Ford Will Partner More With Chinese Automakers Overseas CEO Jim Farley says the automaker will expand the tie-ups while developing a plan for Chinese competition in the U.S.

“Having a plan before we go fast, either in local production or imports from China, is the most important moment. We’re in that moment right now.”

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High Gas Prices Are Tempting Americans Back to EVs Sales of electric vehicles plunged after the president ended a $7,500 tax credit, but high gas prices just helped drive a 12% jump in used-EV sales.

“In the short term, a lot of Americans—and this has nothing to do with regulations—are coming back to EVs because of the cost of ownership." Gift link:

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Volkswagen to End U.S. Production of ID.4, Its Lone American-Made EV The electric crossover’s sales struggled in recent years.

That's a wrap for the Volkswagen ID.4 in America:

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Delta’s Ace in the Hole for Surging Jet Fuel Costs: Its Own Refinery The airline’s 2012 acquisition of a Pennsylvania refinery has been called both prescient and pointless.

DID YOU KNOW that Delta has its own fuel refinery? Because I did not, and apparently it is considered "genius or a boondoggle, generally depending on the price of oil."

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Exclusive | Ford Asks Trump Administration for Relief as Tariffs Pummel F-150 The Detroit company and other carmakers are reeling after a domestic supplier went offline, but the administration hasn’t budged.

"In recent weeks, Ford has petitioned the Trump administration for [tariff] assistance... So far, the administration hasn’t budged, the people added." (Gift link below)

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I'd be down to chat! Shoot me an email? Thanks so much!

Ty sir!

A photo of a Hyundai Ioniq 5 in Palm Springs, California.

Have you purchased an electric vehicle recently, especially in a state with especially high gas prices? Do those prices have you considering an EV for the first time? Know someone in those categories? We at @wsj.com want to talk! DMs open or find me at patrick.george@wsj.com.

Chrysler, Once an American Icon, Now Sells Just One Minivan. Can It Survive? Dealers want to see a fuller lineup but a turnaround will be expensive and difficult.

“Nobody knows Stellantis in this country. They sure as hell know Chrysler.”

New from us on whether this once-iconic American brand can still be saved—and whether that's still worth doing:

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And you can charge at home, which is ostensibly the biggest benefit (to those who can).

This was 600+ miles, and since my Kia came with a bunch of complimentary charging at EA stations, I only paid once and it was under $20 or so. Charging depends on battery size and such, but I'm sure it was all-in cheaper than (current) NY gas prices.

A screenshot of used Kia EV6 deals.

My lease buyout price is outrageously high, but honestly, I'd be perfectly happy buying another one. The used prices are hard to beat.

You Can Live With Less DC Fast Charging. Here's How Level 1 and Level 2 charging is generally cheaper and easier on our electrical grid. Here's how you can do that, even if you don't have the facilities at home.

One addendum: it reaffirmed something we said all the time when I was at IEVs, which is that we need more Level 2 chargers everywhere. How about more plugs at hotels for overnight charging? You gotta sleep sometime, and you may as well juice up when the car's parked.

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Almost every longer EV trip I've done has had at least one public charging incident that's spiked my blood pressure. Not this time!

This stuff really is getting better, more than people realize. Now it just needs to be everywhere.

I charged the EV6 four times (technically 3.5, one was just a quick lunch top-off). Aside from resetting a plug once at dinner, everything worked smoothly on the first try. Even the Electrify America stations were flawless—never thought I'd say that.

A white Kia EV6 in front of a DC fast-charging station.

We just drove from upstate NY to Detroit for this new job, and I gotta say—this was the easiest and most painless EV road trip I've ever done. For work or for personal reasons.

The “Voltswagen” logo from VW’s failed April fool’s day joke in 2021

Never forget

America Now Has an EV Rust Belt. High Gas Prices Won’t Rescue It. GM supplier Magna is stuck with a plant built to churn out parts for battery-powered pickups. “The magnitude of uncertainty is unparalleled,” said its CEO.

When the EV slowdown comes up, you mostly hear about the costs incurred by automakers. Far less attention is paid to suppliers, which often have nothing to pivot to. Now, a new Rust Belt is taking shape as idle EV parts plants pile up across the country. (Gift link)

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The text reads: A Stellantis spokeswoman said preferred parking is reserved for company-branded vehicles. “Employees must adhere to posted signage and communications,” she said. The results can be confusing and, at times, amusing. At least one online user said they were ticketed for parking an Eagle Talon sports car in a Stellantis lot, despite Eagle being a long-defunct nameplate from Chrysler, which too is now owned by Stellantis. “Seems the security needs a little history lesson,” they wrote. The worker didn’t respond to a request for comment.

No love for Diamond Star Motors anymore, huh

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Sick of High Gas Prices? EV Deals Are Everywhere Right Now Automakers and dealers are offering deep discounts in response to the slowdown in electric-vehicle sales.

I don't often recommend people get EVs purely to save money on gas, because that's more of a long-term benefit. But never going to the pump again is a nice perk. And right now, lots of buyers are noticing how good the deals are:

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Problem is, they all came back

Rivian’s Make-or-Break Car Arrives at the Worst Possible Moment for EVs The startup seeks to buck an EV downturn with a $57,990 SUV that can drive up to 330 miles on a single charge.

I think in 18 months or so, you'll be seeing Rivian R2s all over places like California. Now the question is: can this EV upstart make sure you see them everywhere?

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Consumers Truly Have No Clue Who Makes Good EVs: Report Am I reading this chart upside down? Or are you? Because American EV brand perception data does not remotely match reality.

What's nuts is Honda is one of those brands whose buyers actually WANT good EVs—like this has come up repeatedly, and even some dealers were nervous about potentially losing the Prologue

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(Two weeks later, when oil hits $200 a barrel) “Honda unveils three new EVs to meet growing customer demand”

Honestly, this is a wild one—despite delays, these cars were pretty far along, and meant to be this software-driven answer to Tesla and Rivian and China's EVs. But the looks (and price tags) never felt like they'd track with your average Honda buyer.

Honda's 0 Series Saloon in white

Honda's wild-looking 0 Series Saloon and SUV are canceled as the automaker records a $15.7 billion EV write-down:

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Which a lot of folks pointed out at the time, too!

Soaring Gas Prices Are Latest Blow for Auto Industry in Constant Whiplash A sharp rise in gas prices is a headache automakers—and consumers—don’t have easy answers to.

Wall Street initially rewarded GM, Ford and others for dialing back their EV plans. Then came Iran-conflict oil prices (gift link):

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Volkswagen Dealers Revolt Over Plan to Sell a New Brand of SUV Directly to Consumers The latest of several lawsuits seeks to stop the automaker from bypassing dealerships.

Who has the right to sell you a new car in the United States?

VW-owned Scout wants to run the Tesla playbook and go direct. But VW's American dealers are settling in for a long legal fight to cement their role in the sales process:

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The Obscure Fee Costing You More to Buy a Car Car buyers paid more than $26 billion in “destination charges” last year.

“It’s a way to raise prices that is, shall we say, less transparent to the consumer." www.wsj.com/business/aut...