Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news roundup bringing you the biggest automotive headlines from around the world.
The Downshift briefly recaps the news with links to deeper stories. Hope you enjoyed what was a great weekend for racing and sports fans in general, between the 24 Hours of Le Mans, World Cup action and, last but certainly not least, the New York Knicks. Here’s your bulletin for Monday, June 15, 2026.
🔌 New EV registrations year-over-year have unsurprisingly declined every month since the start of 2026, post-federal tax credit, but April proved to be the strongest month yet for EVs, with only a 9.8% drop versus April 2025. That follows declines of 25% on March, 37% in February, and 41% in January. [Automotive News]
🆕 Stellantis’ American brands chief Tim Kuniskis teased a surprise vehicle debut at Roadkill Nights on August 8. In 2022, Dodge introduced the Charger Daytona SRT concept and Hornet at the same event, which could give us a hint at what SRT is planning. [Carscoops]
👑 The U.K. government will reportedly meet with automakers this week to discuss softening regulations that require 80% of new cars sold in the country to be battery-electric in 2030. Under a potential new plan, half of all cars sold would need to be electric. However, the existing ban of new purely internal-combustion cars that same year, and outlawing new hybrids in 2035, is expected to remain. [Autocar]
🧮 Independent traffic researchers say that data Tesla submitted to officials in Sweden and the Netherlands about Full Self-Driving’s supposed safety is misleading. The EV maker is still attempting to secure approval for an FSD rollout in Europe. [Reuters]
5️⃣ Bovensiepen, the new coachbuilder run by the family that founded Alpina after BMW fully absorbed Alpina in 2022, has unveiled the 05 GT, an M5 Touring with 790 horsepower—around 50 more than a normal M5—and loads of bespoke design touches. [Autoblog]
⛽ Economic headwinds and high gas prices have depressed the RV industry, as manufacturers have shipped 13.5% fewer products to retailers over the first four months of 2026 compared to the same period one year ago. [Reuters]
🏁 Weekend race results:
- 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries won overall for Toyota
- NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Pocono: Justin Allgaier won for JR Motorsports
- Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton won for Ferrari
- GT World Challenge America at Road Atlanta: Jason Daskalos and Philip Ellis won overall for JMF Motorsports
- NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono: Denny Hamlin won for Joe Gibbs Racing
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