Canada's EV Mandate Isn't Going Anywhere

Happy Monday! It's June 16, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're looking at Canada's refusal to back down on EVs, plus Nissan's increasing distance from Renault. We'll also take a look at Renault losing its dad, and at the Chinese automakers who swear to start paying bills in a more timely manner. 

The United States is doing its best to remove any and all restrictions against carbon emissions, but thankfully our neighbors don't seem to be following in our self-destructive footsteps. Take Canada, for instance, which is staunchly refusing to back down on its zero-emissions vehicle mandate. From Automotive News:

The Canadian government is digging in its heels on preserving its zero-emission vehicle mandate, despite urgent warnings from the auto sector that the legislated sales targets are unachievable, likely to create vehicles shortages and drive up costs.

Mélanie Joly, Canada's minister of innovation, science and economic development told reporters June 10 that the ZEV mandate, known officially as the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, is critical to the government's long-term climate goals.

"It's important that we continue to work with the sector, and to be frank, to press the sector to ... embrace the transition," she said at the Canada Automotive Summit, hosted in Vaughan, Ont. by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association.

Automakers are complaining that the mandate isn't in line with sales numbers, which makes Joly's phrasing of "press the sector" all the more apt. We can't continue existing trends if we want a planet that stays habitable, we can't leave it up to the market. Governments regulate harmful chemicals away, like lead paint and asbestos. This is no different. 

Nissan and Renault have a weird not-quite-a-merger "alliance," but its ground has been shakier in recent years. Now, the two companies are working to disentangle just a little bit more. From Reuters:

Nissan Motor CEO Ivan Espinosa said the automaker plans to reduce its stake in French partner Renault, the Nikkei business newspaper reported on Monday.

Nissan and Renault had said in March they had agreed to reduce their required minimum stake in each other to 10% from 15%. Under their agreement, any share sale has to be coordinated with the other party and includes a right of first-refusal.

Selling a 5% stake in Renault would raise about 100 billion yen ($640 million) at current share prices, funds Nissan plans to use for new vehicle development amid challenging business conditions, the Nikkei said. Nissan currently holds 15% of the French company, according to LSEG data.

Nissan having more money to spend on R&D can only mean good things. Let's hope at least some of it goes into a new GT-R. 

Renault, on the other hand, is losing both a bit of its Japanese stepbrother as well as its entire dad. CEO Luca De Meo, after five years running the ship, is heading for Guccier pastures. From Reuters:

Renault CEO Luca de Meo is leaving the French carmaker to pursue a role outside the auto industry, the company said on Sunday, and newspaper Le Figaro reported he would become the new chief executive of Gucci-owner Kering.

...

De Meo will leave Renault in mid-July, Renault added. The French state holds a 15% stake in the company.

Kering owns Gucci, Balenciaga, and Saint Laurent, so De Meo will control much of the future of high-dollar luxury. I hope he has fun with it. Give us some real weird trends, Luca. 

China's automakers are coming into their own on the global stage, getting global recognition for the quality and cost of their vehicles. But their suppliers know the companies for another reason: Paying their bills really, really late. Now that the first of those points is established, automakers are looking to work on the second. From Bloomberg:

Chinese carmakers' pledge to make timely bill payments — an effort to appease officials' growing scrutiny of a long-running price war — has left many suppliers skeptical about how readily they'll follow through on their promises.

After meeting with regulators in early June about the need for better self-regulation, the industry's biggest names including BYD Co. and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. said they'll pay suppliers within 60 days. While that represents a shift toward global industry norms, it's a major change for some carmakers, including BYD, whose payment cycles can stretch to hundreds of days.

This is all self-regulation, and the companies have some ways around it, so there's no guarantee suppliers will be paid in anything resembling a reasonable timeframe. Still, those suppliers can dream ad hope for faster payments. 

I've never ridden the Cyclone — roller coasters aren't really my thing — but there's something reassuring about it always being there any time I go to Coney Island. 

Sometimes it's just a No Doubt kind of morning.