The most consequential car story today isn't on a dealer lot. It's in a refinery half a world away.
In today's issue:
Nissan is rationing motor oil to U.S. dealers as the Strait of Hormuz still hasn't recovered from the spring war with Iran
Stellantis plans 7 sub-$40K models as the average new car hits $49,461
Waymo's flood software patch failed, and freeway rides are now suspended too
OIL SHOCK
Your Next Oil Change Could Cost a Lot More, or Not Happen at All
The U.S.-Israel air war against Iran began February 28, 2026; a ceasefire was announced April 8, but shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains far below pre-war levels, per Automotive News.
A meaningful share of synthetic engine oil base stock, particularly Group II/III oils refined in Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, moves through the Strait, and the post-ceasefire flow has not recovered, per Autoline Daily and Automotive News.
Nissan has begun rationing 5W-30 and 0W-20 supply to U.S. dealers and instructing stores to prioritize certain customers, per Carscoops. Industry-wide rationing has not been confirmed by other OEMs.
Distributors are stockpiling what they can; specialty lubricant-additive plants in the Middle East and Korea remain offline, per Automotive News.
Automakers have long marketed their service lanes as fast and affordable. A shortage that forces dealerships to choose which customers get an oil change is the rarest kind of crisis: one that hits drivers at the most routine touchpoint in vehicle ownership, with no parts substitution available for OEM-spec synthetic blends.
Also worth knowing
Stellantis bets $70B on affordable models while the market sits at $49K: After a $25.9 billion loss in 2025, Stellantis posted a 6% net revenue increase to $42.2 billion and net profit of $464.5 million in its latest reporting period, per Autoblog. The FaSTLAne 2030 plan promises 11 new North American models by 2030, with 7 priced under $40,000, including a Chrysler Arrow family starting under $30,000, per Car and Driver and Automotive News. The average new-car transaction price hit $49,461 in April, up 1.8% year-over-year, per Kelley Blue Book, making Stellantis's timing either perfectly calibrated or years too late. #analyst
Tesla finally launches FSD in China, where rivals are already entrenched: Tesla confirmed FSD (Supervised) is now available in China, its first deployment in the world's largest car market, per The Next Web. Chinese automakers, including BYD, have been offering comparable assisted-driving systems domestically for years; BYD's fleet of ADAS-equipped vehicles alone surpassed 2.99 million units and is generating over 190 million kilometers of driving data daily, per CnEVPost. Tesla also dropped the one-time FSD purchase option in Europe, shifting all new buyers to a subscription model, per InsideEVs. #news
Waymo's flood patch failed, and the company also paused freeway rides: A software fix pushed to Waymo's entire 3,791-vehicle fleet less than two weeks earlier failed to prevent another robotaxi from driving into standing water in Atlanta, per The Next Web and Carscoops. Service was subsequently suspended across five or more U.S. cities in Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia, per the New York Times. Separately, Waymo paused all freeway rides after a San Francisco vehicle went erratic in a construction zone, per Jalopnik and autoevolution, giving the company two distinct active suspension categories simultaneously. #news
Mitsubishi's U.S. footprint has collapsed: U.S. sales peaked at 346,000 in 2002 and fell to roughly 95,000 last year, per Autoline Daily, a 73% decline over two decades. The operational consequence: the brand has now lost more than 30 dealer franchises in the last 18 months, per CarBuzz, leaving the U.S. retail footprint among the thinnest of any volume-market OEM. #analyst
New-vehicle affordability fell again in April: The Cox Automotive/Moody's Analytics Vehicle Affordability Index declined in April as the average transaction price rose to $49,461, interest rates remained elevated, and incentives pulled back, per Kelley Blue Book. The average used-car listing price in April reached $26,342, also up month-over-month and year-over-year, per Autotrader. J.D. Power sees overall sales holding up but flags leasing as the primary escape valve for price-strained buyers, per CBT News. #market
What's new
BYD Great Han flagship sedan spotted before debut: BYD's upcoming flagship electric sedan, the Great Han, has been photographed ahead of its official reveal as a sibling to the Great Tang SUV. BYD claims up to 1,000 km (621 miles) of range and charging in as little as five minutes; both figures are manufacturer specs, not independently verified, per Electrek and CarNewsChina. #enthusiast
Recalls & legal action
Hyundai stacks a third major recall in one week: NHTSA published a recall for 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Ioniq 5 over a loose rear suspension component that can cause accidents, per Autoblog. The Ioniq action lands on top of the 421,000-vehicle Tucson and Santa Cruz phantom-braking recall (four confirmed crashes and four injuries in NHTSA filings, per CarComplaints and Hagerty) and a separate airbag-inflator recall over shrapnel risk, per Carscoops. Cumulative total: 424,743 vehicles in seven days. #news
Quick links
McLaren ditches Canada upgrade after one session: After describing its first outing with the new package as "questionable," McLaren pulled one of its major MCL40 upgrades ahead of the Canadian GP sprint, per Motorsport Week. #enthusiast
Mercedes locks out F1 Canada sprint front row: George Russell took sprint pole with a 1m12.965s lap, beating Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli by 0.068s; both Mercedes drivers on the front row, per The Race. Ferrari brought no new parts to Montreal. #enthusiast
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Sources: Automotive News · Carscoops · Autoline Daily · Autoblog · Car and Driver · Automotive News (podcast) · Kelley Blue Book · Kelley Blue Book · The Next Web · InsideEVs · CnEVPost · The Next Web · Carscoops · New York Times · Jalopnik · autoevolution · Autotrader · CBT News · Electrek · CarNewsChina · Autoblog · Carscoops · CarComplaints · Hagerty · Motorsport Week · The Race · InsideEVs · Carscoops · CarBuzz · Autoline Daily