American Automakers Are Poised To Win The Country, Lose The World

Happy Wednesday! It's February 25, 2026, 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 U.S. automakers' pivot to gas-guzzlers, as well as Lucid's finances. We'll also look at Aston Martin cutting jobs, and BMW recalling sedans. 

Automakers in the United States are going all-in on internal combustion, the future be damned — there are quarterly profits to secure now, goddamnit. Unfortunately, this plan stands to strand these automakers in the mud globally, without a way to embrace the future that other countries are still planning. From Bloomberg: 

Detroit under Donald Trump has rediscovered its love of the big, roaring engine.

By gutting climate regulations, the president has freed US automakers to sell as many gas-burning trucks and SUVs as they can. Muscle cars powered by rumbling V-8s and Hemi engines are back, with beasts like the Dodge Charger and Ford's Mustang Dark Horse laying down rubber at this year's Detroit Auto Show. Electric vehicles, pushed by years of federal policy, are now purely optional.

The sudden switch promises a new era of fat profits for the companies. They've always made their best margins on large vehicles with monster engines. Ford Motor Co.'s top executive even hailed the change as a "multibillion-dollar opportunity."

Long term, it risks sending American automakers off a cliff. EVs are still backed by government regulations and incentives across much of the world. And they're finding buyers, particularly the high-tech, low-cost cars now pouring out of China. If US automakers turn their backs on electrics, their sales outside the US will shrivel. They're already falling behind on the technology, relying on a 100% US tariff on Chinese EVs to keep surging rivals like BYD Co. at bay.

"If they just go back to Hemi Land and not do anything, it would be disastrous in a few years — a horrific disaster," said Mark Wakefield, head of the global automotive practice at consultant AlixPartners. While the American automakers "mostly understand the challenge in front of them, they don't have full plans" to confront it, he said.

This seems like the exact opposite way to go about Trump's stated goals of growing U.S. auto sales overseas, considering strict emissions standards still stand around the world and will only get stricter in the future, but what do I know I'm just some blogger. 

Lucid had a good 2025, with production spiking as the first Gravity crossovers rolled off the line. For 2026, the company is still predicting growth — just, a bit less than 2025.  From Automotive News: 

Lucid Motors expects slower production growth this year after nearly doubling output in 2025 thanks to the ramp of its second model, the Gravity crossover, the company said Feb. 24.

The Newark, Calif., automaker expects production between 25,000 and 27,000 vehicles this year, with the Gravity making up the majority, interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said.

If Lucid achieves the high end of its 2026 estimate, production would grow by about 50 percent over 2025's total of 17,840 vehicles, the company said. At the lower end of guidance, the production boost would be about 40 percent.

Lucid revised its 2025 production figures down by 538 vehicles after determining they had not completed internal validation procedures, the company said.

Lucid's third model, a midsize crossover priced under $50,000, isn't expected to launch until late in the year and won't have a big impact on volume, Winterhoff said.

This is how business works in 2026: Stable profits aren't enough. Hell, year-over-year growth isn't enough. In order to impress investors, your growth every year has to be greater than the growth you saw the prior year. This is sustainable on a planet of finite resources, for sure. 

Aston Martin is having a rough time navigating tariffs, so it's cutting costs. As with Lucid before it, it's looking to the biggest item on the balance sheet: Salaries. One in five workers stands to be cut from Aston Martin, according to Reuters:

British luxury car maker Aston Martin will cut its workforce by up to 20%, it said on Wednesday, as it strives to recover from the impact of U.S. import tariffs and weak demand in China.

Aston Martin said the job cuts from a total workforce of around 3,000 should deliver annualised savings of around 40 million pounds ($54 million). It did not specify when the job cuts would be implemented, but said most of the savings would be this year. The cuts include a 5% reduction announced last year.

It also trimmed its five-year capital spending plan to 1.7 billion pounds from 2 billion pounds by delaying investment in electric vehicle technology.

BMW is recalling nearly 59,000 cars, all for an issue with the air conditioner wiring harness. The harness can short out, which isn't a thing you want in any electrical system — especially a car. From Reuters: 

BMW is recalling 58,713 vehicles in the U.S. due to a wiring harness for the air conditioning system that may be damaged and cause a short circuit, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday.

The recall covers several vehicles, including the M5 Sportswagon, M5, and 750e xDrive, according to NHTSA.

A company spokesperson confirmed the recall to Reuters. He said a quality inspection had shown that the cable routing in the affected vehicles must be improved.

If you're wondering whether your Beemer is covered, head over to NHTSA and check it out. And then, maybe don't run your AC for a bit. 

Some things you do for money, and some you do for love, love, love. 

I woke up to yet more snow in Brooklyn today, so I can see the appeal of warmer climates.