In today's issue:

Inventory stands at 3,001,250 vehicles and 84 days' supply, with full-size pickups at 104 days and the $35,000-to-$50,000 range shrinking.

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. #analyst

Rivian Draws $1 Billion From Volkswagen at 6.03% for 10 Years: Rivian drew a $1 billion, 10-year term loan from Volkswagen at a fixed 6.03%, according to an SEC filing reported by Dow Jones via Morningstar. The loan is non-recourse to Rivian and secured by its 50% stake in the two companies' joint venture. RivianTrackr reports no payment is due until October 2028 and that Volkswagen has now provided $5.3 billion of the $5.8 billion it committed, with the last $460 million due as equity by January 2028. #analyst

Dodge Charger Daytona EV Sales Crater: Less Than 800 Deliveries This Year: Dodge has sold fewer than 800 Charger Daytona EVs this year, a steep drop from last year, while the newly introduced gas-powered Charger picks up the slack, per InsideEVs. #market

Unifor Inches Closer to Stellantis Strike as Vote Scheduled for Mid-October: Following up on Stellantis lining up a buyer for the Charger plant, Unifor will hold strike-authorization votes October 17-18 across Stellantis's Canadian plants over the planned sale of Brampton Assembly, per Carscoops and MoparInsiders. Results land October 19. #analyst

China Slaps Down EU Request for Voluntary Curbs on Hybrid Car Exports: China rejected Brussels's request for voluntary limits on hybrid exports, per the Financial Times, raising the odds the European Commission moves to the formal tariff-rate quotas we reported yesterday. #analyst

Empty Lots, Tight Credit and Five-Hour Deals Drag Down Car Buyer Satisfaction: CDK Global's Ease of Purchase score slipped to 79% in September, per The Auto Wire, as longer dealership visits frustrated buyers even as new-vehicle inventory swells to its highest point in nearly a year. #market

Porsche Teases Mid-Engine Supercar Called 'Mission S': Following up on yesterday's Porsche strategy item, which mentioned the mid-engine car, Porsche released a teaser for the Mission S, a concept previewing a new supercar line above the 911 that could carry a flat-eight engine positioned against the Ferrari 849 Testarossa, per Car and Driver.

Ferrari's Purosangue Handling Speciale Adds Software, Not Hardware, for $27,600: Ferrari's Handling Speciale option, announced in April per Road & Track, costs $27,600 in the U.S., per Car and Driver, and £16,480 in the U.K. on top of a £313,360 list price, per Autocar. It retunes the active dampers, which Ferrari claims cuts body movement by about 10%, sharpens the eight-speed dual-clutch's shifts and lets more V-12 sound into the cabin, with dark diamond-cut wheels and carbon-fiber fender badges. Power stays at 715 hp, and Car and Driver says the car rides on the same tires with no new suspension parts. Both outlets drove it at Alfa Romeo's Balocco Proving Ground.

BMW's iX4 Claims Up to 428 Miles and 400-kW Charging: Following up on yesterday's note that BMW had teased the iX4 at the Athens Auto Show, BMW's US pressroom lists the iX4 50 xDrive at a preliminary estimated range of up to 428 miles, from BMW's own testing using EPA procedures rather than an EPA rating, with 400-kW DC fast charging that adds up to 184 miles in ten minutes, per BMW Group USA. Australian pricing starts at A$103,900 before on-road costs, per CarsGuide.

This Is Doug DeMuro's Ford GT, and You Can Buy It: Doug DeMuro is selling his 2005 Ford GT at no reserve on Cars & Bids, per Motor1, after more than eight years and over 14,000 miles of his own driving, and plans to buy a 2006 Ford GT Heritage. The listing calls it a two-owner car that DeMuro bought in 2018 from journalist Karl Brauer, who bought it new. It discloses that the original billet A-arms were replaced when their bushings wore out, though they come with the car, and that it has a smaller supercharger pulley and a tune that has to come off to pass California smog.

Saleen Opens S1 Street Reservations, Eight Years After Showing the Car: Saleen is taking refundable $1,000 reservations for the road-legal S1 Street, which starts at $160,000, per Car and Driver. Saleen claims 450 hp, 425 lb-ft, a 3.2-second 0-60 time and a 171 mph top speed, and has claimed a 2,685-pound curb weight. The car was first shown at the 2018 Los Angeles auto show, and a race version starts at $250,000.

Automotive Brand Loyalty Strengthens as Affordability and Economic Pressures Mount: Brand loyalty averaged 50.2% across all nameplates in 2026, up from 49% last year, with Porsche, Lexus, Toyota and Ford topping the list, per CBT News.

NHTSA Says It's Finally Modernizing Headlight Standards: NHTSA is rewriting headlight glare rules covering LED dimming, dust sensors and automatic high beams, with public comments open until November 9, per Road & Track.

Alfa Romeo Gives the Giulia and Stelvio Another Update for 2027: The European 2027 lineup adds an A-pillar driver-monitoring camera required by new EU rules, reorganizes the range around Sprint, Veloce and Edizione Luna Rossa trims, and keeps the 520-hp Quadrifoglio, per Motor1. The sedan dates from 2015 and the SUV from 2016, and Alfa has said their replacements are not ready.

Skoda Issues Massive Recall, 1.7 Million Vehicles Feature Tiny Steering Bolt That Can Snap: Skoda is recalling 1,719,030 vehicles worldwide over a steering mounting bolt that can rust and break, the same fault as the VW Group steering-bolt recall of about 4 million vehicles we reported Sept. 26, per autoevolution.

Yesterday's picks

Jaguar's Reborn Type 01 Has 1,016 HP, No Rear Window and a Bet on America: Jaguar revealed the production Type 01, a four-seat electric grand tourer, in New York on Oct. 6, per Hagerty Media. Three motors make 1,016 hp and 1,007 lb-ft, Jaguar's most powerful road car ever, with 0-62 mph in 3.2 seconds, per Motor1. That is a bet made in a shrinking market: U.S. EV sales fell 24% in the first half of 2026, per Automotive News Europe citing Cox, and CEO Rawdon Glover himself figures about 20% of buyers at this price will reject anything without a combustion engine, per Automotive News Europe.

Porsche Makes the 718 All-Electric, Brings Back a Gas Macan and Shelves a U.S. Plant: Porsche's "Sportwagenschmiede '35" plan aims to lift the average price of its top 10,000 cars from about €270,000 to more than €330,000, a jump Automotive News puts at 20%, per Automotive News and Porsche's release. The 718 Boxster and Cayman will be EV-only, per Motor1. A gas-powered Macan is tentatively due in 2028, per Hagerty Media. The workforce will shrink 25% in the medium term and management positions 40%, and CEO Michael Leiters said a U.S. factory is "not on the table for us right now," per Porsche and Automotive News.

The EU Preps a Quota on Chinese Hybrid Imports: Brussels is preparing safeguard measures on Chinese hybrids, potentially tariff-rate quotas to limit imports, per CnEVPost citing Bloomberg. The UK is separately weighing tariffs on Chinese EVs.

Worth a listen

One episode from Car Curious, our sister car-podcast platform, picked out of everything the shows published in the last day.

Australia EV Sales Sep 2026: 24.2% | Electric outsells petrol, diesel (Ludicrous Feed | EV Adoption in Australia, also at YouTube): The hosts break down Australia's September EV sales, a 24.2% share, with BYD up 61% year on year to the number two spot.

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