don't allow them to pass on. #analyst
Ford's BlueCruise Usage Doubled to 12 Million Hours, While a Fatal-Crash Investigation Stays Open: Ford's hands-free driving feature logged 12 million cumulative hours of use through the first half of 2026, doubling the total from six months earlier, per Ford Authority citing Ford's Q2 sales report. That growth continues alongside an NHTSA engineering analysis into two 2024 crashes that killed three people; the NTSB called for stronger oversight of hands-free driving systems in its own findings published in April, per WardsAuto. No new development in the investigation this week. #analyst
Reveals & culture
Alpine Built Its Last A110. The Electric Successor Debuts at Goodwood.: The final combustion A110 rolled off the Dieppe line this week after 28,701 units built since 2017, per Paul Tan. The electric successor, called A110 Future, debuts as a running development mule at Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, with wider arches and a full EV drivetrain, per Autocar UK and Motoring Research.
Recalls & legal action
251,000 Land Rovers Recalled for Airbags That May Not Deploy: JLR's stop-sale on the Defender, Discovery, and Range Rover, first reported in late June, is now a formal recall: 97,552 Defenders (2020-2026), 83,620 Discoverys (2021-2026), and 69,685 Range Rovers (2022-2026) for a clockspring connector that can corrode and prevent the driver's airbag from opening in a crash, per Pickup Truck Talk and CarExpert. → If you own one: Check NHTSA.gov with your VIN; the remedy is a protective lubricant gel applied to the driver's airbag connector terminals, free of charge, at your Land Rover dealer.
Tesla Semi's First Fatal Crash: Two Killed at a Nevada Red Light: A Tesla Semi rear-ended two stopped passenger vehicles at U.S. Highway 50 in Dayton, Nevada, on June 28, killing two people and leaving a third with life-threatening injuries, per Carscoops and Teslarati. Police suspect the driver fell asleep; no NHTSA investigation of the Semi platform has been announced as of publication.
Quick links
JLR Retail Sales Fell 15.3% Year-on-Year in Its Latest Quarter: Jaguar Land Rover posted 80,000 retail units in Q1 of financial year 2027, down 15.3% year-on-year and 13.8% versus Q4 2026, with wholesales at 79,300 units, per Autoblog.
Yesterday's picks
Tesla Delivered 480,126 Vehicles in Q2. The US Was the Weak Spot.: A headline delivery beat masks shrinking US sales after the EV tax credit expired; shares fell 6.6% on the structural weakness.
The US Won't Renew USMCA. Bilateral Deals Are Next.: The administration won't renew the trade pact as written, creating new uncertainty for every automaker producing in Mexico or Canada.
Rivian Delivered 12,194 Vehicles in Q2 and Raised Its Full-Year Outlook: Rivian beat delivery estimates by a wide margin and raised full-year guidance, banking on the R2 SUV launch.