Photo: Jaecoo
In today's issue:
The UK weighs matching EU tariffs on Chinese EVs as Chinese brands take 23% of its new-car market
BMW ties a 20% cut in management roles to AI, and the 2 Series Active Tourer doesn't survive the reshuffle
Rivian beats Wall Street's Q3 estimate with 19,248 deliveries
TARIFF WATCH
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is drawing up options for import duties on Chinese-built EVs, The Times reports, per Car Dealer Magazine. A government spokesperson said no tariffs have been imposed, per Automotive News.
The UK charges 10% on Chinese-built EVs, per Autocar, while the EU's levies reach up to 45% depending on the maker, per Automotive News. The EU's countervailing duties are 17.0% for BYD, 18.8% for Geely, 35.3% for SAIC and 20.7% for other cooperating makers, per the European Commission.
Chinese brands took 23% of the UK market in September, per SMMT figures cited by Autocar. BYD was the second-best-selling brand with 20,140 registrations, ahead of Kia, and the Jaecoo 7 was the best-selling model at 10,813.
The EU has told the UK it must apply the duties, and in return would treat Nissan, Range Rover and Bentley EVs as "Made in Europe" under its Industrial Accelerator Act, per the Financial Times as reported by Autocar.
The EU took 58% of UK car exports in the first half of 2026 against about 4% for China, per SMMT figures cited by Car Dealer Magazine. UK officials worry about Chinese retaliation against Jaguar Land Rover but judge that being dropped from the EU scheme would be more damaging, per The Times as reported by Automotive News.
Officials are drawing up duty options, but no tariff has been imposed, so for now this is a review.
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Also worth knowing
BMW Cuts 20% of Its Management Roles as AI Reshapes the Org Chart: BMW will cut 20% of division and management roles by mid-2027 and ties the plan to AI, per Motor1, which cites BMW's September 30 statement. BMW confirmed the 2 Series Active Tourer won't get a third generation but hasn't named other models, and BMWBLOG's guess at the next cuts includes the 4 Series Gran Coupe. #analyst
Photo: BMW
Rivian Beats Estimates With 19,248 Q3 Deliveries: Rivian delivered 19,248 vehicles in Q3, up 46% year over year and ahead of Wall Street's 18,000 estimate, per CBT News. Tesla's Q3 deliveries beat estimates too but sit about 2% below a year ago. By our math, Rivian needs at least 23,193 Q4 deliveries to hit the low end of its 65,000-70,000 guidance. #market
Photo: Rivian
Stellantis Bets on Nine Models Under $40,000: CEO Antonio Filosa told the Automotive News Congress in Detroit that cheaper cars are a "huge opportunity," per Motor1, which cites The Detroit News. Nine of Stellantis' 11 planned North American launches are to start under $40,000 and two under $30,000, per Motor1, as new-vehicle prices hover near $50,000. Today the Jeep Compass is Stellantis' cheapest US model, starting under $30,000 before destination, per Motor1. #analyst
Photo: Jeep
Consumer Reports Names the 10 New Cars Selling Over Sticker: The Nissan Leaf tops its "worst deals" list at 6% over MSRP, about $1,799, per Jalopnik. The Hyundai Ioniq 5, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid and Kia K4 run 4% over, and the Toyota GR86, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Nissan Kicks, Kia Seltos and Hyundai Venue 3%. Consumer Reports says low-priced cars, special-edition sports cars and front-drive SUVs most often sell above sticker, and that local prices can differ from its national averages. #market
Photo: Nissan
Toyota's Prius Hybrid Sales Fall 51% as Its Other Hybrids Boom: Toyota sold 16,731 Prius Hybrids through September, down from 34,237 a year earlier, per Toyota's September sales report. The plug-in Prius Prime is flat at 12,492, so the whole Prius line is down 37.5%. Camry Hybrid is up 11.2% year to date at 260,671 and RAV4 Hybrid is up 43.6% at 200,209, and electrified vehicles made up 58.2% of Toyota Motor North America's September sales. Toyota told The Drive earlier this year that demand shifted toward Camry for its fuel economy, so it scaled back Prius production. #market
Photo: Toyota
Repair Costs Are Up 60% Since 2019, Almost Twice Inflation: The St. Louis Fed's price index for vehicle maintenance and repair rose about 60% from January 2019 to August 2026, against 32% for overall prices, per CNBC. The data doesn't say why. A 2023 AAA study found that calibrating driver-assistance sensors can add 37.6% to a collision repair. #market
Reveals & culture
Mazda's New EV Will Say Anything to Pedestrians: The China-built CX-6e's external speaker can broadcast any typed message to cyclists and pedestrians, with no banned words, per Car and Driver and InsideEVs.
Photo: Mazda
Citroën Teases the Reborn 2CV Ahead of Paris: New images show the "Tin Snail" revival's retro design cues ahead of its 6 p.m. unveiling on Sunday, Oct. 11, in Paris, per AutoCar UK.
Teaser images: Citroën
Quick links
Hyundai Prices Supercar-Grade Power at $700 a Month: October incentives put the 601-hp Ioniq 5 N's lease within reach, per CarBuzz.
Photo: Hyundai
California Targets Dealer Junk Fees: A new state law takes aim at add-on charges buyers can't avoid, per Autoweek.
Tesla Adds Dynamic Headlight Leveling to the Model 3 Over the Air: Software version 2026.38 brings Dynamic Headlight Leveling to select Model 3 and Cybertruck vehicles, shifting the whole low-beam aim up or down with load and traffic, per Autoblog.
Yesterday's picks
Lucid Charges $950 to Bring Its New Software to Older Airs; Lexus Japan Already Sells 40 HP for $1,400: Lucid announced Air UX 3.0 on Sept. 29, a software update (version 2.11.0) with an interface inspired by the Gravity SUV's, per Lucid. It arrives over the air on 2025 and newer Airs.
Red Bull's Ford-Backed Engine Wins Its First Race: Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, the first win for Red Bull's in-house power unit, built in collaboration with Ford, per Road & Track and Motorsport Week. A day earlier it took Red Bull's first pole as a power unit manufacturer, per Motorsport Week. The FIA called the formation-lap stoppages an "unprecedented combination" of factors, and its single-seater director, Nikolas Tombazis, said "We are sorry about that," per Motorsport Week.
BMW's Gas 3 Series Starts $11,600 Under the i3 and Tops €100,000 in Germany: Following up on BMW's gas 3 Series reveal: MotorTrend lists the 2027 3 Series at $51,250 to start, which is the 330's $49,900 plus the $1,350 destination charge BMW lists for the i3. That sits $11,600 under the $61,500 i3, and the gap holds with destination on both ($51,250 against $62,850). In Germany a fully optioned car costs €101,655, with the €4,300 M Technology Package II the priciest option, per BMWBLOG.
Worth a listen
One episode from Car Curious, our sister car-podcast platform, picked out of everything the shows published in the last day.
The 70% Problem: What Still Needs Electrifying with Michael Liebreich (Everything Electric Podcast, also at fullycharged.show): Michael Liebreich walks through why about 70% of the energy-using activity in the economy still doesn't run on electricity, and which sectors, transport included, electrification can realistically tackle first.
Everything Electric Podcast
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