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Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news roundup serving up the biggest automotive headlines from across the globe.

The Downshift gets you up to speed with quick recaps of stories, fit with links for those who want to dive deeper into the news. Here’s your bulletin for Tuesday, June 2, 2026.

Hyundai has announced its May sales figures, and while overall sales have increased by 3% against May 2025, the biggest story is that the company sold 39% more Sonatas compared to that same period one year ago—8,456 examples, versus 6,082. It echoes similar gains for the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, as sedans are showing signs of life again in the U.S. [Hyundai]

Toyota has given the GR86 a slight update with improved throttle calibration, shifter feel, and new interior trim options. [Toyota]

United Auto Workers at GM’s axle plant in Three Rivers, Michigan, ​owned by Dauch Corp, walked off the job on Monday. According to individuals said to be familiar with the matter, the company has about two weeks of axle inventory currently on hand. [Reuters]

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna backed up the decision to offer the Luce in an interview, saying, “There are clients that are telling us, ‘I will become your client if and only if you have an electric traction car. Otherwise, I will not take an [internal-combustion vehicle] because I have to be consistent with the messaging that I’m giving to my son and my daughter.’” The chief executive also restated a commitment to support a diversity of powertrains, and that Ferrari will never offer a Level 3+ autonomous car. [Drive]

The Mazda MX-5 Miata has received a new color called “Zinc Green,” which barely qualifies as green and is so flat and gray that it’d be more at home on a Bronco. [Mazda]

Mini is reportedly reintroducing dual exhaust tips and adding more quirky colors to its repertoire in an effort to “get back to how it was launched in the U.S,.” in the words of one dealer that attended a BMW retailer meeting last month. [BMW Blog]

BYD’s sales finally rose for the first time in nine months in May, up precisely 0.3% from the same period one year earlier. [Bloomberg]

Foxtron—the EV-making arm of Foxconn, the electronics manufacturing giant best known for making iPhones—has announced a Tesla Model Y rival powered by an LFP battery pack that looks a little more minivan than SUV. It’ll go on sale first in Taiwan. [InsideEVs]

Got a tip or feedback for TDS? Let us know at tips@thedrive.com

TOYOTA is reportedly accelerating plans to move more vehicle production outside Japan as escalating disruption linked to the Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz shipping crisis begins to impact manufacturing, exports, and supplier networks across the industry.

 

Auto industry commentators say the scale of the disruption is becoming increasingly apparent.

 

According to reports from Nikkei Asia and Automotive News Europe, Toyota has informed suppliers it will reduce production by approximately 83,000 vehicles over the next six months, following an earlier cut of nearly 40,000 units during March and April.

 

The reductions primarily affect vehicles destined for the Middle East, where shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz have been severely disrupted.

 

High-volume export models including the HiLux, Fortuner, LandCruiser FJ, RAV4, Corolla Touring, and Probox are among those models impacted.

 

Reuters data cited in the reports suggests Japanese vehicle exports to the Middle East collapsed by more than 90 per cent in April 2026, illustrating how severely logistics have deteriorated.

 

Toyota exports around 600,000 vehicles annually to the region, making the Middle East one of its most important global export destinations.

 

The company is now believed to be exploring greater utilisation of overseas production facilities – including spare capacity in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Asia and Europe – to reduce dependence on vulnerable Japanese shipping lanes.

 

The disruption extends well beyond finished vehicles as major suppliers across Toyota’s industrial ecosystem are now warning of raw material shortages, logistics bottlenecks, and growing uncertainty around component supply.

 

Denso, Toyota’s key component supplier, says the situation is becoming increasingly difficult to forecast.

 

“We are hearing from smaller suppliers that suddenly say they won’t be able to deliver parts in two weeks’ time,” said Toyota Industries president Koichi Ito.

 

Suppliers are already reporting shortages of aluminium, resins, paint thinners, oil-derived naphtha, and chemical solvents.

 

Toyota Boshoku president Masayoshi Shirayanagi warned that many interior components rely heavily on oil-based materials.

 

“Whether it’s door trims or the urethane inside seats, everything is derived from resins, which in turn comes from oil-based naphtha,” he said.

 

Toyota has already warned investors the combined impact of global conflicts, rising fuel costs, and shipping disruption could slash earnings.

 

The company estimates the broader situation could cost approximately ¥670 billion (around $A6.0b) through higher transport costs, delayed deliveries, material price increases, and weaker Middle East demand.

 

Denso separately expects a ¥45 billion ($A395m) profit impact tied to uncertainty around raw material availability.

 

On the local front, Toyota Australia says supply remains stable at this stage.

 

“At this stage, we’re not seeing any impact to production for Australian-bound vehicles,” said a spokesperson.

 

The company added it expects strong supply through the remainder of the year, however, the broader implications remain significant.

 

Toyota had originally forecast combined Toyota and Lexus production of approximately 10 million vehicles globally for the current Japanese financial year.

 

The latest developments now place additional pressure on that target.

 

Auto industry commentators say the situation increasingly resembles the early stages of the COVID-era semiconductor crisis, where seemingly isolated supply disruptions cascaded rapidly across the automotive industry.

 

As exemplified in Toyota’s case, with modern vehicles requiring tens of thousands of individual components sourced globally, even small interruptions can quickly halt production.

The biggest car news and reviews, no BS

Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday.

Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.

Quick, tight, and dense, TDS gathers the latest automotive headlines from around the globe and places them in one spot. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.

It’s Friday, we made it, and I’m up in Northern Minnesota at the cottage. Let’s get into it.

What I’m driving: Currently spending the week with the 2026 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. This one stands out thanks to its Wavemaker Blue paint and is louder than normal thanks to the TRD Performance package, which adds a catback exhaust system along with a dual intake setup.

Toyota Motor North America CEO Tetsuo Ogawa said that “a RAV4-based pickup is an opportunity for us, and the dealers are waiting; maybe they say we need today or tomorrow, but it takes time.”

The 2027 Nissan Frontier Sport debuted as a budget-friendly off-roader.

The Jeep Wrangler America250 special edition debuted as a tribute to America’s 250th birthday; it looks like Captain America’s Wrangler.

Subaru’s delaying in-house EV development after a $362 million charge.

Toyota’s considering an additional assembly line in Texas, which would cost the automaker $2 billion.

Stellantis and Dongfeng agreed to a $1.17 billion deal that will see electric Peugeots and Jeeps built in China.

HWA will now sell you an EVO race car that will compete at the 24-Hour Nurburgring race.

The Pagani Zonda continues to live; a new Pagani Zonda Roadster has debuted as a restored and reimagined example dubbed the “Cervino.”

Michael Lohscheller, the boss of Polestar, said drivers are now suffering from “pump anxiety” due to rising fuel prices.

Rolls-Royce debuted the Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo.

Got a news tip or feedback? Drop us a line at tips@thedrive.com

Lexus, Toyota’s luxury sub-brand, posted a teaser ahead of its event on May 7, 10:30 AM JST. The teaser picture shows a silhouette of a large SUV, which is most likely the Lexus TZ, which first appeared in the news cycle back in 2023.

Of course, we can’t know for sure, but the timing seems very fitting. Toyota announced in February its fully-electric, three-row Highlander SUV, on which the Lexus TZ will be based. The two SUVs will share the modified TNGA-K platform, which Toyota says is optimized for interior space and efficiency.

Alleged Lexus TZ

A Lexus TZ prototype has already been spotted on the streets of Europe, which suggests a late 2026 or an early 2027 launch time frame. And even with its camouflage, it’s obvious that the design will differ slightly from the Toyota Highlander EV.

Source 1 | Source 2

TOYOTA Motor Corporation (TMC) has celebrated a Japanese fiscal year (April 2025 – March 2026) sales record, finishing the period with sales up 2.5 per cent year-on-year to 11.28 million units. 

  

While the group (including Daihatsu, Hino and Lexus) is still a week away from announcing its fiscal year profits, the results show that Toyota’s “multi-pathway approach” to new energy vehicle technologies have helped to insulate the company from the effects of US tariffs and inconsistent battery electric vehicle demand globally. 

  

Daihatsu – which was forced to halt production in early 2024 following a certification scandal – rebounded strongly, with worldwide sales rising 13.9 per cent to 697,271 units. Hino, meanwhile, continued its decline, with global volume falling 13.1 per cent to 108,619 units. 

  

Although the fiscal year numbers show a healthy increase, month-by-month sales in the first quarter of 2026 headed in the wrong direction – potentially signalling a weaker result for the 2026-27 financial year. 

  

Toyota’s sales figures show the company sold 887,266 units globally in January (up 4.8 per cent YoY), and just 806,182 units in February (down 2.4 per cent YoY). 

  

March results fell by an even greater percentage, the month’s 983,126 sales representing a YoY decline of 5.8 per cent. 

  

US sales of Toyota and Lexus models climbed 7.7 per cent to a record 2.52 million units in the just-ended fiscal year, Canadian sales increased by 6.8 per cent to 248,238 vehicles, while European sales grew 1.5 per cent to 1.18 million units – another record for the Japanese brand. 

  

Global hybrid sales advanced by 0.5 per cent to 4.34 million units – accounting for close to 40 per cent of TMC’s total deliveries – while BEV sales rose 31 per cent to 188,785 units, or just 1.7 per cent of the car-maker’s overall global volume. 

  

That last figure means every region reported in TMC’s most recent fiscal year results filed its best year yet for BEV sales, led by China. 

 

Including plug-in hybrids (152,071 units, down 5.6 per cent), mild hybrids (118,510 units) and fuel cell vehicles (1,275 units), total electrified Toyota and Lexus sales reached 4.8 million units or 45.8 per cent of combined Toyota and Lexus deliveries (and 42.5 per cent of all TMC volume). 

  

TMC prestige brand Lexus sold 870,570 units across the 2025-26 fiscal year, with almost half of that figure (405,261 units) sold into North American markets. 

  

Asia (excluding Japan) was the second strongest market for Lexus, where 236,154 units were sold (down 0.5 per cent on the 2024-25 fiscal year). 

 

While BEV sales in China are growing strongly, overall Toyota and Lexus sales in the country dipped 1.4 per cent to 1.76 million units amid intensifying competition from domestic manufacturers. 

 

India proved a bright spot for TMC in Asia, with sales surging 21.4 per cent to 371,536 units. 

  

The 2025-26 fiscal year numbers continue a mostly steady trajectory for the Japanese brand. 

  

Reviewing the company’s production sales figures from 2018 to now, we note increases of 1.9 and 1.5 per cent in the lead up to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company taking a 1.4 per cent production hit in 2020, followed by a sharper 5.1 per cent hit the following year. 

  

Sales recovered quickly in 2022, up 4.7 per cent, staying positive through 2023 and 2024 (up 1.7 per cent and 5.0 per cent respectively) before falling slightly in 2025 (down 0.7 per cent). 

 

 

2018-26 TMC total sales (including Daihatsu, Hino, and Lexus)*:   

 

*Sales data supplied courtesy of Toyota Motor Corporation

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From rare muscle cars to a Ferrari LaFerrari prototype, Mecum’s 2026 Indianapolis Auction is stocked with high-dollar collector cars. But the auction house is paying special attention to something more ordinary: a 1996 Toyota 4Runner SR5.

In an email to The Drive, Mecum senior communications manager David Morton said this Toyota has been garnering among the highest clicks of any lot in the auction, which is scheduled for May 8-16 (the 4Runner will cross the block on May 14, if you’re interested in bidding). That has Mecum speculating that this could be a “unicorn” that will help establish another generation of collector cars, Morton said.

Like most cars that make it into a Mecum auction catalog, this 4Runner is remarkably original. It has just 6,951 miles on the odometer, and has survived 30 years on this Earth without exposure to rust or the modifying impulses of off-roaders. It still has a 3.4-liter V6 making just 183 horsepower and 217 pound-feet of torque, connected to a four-speed automatic transmission and two-speed transfer case. The Oak Sport cloth interior and Desert Dune Metallic paint (what is it with Toyota and coming up with exciting names for boring colors?) are pure 1990s, as are the chunky 16-inch alloy wheels and factory cassette/CD player.

Pristine condition aside, it’s unusual to see a third-generation 4Runner at an auction that isn’t hosted by Bring a Trailer. This is only the eighth 1996 4Runner SR5 consigned by Mecum in over 10 years, Morton noted. Known as the N180, the third-generation 4Runner mark an important step in the evolution of this SUV from bare-bones off-roader to mainstream dweller of suburbia. It was civilized enough to serve as a mainstream offering until that role was taken by crossovers, relegating the 4Runner to the more niche status it has today.

Several off-roaders–such as the Ford Bronco, Series Land Rovers, and Toyota’s own Land Cruiser—have achieved collector-car status. And children of the 1990s are well into the nostalgia phase that fuels auction spending, as evidenced by the sky-high prices an Acura Integra Type R can bring. This 4Runner could mark the convergence of those trends. After all, if performance cars from this era can be collectible, why not off-roaders?

A clean N180 4Runner is certainly appealing in its own right. Compared to today’s 4Runner, it’s refreshingly basic. And it comes from an era when Toyota reliability really meant something. But Mecum is being a bit more conservative than some dealerships have been lately with their classic ‘Yotas. The highest price the auction house has seen for a 1996 4Runner SR5 is $28,075 (from a 2024 auction), so it’s expecting this one to sell for $35,000 to $45,000. If you’ve been contemplating a third-gen 4Runner, this is an auction to watch. If this car exceeds that estimate, affordable ones might get harder to find.

SUPPLY chain disruptions stemming from the US-Iran conflict are beginning to create chokepoints across Japan’s automotive industry, reports Automotive News Europe.

 

Included in the disruptions are “the network of companies surrounding Toyota”, including key supplier Denso, which produces a range of powertrain, electrical and climate control components, sensors, alternators, and fuel supply parts for a wide range of Toyota vehicles.

 

“We are hearing from smaller suppliers that suddenly say they won’t be able to deliver parts in two weeks’ time, which makes things very hard to predict,” said Toyota Industries president Koichi Ito.

 

While Mr Ito did not identify those components that might suddenly become unavailable, parts manufacturers have issued cautious forecasts for the current financial year as they grapple with rising raw material costs; shortages of aluminium, resins, and other crucial elements; and ongoing logistical hurdles.

 

In an industry where tens of thousands of components are needed to build a single vehicle, the flow-on effect could become as significant as that of the COVID-19 microprocessor shortage.

 

Automotive News Europe reports that raw-material disruptions are likely to impact parts production facilities from as early as June, with the industry already expressing concerns over a shortage of paint thinners, a product which without a vehicle cannot be finished.

 

The supply of resins and other raw materials are likewise beginning to slow, with car-interior manufacturer Toyota Boshoku already noting critical naphtha shortages.

 

“Whether it’s door trims or the urethane inside seats, everything is derived from resins, which in turn comes from oil-based naphtha,” explained Toyota Boshoku president Masayoshi Shirayanagi.

 

Mr Shirayanagi said his company is seeking short-term assurances from each supplier individually as it works to secure its supply commitments to Toyota Motor Company.

 

While naphtha-related shortages are yet to impact Denso production lines, executive vice president Yasushi Matsui said the company was expecting a related ¥45 billion ($A3.9m) profit hit from the uncertainty of future supplies.

 

“To be honest, we can’t see several months ahead,” he said, noting that the company is working to shift to alternative materials such as organic solvents.