Ford CEO Jim Farley has been quite vocal when it comes to the threat posed by Chinese vehicles across the globe, admitting that The Blue Oval is "in a fight for our lives" across Europe at the moment, where those vehicles are already on sale. That's a big part of the reason why Ford supports efforts by lawmakers to strengthen the existing Chinese vehicle ban in the U.S., though Farley still believes those models will arrive in America within the next 10 years, regardless.

At a recent conference, Farley admitted that "it's too late" to save Europe from Chinese vehicles, according to Reuters, adding that the U.S. must “be extremely careful around how the Chinese OEMs come to our country,” based on what's happening overseas. The executive did admit that Ford will continue partnering with Chinese companies in areas where it lacks expertise and when it makes sense, financially speaking, while also continuing to battle it out in the sales room. “We're also going to compete with them directly,” he said. “They aren't mutually exclusive.”

Ford has certainly experienced the rise of Chinese vehicles in Europe as of late, shedding sales and giving up market share to those companies at a rapid pace. Ford Europe sales dipped 16.1 percent in August as the rest of the market rose 5.3 percent, coming in at 16,637 units versus 19,823 a year ago - resulting in a market share that also dropped from 2.9 to 2.3 percent.

Year-to-date, Ford has experienced and even steeper 17.7 percent decline versus the first eight months of 2025, racking up 171,670 sales versus 208,637 last year. As a result, its market share for the year so far has declined from 2.9 to 2.3 percent as well. However, The Blue Oval isn't giving up on that market - rather, it has a bevy of new models en route, including a pair of new, affordable EVs developed in conjunction with Renault.

Source: Ford Authority

Canadian municipalities are carrying out behind-the-scenes work to ensure that the infrastructure needed to support zero-emission vehicles is ready when drivers are.

In the last two years, over a dozen more municipalities have added EV-ready requirements to their building codes, an Electric Autonomy survey of bylaws across the country has found.

A review of all 10 provinces and three territories shows, in total, more than 60 municipalities and two provinces have codified requirements for new buildings to install EV charging (or provide rough-ins for future EV charging).

That’s a roughly 20 per cent increase from 2024.

Provincial-Level Oversight

The majority of the Canadian EV-ready municipalities — 33 — are in British Columbia. Ontario follows with 17 municipalities.

Meanwhile Quebec appears to be taking a provincial-level oversight of EV-ready requirements, unlike the rest of Canada which is largely leaving it to the lower levels of government, which creates a national patchwork approach. Quebec, however, along with British Columbia, is one of only two provinces in the country to have provincial EV-ready legislation.

There are no municipal or provincial EV-ready requirements in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
And while there are no formal bylaws in place in Calgary, St. John’s and Halifax, the cities are considering future steps through proposals.

A Barrier to EV Adoption

For those living in urban areas, the increase in the number of jurisdictions taking a more direct role in ensuring access to EV charging is available is welcome news.
Lack of charging is a common problem and barrier to EV adoption for condo and multi-unit residential building (MURB) residents.

Those living in stratas, townhouses or semi-detached homes can face similar barriers with neighbours and board sometimes resisting charger installation due to costs and a lack of education and policy guidance.

Source: Electric Autonomy

General Motors on Thursday reported a year-over-year sales decline of 5.5%, with 670,974 new vehicles sold during the third quarter. GM’s sales of all-electric vehicles are down across the board, as enthusiasm for EVs wanes. EV demand spiked last year ahead of the Trump administration ending up to $7,500 in federal incentives for consumers to purchase an electric vehicle. During the same period last year, GM reported record sales of its electric vehicles.

Source: CNBC 

American car buyers are rediscovering smaller vehicles. General Motors posted a big rise in sales of its small SUVs in the third quarter, including the Chevrolet Trax and Trailblazer. Sales of the Hyundai Elantra sedan jumped 18%. Toyota Motor’s small Corolla is sharply up this year. All carry sticker prices starting below $25,000.  Meanwhile, sales of some big SUVs struggled. GM recorded declines in hulking SUVs like the Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe. Hyundai’s three-row Palisade SUV dropped 1% in the third quarter. Jeep’s Grand Cherokee declined by 30%.

Source: Wall Street Journal

All it took was $4 a gallon gas to make Americans embrace hybrid cars. But with limited offerings from the big Detroit automakers, people are turning to their Asian rivals in droves. Korean automaker Hyundai reported Thursday that hybrid sales rose 39% in the third quarter, while Kia’s hybrid sales more than doubled, rising 152% percent. Japanese automakers also reported exceptionally strong hybrid sales in the quarter, with Toyota sales rising 29% and Honda up 21%.

Source: CNN

More car buyers are stretching out their loans in an effort to make the purchase affordable. Even so, monthly payments keep rising. A record 25.5% of financed new-vehicle purchases in the third quarter had loan terms of 84 months or longer, up from 21.8% a year earlier, according to a new report from Edmunds, a car-shopping website. The average monthly payment over that same period reached a record $787, up from $756 a year earlier, the data shows.

Source: CNBC

Volvo Cars’ Q3 Global Sales Woes Driven by China Slump

Volvo Cars reported its global sales slump continued in the third quarter of this year, dropping 10.7% compared to the same period in 2025. The Swedish automaker said it delivered a total of 141,609 units for the quarter, following on from its Q2 sales data showing a 5.6% year-on-year decline in global sales. Sales during Q3 were hit by deterioration in the China market, where industry volumes remained under significant pressure, as well as a slower-than-expected recovery in the U.S., the company said in its Oct. 2 release.

Source: Wards Auto

Nissan on Pace for Worst Global Sales in 23 Years as China Collapse Bites

Nissan Motor Co. is careening toward its weakest global sales year in nearly a quarter century. The automaker delivered 1,932,725 vehicles worldwide in the first eight months of 2026 — 9.2 percent less than in the same period last year, according to figures released Sept. 29. That puts the company on pace for a full-year total of 2.9 million. The last time Nissan fell short of 3 million in a calendar year was 2003, when it sold 2.968 million vehicles.

Source: Automotive News

Mercedes-Benz Car Sales Fall on China Market Weakness

Mercedes-Benz car sales fell in the third quarter as a hefty drop in China offset growth in Europe and the U.S. The German luxury automaker’s car sales fell 8% to 407,200 vehicles while global car and van sales fell 6% to 491,700 vehicles, it said Wednesday. However, the company saw a sharp rise in electric-vehicle sales, with car sales rising 61% on year to 68,400.

Source: Wall Street Journal

The Trump administration is pledging to modernize headlight standards, addressing a growing complaint among drivers about glare from powerful LED lights. Why it matters: Industry experts say U.S. headlight regulations are severely outdated, creating dangerous driving conditions. The latest: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Tuesday that it will implement new rules to address issues like headlight glare and testing, vowing to align U.S. regulations with global standards.

Source: Axios