Happy Wednesday! It's August 27, 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 Porsche's push for a new CEO, as well as EU automakers' complaints that building green vehicles is just too hard. We'll also look at Stellantis' nine-figure fuel economy fines, and Ford's latest recall.
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1st Gear: Porsche Wants Its Own Boss, Not Oliver Blume
Volkswagen's ownership structure is so convoluted that it could only be German. The Volkswagen Auto Group owns Porsche, and is in turn owned by Porsche — simple stuff. It's the former Porsche, the car company, that's led by VAG CEO Oliver Blume. It's also the former Porsche, the car company, that wants him gone. From Automotive News:
Porsche has started the search for a new CEO to replace Oliver Blume amid rising pressure from investors that he ditch his double role and focus on fixing Volkswagen Group, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Porsche-Piech owner family has held discussions with potential candidates for the top job at Porsche, the people said, declining to be named because the matter is private. Talks have progressed to one internal and one external manager, one of the people said.
Blume has led Porsche since 2015 and kept the position even after succeeding Herbert Diess as CEO of parent VW Group seven years later. His double role has been a source of concern for investors as the two automakers contend with U.S. tariffs, waning profits and declining sales in the key market China.
Many of Porsche's problems are Volkswagen's problems — waning appeal in China, lack of EVs — so it would seem Blume primarily has those specific problems ahead of him. But, perhaps Porsche wants a more tailored hand guiding its reins.
2nd Gear: European Automakers Want To Keep Building Polluting Vehicles
Europe is generally ahead of the United States when it comes to environmental regulations that keep the planet habitable. European automakers, who bear the costs of ensuring their products don't choke the world in smoke and smog, are generally unhappy with this. They'd prefer less-strict regulations, and they're doing their best to get them. From Reuters:
European Union targets to cut CO2 emissions from vehicles, including a 100% reduction for cars by 2035, are no longer feasible, the heads of the European automobile manufacturers' and automotive suppliers' associations said on Wednesday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to host automotive sector executives on September 12 to discuss the future of the sector, which is facing twin threats of Chinese competition in electric vehicles and U.S. tariffs.
In a letter to von der Leyen, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius and Matthias Zink, CEO of powertrain and chassis at Schaeffler AG, said they were committed to achieving the EU's net zero goal in 2050.
However, they said EU manufacturers now faced near-total dependency on Asia for batteries, as well as uneven charging infrastructure, higher manufacturing costs and U.S. tariffs.
...
"EVs will lead the charge, but there must also be space for (plug-in) hybrids, range extenders, highly efficient internal-combustion engine vehicles, hydrogen and decarbonised fuels," the letter said.
CO2 regulation for heavy-duty trucks and buses must also be reviewed, the two association chiefs said.
As always, the issue here isn't that it's impossible to build efficient cars. The issue is that efficient cars don't make as much money for the companies that build them, and any corporation worth its salt will sell out you and your health for the slightest uptick in earnings per share.
3rd Gear: Poor Fuel Economy Cost Stellantis Nearly $200 Million This Year
Up until recently, automakers that didn't meet their fuel economy requirements could simply buy their way into compliance — either by purchasing carbon credits from more-efficient automakers, or simply paying fines. Now, of course, there are no rules left around fuel economy, but Stellantis still somehow managed to rack up nearly $200 million in fines anyway. From Automotive News:
Chrysler-parent Stellantis paid $190.6 million in penalties this year for not meeting U.S. fuel economy requirements, according to a government report and the Italian-U.S. automaker.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in an annual report that Stellantis paid $112.3 million in June and $78.3 million in March in payments for shortfalls from the 2019 and 2020 model years. In total, Stellantis has paid $773.5 million since 2018.
Last month, NHTSA told automakers they face no fines for failures to meet fuel efficiency rules dating back to the 2022 model year under a law signed by President Donald Trump.
..
Rivian Automotive Inc. said in a court filing this month that because NHTSA has not processed end-of-year reports or compliance notifications for the 2022 model year and later, it cannot finalize previously negotiated transactions worth $100 million in credit revenue.
It's not immediately clear whether Stellantis is actually on the hook for this bill, given the Trump administration has declared all fuel economy since 2022 to be fair game. Will the automaker get a refund for the money it already paid?
4th Gear: Another Day, Another 355,000 Fords Recalled
Ford's back in TMS, for the reason it keeps popping up in fourth gear: Another recall. This one covers 355,000 trucks, from F-150s all the way up to F-550s. This time, it's for the instrument panel, which can fail. This is what we in the industry call "bad." From Reuters:
Ford Motor Company is recalling more than 355,000 trucks in the U.S over a issue with the instrument panel display, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday.The recall affects certain Ford 2025-2026 models - F-550 SD, F-450 SD, F-350 SD, and F-250 SD - and the 2025 F-150.
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[NHTSA] added the panel may fail when the engine is started and that the software will be updated by a dealer or through an over-the-air update, free of charge.
At least this recall can be fixed with a simple update, but Ford keeps racking those numbers up like it's going for a high score. Are there any Fords left that haven't been recalled?
Reverse: I Guess He Didn't Have Clarence Odbody
No man is a failure who has friends, but who knows if Ralston had those.
On The Radio: Anamanaguchi - 'Air On Line'
I'm amazed I haven't used this as our On The Radio gear yet, but Google says it's true.
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