In today's issue:

At its Sept. 17 strategy update, Volvo said it was building a company capable of an EBIT margin beyond 8% and launching 13 new cars by the end of 2030, per Volvo. It withdrew its 2026 outlook 15 days later and has promised details on "further decisive actions" with its Q3 results on Oct. 23, per Just Auto.

The U.S. Sales Pace Hit a 19-Month Low in September: Following up on Edmunds' forecast of a 16M September pace: the September seasonally adjusted rate fell to 16 million, its lowest since February 2025, from 16.8 million in August, per Auto Finance News. Year-to-date sales are down 1.2%, per Automotive News, citing GlobalData. #market

BMW's Outgoing 3 Series Sold 46% More. The Discontinued iX and X4 Fell 96%.: Following up on BMW's gas 3 Series reveal: BMW's Q3 U.S. sales rose 3.4% to 100,210, per BMW. Carscoops puts the 3 Series up 46% and the X5 up 22%. The X4 fell from 1,826 to 72 and the iX from 3,136 to 121 because both are gone: BMW built the last X4 in November 2025, per BMWBLOG, and concluded U.S. allocation of the iX, per its statement to BMWBLOG. BMW blamed a 24.9% decline in electrified sales on "current market conditions and a planned model changeover," per Carscoops, which adds that iX3 and i7 deliveries are starting. Autoblog ties the 3 Series jump to the G20's final run-out. #market

Stellantis Idles Windsor for Three Weeks as Unifor Talks Stall: Following up on Stellantis lining up a Charger plant buyer while Unifor walked out: Windsor Assembly goes dark for three consecutive weeks from Oct. 19, per Automotive News. Unifor Local 444 President James Stewart announced it Oct. 2, with contract talks deadlocked. #news

Farley Puts USMCA Survival at "50-50": Ford's CEO gave an extension of the trade deal even odds, per TheTruthAboutCars. Our tariff tracker has the clocks. #analyst

Ionna's CEO Says EV Charging Doesn't Need to Be as Fast as Gas: Seth Cutler told The Drive's podcast that the idea EVs need five-minute charging "is just not accurate," and described 10 to 20 minutes as the target, per The Drive. Cutler said every Ionna station is 400 kW today and the company is looking at 500 kW sites, but "much above that, I don't think you need it." Ionna said Sept. 30 that its network more than doubled in 2026 and is now the largest 400 kW operator in the U.S., per WardsAuto. #analyst

Jeep's Recon Went 160 Miles on a Full Charge Against 222 Rated: Following up on the Recon's range estimate cut to 222 miles: Car and Driver ran the 2026 Recon Moab launch edition at a steady 75 mph and got 160 miles from its 94-kWh battery, or 1.7 miles per kWh, against the EPA's 222-mile estimate. The Wagoneer S, which shares the Recon's architecture, battery and motors, went 280 miles in the same test at 3.0 miles per kWh. Car and Driver credits the Wagoneer's street-oriented tires, lower ground clearance (6.4 inches against 9.1) and slipperier shape (0.29 drag coefficient against the Recon's 0.40). #enthusiast

Toyota Plans a $1.3 Billion EV Plant in Argentina: The plant at Zarate is meant to counter Chinese rivals' push into Latin America, per Automotive News.

The 2027 Civic Type R Starts at $49,990 With Destination: Following up on the Type R's heated seats and sharper dampers: Jalopnik and Autoblog report a $49,990 price, which includes the $1,295 destination fee. That price assumes the new Meteorite Gray Metallic; white, blue and the lighter gray add $455, which is how some outlets got $50,445, per The Autopian.

Lexus's Premium-Fuel SUV Was No Quicker Than Its Toyota Counterpart: Consumer Reports tested the Lexus TX350, which requires 91 octane, against the Toyota Grand Highlander, which takes regular. The Lexus was 0.1 second slower to 60 mph (8.1 against 8.0) and 1 mpg thirstier overall (21 against 22), which CR estimates costs over $600 more a year in fuel. CR found no meaningful performance difference in a second pair, the Lexus RX350 and Toyota Highlander, either.

EU Transport Committee Postpones Its Auto Package Vote: The package would weaken the fixed 2035 CO2 targets under strict conditions, per Electrive.

Rivian's R2 Gets a First Drive: WardsAuto calls it downsized but not down on character from the R1.

Yesterday's picks

Ram Outsold Jeep for the First Time Since 2009: Ram sold 134,072 vehicles in Q3 against 128,542 for Jeep, the first quarterly win since Ram split from Dodge in 2009, per Automotive News. Jeep fell 20% even as the Wrangler rose 5%, per CBT News.

Ford Held No. 3 Over Hyundai Motor Group by 3,564 Vehicles: Following up on Hyundai's run at Ford's No. 3 spot: Ford sold 509,764 vehicles in Q3, down 6.6%, against 506,200 for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis combined, up 5.4%, per Quartz. Hyundai sold 246,896, Kia 236,659 and Genesis 22,645, per Hyundai, Kia, Genesis's chief operating officer and Automotive News. Ford's light-duty count of 507,395 leaves a gap of 1,195, per Quartz, and Ford says the drop reflects the Escape and Corsair phase-out.

Tesla Delivered 486,532 Cars, 2% Below Last Year and 25,000 Above Estimates: Consensus was 461,974, and Tesla's 8-K shows production of just over 464,000. Deliveries ran about 22,000 ahead of output, per Electrek. Motor1 reports the Model Y L Premium now shows a January to February 2027 delivery window.

Worth a listen

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

Fix it or Flip it: "My Wife Hates Our Tesla Model S!” (Motor Mania Podcast, also at dubaieye1038.com): A listener's wife wants their Tesla Model S gone, and the hosts walk through why a six-to-eight-week parts wait can put a rental car on the repair bill.

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