Nissan’s Comeback Is Underway: TDS
The Drive ·
A 19-month sales streak, and the highest sales Infiniti's seen since Covid, shows signs of life at Nissan. The post Nissan’s Comeback Is Underway: TDS appeared first on The Drive .
Good morning, happy Friday, and welcome to The Downshift , which is a lap of today’s top stories from around the auto industry and car culture, curated by The Drive ‘s editorial team. Each story gets summarized into a sentence or two accompanied by a link to the source for those seeking more information. Senior Editor Adam Ismail is still out on assignment and I’ll be your driver today, but he’ll be back behind the wheel Monday so don’t fret.
Here’s what firing on Friday, October 2, 2026 as cool fall air rolls in:
Nissan’s turnaround plan is working. The Japanese automaker’s sales streak just reached 19 months with Infiniti posting its best third-quarter numbers since Covid. Nissan itself grew retail sales 6.8% even as rental fleet sales plunged 45%. [ Automotive News ]
Mercedes-Benz pulled the plug on the EQE sedans, Maybach EQS SUV, and AMG S63 sedan as the German automaker trims and simplifies its lineup as a cash crunch looms. [ Car and Driver ]
Shocking no one, suddenly Americans are interested in small sedans and SUVs as gas prices rise. Large SUV sales like the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban are dropping, which is a pain point for the American automakers who have pinned their largest margins and volumes on body-on-frame trucks and SUVs. [ Wall Street Journal ]
Volkswagen is almost giving away the current batch of ID. 4 electric cars sitting on dealer lots. The automaker’s running fire sales to clear out inventory as the ID. Tiguan replacement looms. [ Motor Trend ]
Ram has overtaken Jeep as Stellantis’ most important, and largest, brand. The shift marks the first time the truck brand sits atop the automaker’s portfolio since being split off of Dodge in 2009. Sales of the Ram 1500 surged 73% in Q3 giving the brand a 29% gain while Jeep sales dropped 20%. [ Automotive News ]
The 2027 Honda Civic Type R debuted with more downforce, better cooling, heated seats, and meaningful chassis tweaks. The 315-horsepower turbo-four carries over as does that sweet, sweet six-speed manual transmission. [ Road & Track ]
GM retained its U.S. sales crown, for now, but Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, is closing in rapidly. The Japanese automaker’s extensive lineup of hybrids and smaller, fuel-efficient, vehicles is suddenly an ace that General Motors lacks. GM’s largest profit center is body-on-frame trucks and SUVs, none of which are hybrids. [ Reuters ]
The 2027 Toyota Grand Highlander Woodland Edition debuted with all-terrain tires, revised suspension springs, which combined result in half an inch of increased ground clearance. The springs and tires cut the model’s 5,000-pound tow rating down to 3,500 pounds. [ Motor1 ]
Volvo just scrapped its full-year sales-volume outlook citing deteriorating conditions in China and a slower-than-expected recovery in the U.S. market. The outlook accompanied a warning that a large hit to third-quarter earnings was about to take place due to disappointing sales. [ Bloomberg ]
The Tesla Model 3 received updates that include a larger 16.0-inch touchscreen. Performance models net a black headliner, driving range increasing from 309 miles to 316 miles, and according to Tesla, “improved peak power at 528 hp.” The automaker also said Model 3 Premium AWD models accelerates even quicker. [ Telsa on X ]
Tesla also created a new Emergency Drive Away function that will allow owners to shift the car into Drive while still plugged into a Supercharger. Previously, Teslas would not shift out of Park while a charge cable was connected, requiring owners to unlock the charge port from the touchscreen, app, or the button on the handle, then wait for the charging cable to unlatch. The new safety function arrives after a deadly Supercharger shooting took place. The new function, if used, will damage the car with the company noting, “Use of this feature will damage your vehicle and the Supercharger.” [ Electrek ]
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The post Nissan’s Comeback Is Underway: TDS appeared first on The Drive .