BYD announced the rollout of its first Flash Chargers in Europe, capable of charging EVs in just 5 minutes. The company introduced its first chargers in the UK and Germany and promised to build 3,000 chargers across Europe and 300 across the UK by the end of 2027.

The company’s Flash Chargers aren’t exactly new, but they are new to European drivers. Just one of BYD’s Flash Charging stations can deliver up to 1,500 kW of charging power, which is three times more than Tesla’s V4 Superchargers.

Additionally, BYD plans to undercut the competition from Tesla and Ionity and offer cheaper fares. It plans to do that by leveraging batteries. These batteries will charge overnight during off-peak hours and provide cheaper electricity to consumers. Additionally, BYD believes it can charge more EVs throughout the day compared to the competition, which will push prices down even further.

Naturally, if you want to utilize BYD’s fast chargers to the fullest, you have to own one of BYD’s EVs equipped with the latest Blade Battery 2.0. This battery can already be found in some BYD EVs, but only one model sold in Europe is compatible with the Flash Chargers, and that’s the Denza Z9 GT. At least for now.

Just a 5-minute charge will refill the battery from 10% to 70%, while a “full” charge from 10% to 97% takes only 9 minutes. Additionally, the technology promises minimal performance loss in low-temperature environments.

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Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning automotive news roundup bringing you the biggest headlines from around the globe.

We hope you had a fine weekend. Here are the stories worth catching up on for Monday, June 8, 2026.

Honda is seemingly planning significant refreshes for the Accord and Passport for next year. One Honda executive teased a “substantially redesigned Accord that will feel like a new model,” while an anonymous source said the automaker is “giving [the Passport] more testosterone” and that “it’s a little more masculine.” [Automotive News]

Stellantis will sell the the new Dodge Charger in Europe, from gas-powered Sixpack models to the battery-electric Daytona, in two- and four-door varieties. [Stellantis]

Subaru has promised no less than three new manual-toting models for Japan: a new hatchback seemingly inspired by the Performance-B STI Concept from last year’s Japan Mobility Show; a WRX with the more durable TY85 manual from the prior-gen STI; and a leaner, sharper BRZ. It’s unclear if any of these vehicles will be sold in the U.S. [Carscoops]

Subaru also issued a rather odd press release over the weekend, “[announcing] that it is considering” selling the three-row Ascent in Japan, where it has not been offered to date. The Ascent is built in Indiana. [Subaru]

Toyota seemingly can’t crank out new RAV4s quickly enough, with less than five days’ worth of inventory in the U.S. at present, as the hybrid SUV has been selling fast due to rising gas prices. [Bloomberg]

⛐ Ford of Europe has continued playing coy on the prospect of a Fiesta and/or Focus revival, with its product chief saying, with respect to new ST or RS models, that, “To be credible and authentic, there needs to be some kind of performance series of our vehicles.” [Auto Express]

Uber has opened a waitlist for customers in London who want to use the company’s robotaxi service in the city first, though no prospective launch date has yet been given. [Bloomberg]

Weekend race results:

• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Michigan: Corey Heim won for Tricon Garage
• British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park: Dan Cammish, Ash Sutton, and Charles Rainford each won races
• MotoGP Hungarian Grand Prix: Marc Marquez won for Ducati
• Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix: Kimi Antonelli won for Mercedes
• NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan: Denny Hamlin won for Joe Gibbs Racing
• IndyCar at St. Louis: Josef Newgarden won for Team Penske

Got a news tip? Reach out to tips@thedrive.com

Tesla has officially altered how European buyers can access its highest tier of driver assistance systems. The American electric vehicle manufacturer stopped offering Full Self-Driving, often called FSD, as a permanent, one-time purchase across Europe. Moving forward, anyone who wants to use these software features on new electric cars will have to pay a monthly fee.

Previously, Tesla allowed buyers in Europe to pay an upfront cost of €7,500 or £6,800 in the United Kingdom to secure lifetime access to what the company marketed as Full Self-Driving Capability. That permanent buying option is gone. In its place, the automaker now requires a recurring monthly subscription fee of €99 or £99 to turn on the software.

Tesla Germany

Along with this shift, Tesla also eliminated the mid-tier Enhanced Autopilot package. This older option used to cost €3,800 or £3,400 as a one-time purchase. For that price, it gave drivers lifetime access to automatic lane changes, automated overtaking, highway navigation, and a smartphone-controlled summoning tool. Now, buyers can no longer purchase this specific mid-tier bundle at all.

Despite the updates to the paid packages, the most basic driver-assist features remain unchanged. Tesla includes its standard Autopilot system for free on all vehicles. This complimentary package keeps the car centered within its lane, manages steering, and controls acceleration and braking.

The €99 monthly payment is meant to unlock the more advanced FSD system, which allows the vehicle to travel from one point to another under human supervision. However, the regulatory environment in Europe creates a unique challenge for local buyers. Right now, government authorities have approved the actual use of this complete software suite in only two European nations: the Netherlands and Lithuania.

TESLA UK

Because the continent lacks uniform approval for this technology, Tesla owners in different countries face very different realities. On its website for the Netherlands, where the system is legally live, Tesla states that its electric cars can drive almost anywhere with minimal intervention. In sharp contrast, the company website for the United Kingdom has a clear warning that the system is not yet available and depends entirely on future development and government regulatory clearance.

This leaves many European buyers in a position where they must pay a monthly subscription for software that cannot legally perform its main tasks in their home countries. Tesla implemented an identical strategy in the United States, where it removed the $8,000 upfront FSD purchase option in favor of a $99 monthly fee.

From a purely financial perspective, the monthly payment system has both benefits and drawbacks for the average consumer. If a driver pays €99 every month, it takes slightly more than six years of continuous payments to reach the €7,500 that the software used to cost upfront. For owners who trade in their electric cars every few years, the subscription model could actually save them money.

TESLA Netherlands

A monthly plan adds some much-needed flexibility – owners can choose to activate the service for a single month during a long road trip and then cancel it when they return to daily city commuting. This avoids the risk of paying a massive lump sum for software that stays tied to a single vehicle chassis.

Many long-term Tesla owners paid thousands of euros years ago based on promises that their vehicles would eventually achieve full autonomy. However, company Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk confirmed during a recent financial call that older vehicles using previous-generation Hardware 3 technology will not be capable of true, unmonitored self-driving. To solve this problem, the carmaker will have to build specialized micro-factories to upgrade these older electric cars with newer hardware components.

Source

• Stellantis will build Dongfeng’s Voyah EVs in France through a new European joint venture.
• The deal follows Stellantis’ Leapmotor tie-up, which already brings Chinese EV production to Spain.
• Chinese automakers are turning to European assembly to blunt tariffs and gain a local foothold.

Stellantis, the automotive conglomerate that owns Jeep, Ram, and 12 other car brands, has just announced a joint venture agreement with China’s Dongfeng to build Voyah EVs in one of its European factories. It already has a similar deal with Leapmotor, under which the latter is assembling its vehicles at a Stellantis plant in Spain to bypass import tariffs these vehicles would have faced if they were manufactured in China.

Chinese EVs face an additional import duty of up to 35% in the EU, on top of the existing 10% import tariff. This hasn’t stopped Chinese automakers from bringing their vehicles over and undercutting local competition, but building them locally is an even better deal for the automakers.

The new Dongfeng deal focuses on the Stellantis plant in Rennes, France. It can accommodate up to three production lines and, at its peak, produced 400,000 vehicles per year, but now it only produces the Citroen C5 Aircross, using only a third of its capacity. Dongfeng will also build Peugeot and Jeep vehicles in China as part of the same deal.

Stellantis already knows the playbook through its tie-up with Leapmotor (in which it holds a controlling share). The Chinese manufacturer initially began production of the T03 electric city car in Poland, but production there was halted in March last year, and it now builds the B10 electric crossover at the Stellantis factory in Zaragoza, Spain. 

Reuters says Leapmotor is looking to expand its collaboration with Stellantis and identify which of Stellantis’ European factories have unused production capacity to build its own models. Leapmotor will also be providing the platform and key components for a new Opel electric crossover, making it one of the first European-badged vehicles built on fully Chinese underpinnings.

Other Chinese automakers have also begun efforts to localize production in Europe. BYD is the most famous in this respect with the huge factory it’s building in Hungary. Chery has partnered with Spain’s Ebro to use the former Nissan plant in Barcelona, while Xpeng and GAC have turned to Austria’s Magna Steyr to assemble cars in Europe.

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Europe’s tariffs were designed to protect its car industry from cheaper Chinese EVs, but they may end up accelerating a different kind of Chinese expansion. Instead of simply importing finished cars from China, automakers are now looking for factories, partners, and production footholds inside Europe itself.

For Stellantis, this gives underused plants the prospect of more work and potentially gives its European brands access to cheaper, faster-moving EV technology. Chinese automakers need to get around tariffs and find a path into the market. It’s increasingly looking like Europe’s next wave of affordable EVs may not be imported from China. They may be Chinese-engineered cars built in European factories, sometimes wearing badges buyers already know.

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Sales of electric cars reached 1.6 million units in April 2026 globally, bringing the total number of EVs sold so far this year to 5.6 million. According to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the market grew 6% compared to April last year – though it did drop 9% from a very busy March. The industry looks like a patchwork quilt at the moment – some regions are moving fast, and some are slowing down.

Europe is the main growth engine for the global market. Other regions seem to struggle, but European buyers continue to embrace electric cars in record numbers. In April alone, sales in the region jumped 27% compared to the last year, totaling over 400,000 units. High gasoline prices, caused by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, make traditional cars more expensive to run and force buyers to look at electric options. Additionally, generous government incentives and a surge of new models from Chinese manufacturers give customers more reasons to switch to EVs.

The growth within specific European countries is even more impressive. France saw its sales of electric cars rise 36% since the start of the year. Germany followed closely with a 33% increase. Italy took the spotlight by nearly doubling its market size, thanks to new government subsidies. It seems Italian drivers are finally trading their espresso-fueled city cars for battery power, with Chinese brands grabbing a large portion of those new sales.

Chinese automakers are no longer relying on only sending ships full of EVs to European ports – they are moving in. In 2025, Chinese-built vehicles made up 19% of the European market. That number has already climbed to 22% in 2026. To avoid trade tensions, many companies are building local factories. Stellantis and Leapmotor announced they will build the Leapmotor B10 electric SUV at a plant in Zaragoza, Spain, with production possibly starting as early as Q4 2026. Even Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume suggested that sharing empty factory space with Chinese rivals might be a “clever solution” to help his company manage costs.

Source: Benchmark Minerals

Europe thrives, but the North American market is facing a cold snap. EV sales across the United States and Canada fell 25% during the first four months of the year, with the exception of Mexico. Its market grew by nearly 50% because Chinese companies rushed thousands of electric cars into Mexico before the government introduced a 50% import tariff on countries without free trade deals.

Canada is trying to fix its 7% sales slump with a new Electric Vehicle Affordability Program. This plan offers buyers up to CAD 5,000 (roughly £2,660) for qualifying electric cars. To get the full rebate, the vehicle must cost less than £26,600, though Canadian-made cars do not have a price limit. Canada also set a dedicated quota that allows 49,000 Chinese EVs to enter the country without facing a 100% tariff, showing that the government still wants affordable options on the road.

Source: Benchmark Minerals

In the United States, manufacturers are focusing on future production. Rivian has officially started building the Rivian R2 at its factory in Normal, Illinois. The company is betting big on the R2 and plans to expand its future Georgia plant to handle 300,000 vehicles a year instead of the original 200,000. Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that production has begun for the Tesla Cybercab. Do not expect to see many of them on the street yet – high-volume production of the Cybercab will not happen until late 2026.

China’s domestic market paints a confusing picture – local sales dropped 17% this year, mainly because the government changed subsidies for small, cheap electric cars. Without those discounts, buyers are playing a wait-and-see game, but Chinese factories are not sitting idle. They exported 400,000 EVs in April alone. In the first four months of 2026, China shipped 1.4 million EVs overseas – twice as many as the same time last year.

The global shift toward electric cars is far from a straight line. North American buyers are hesitating, Chinese domestic demand is shifting, and Europe is picking up the slack. The industry is becoming a game of local manufacturing and clever partnerships. As more brands like XPeng begin building models like the P7+ in Austria, the map of the automotive world continues to change every month.

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