Farley: it is already too late for Europe
The Ford chief executive had a blunt message about Chinese manufacturers. The United States must “be extremely careful around how the Chinese OEMs come to our country,” he said, pointing to Europe as the cautionary tale. Chinese imports gained market share quickly once they arrived, and in Farley’s assessment, “it’s too late” for European countries to do much about it now.
It is a striking thing to hear from the boss of one of the world’s largest carmakers, and it lands in the middle of a debate that has been running in Brussels and Washington for years. Tariffs, local content rules and subsidy regimes have all been deployed, yet the underlying competitive pressure has not gone away. Farley’s argument is essentially that once a market is open, the share moves fast, and the window for shaping how it happens is narrow.
For anyone watching the European market, the claim is not abstract. Chinese brands have moved from curiosity to volume in a handful of years, and the next phase, local assembly, is already underway.
The 2027 BMW 3-Series breaks cover
BMW’s biggest nameplate has been reinvented. The 2027 3-Series has debuted with Neue Klasse design inside and out, and it looks a great deal like the electric i3, though the two are entirely different cars with their own proportions and details. Pricing in the United States starts at $51,250, which is roughly £40,000 at current rates. UK pricing and launch timing have not been announced, though the 3-Series is one of BMW’s strongest sellers here, so a British arrival is all but certain.
The visual overlap is deliberate. BMW is consolidating its design language around the Neue Klasse theme, so a combustion-engined 3-Series and an electric i3 now read as members of the same family rather than distant cousins. Underneath, they remain distinct machines, which matters for buyers who want the traditional car without the electric powertrain.
Also joining the range is the i3 M60, an M Performance version of the electric sedan that first appeared earlier in the year. BMW has not released specifications, and it has not said whether the car is a confirmed production model or a preview of one, but it wears M Performance Parts for a more distinctive look. Expect the numbers to follow closer to launch.
BMW’s quieter comeback plan
Away from the showroom glamour, BMW is running a less glamorous programme. Its comeback strategy centres on growing margins by simplifying the business and the line-up, cutting costs, and selling more expensive cars.
That is a familiar playbook in the industry right now, but it is notable coming from a company that spent years expanding its model count. Fewer variants, richer mix, lower structural cost: the maths works, provided buyers keep trading up. The new 3-Series and the i3 M60 are both consistent with that approach.
Mazda will not let the rotary go
Mazda has been teasing a rotary return for so long that the phrase has become a running joke. This week brought another chapter. Moritz Oswald, project manager for product planning and co-creation at Mazda Motor Europe, said the appeal of the rotary is the way it revs, and that the easiest way to bring that experience to customers is simply to let them have it. If Mazda does bring the rotary back, it will most likely be attached to a hybrid powertrain.
That is the pragmatic version of the dream. A rotary as a range extender or hybrid partner makes engineering sense: compact, smooth, happy to spin, and no longer asked to meet emissions rules alone. Whether it satisfies the purists who want a screaming RX-badged coupe is another question, but it keeps the flame alive.
GM’s fuel economy windfall
In the United States, the Department of Transportation said new, lower vehicle fuel economy rules will cut GM’s technology costs by $20.4 billion through 2031. The figure is the department’s own estimate of the savings from its proposed standards, not a GM calculation, and it applies to the US regulatory regime rather than to Europe. GM did not confirm the number, but said it favours the rules and the “intention to better align fuel economy standards with market realities.”
The number is enormous, and it illustrates how much of an EV transition’s cost sits in compliance rather than hardware. Relaxed standards reduce the pressure to spend, which is good for near-term margins and awkward for anyone hoping for a faster shift to electric.
GM is not standing still on the technology itself. The company confirmed its lithium-manganese-rich batteries will be built in Spring Hill, Tennessee, powering EVs that arrive in 2028. LMR chemistry is attractive because it reduces reliance on expensive metals while promising better range than standard lithium iron phosphate packs. Spring Hill as a production site gives the plan a physical home.
Porsche fits CarPlay to a 2009 911
Porsche has unveiled a retrofit infotainment system for 2009 to 2016 models, including the 911, Cayman and Boxster. The touchscreen unit adds wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and will arrive at Porsche dealers in early 2027. Porsche has not yet confirmed which markets will get the retrofit, so UK availability is still to be announced.
Modern infotainment is the single biggest thing that dates an older car, and Porsche’s classic-adjacent models are exactly the kind of vehicles owners keep for decades. Rather than forcing a choice between originality and usability, the retrofit offers both. Expect other manufacturers to watch closely.
Range Rover Sport Electric arrives
Land Rover’s electric offensive is gathering pace. Shortly after the full-size Range Rover Electric was revealed, the company has unveiled the Range Rover Sport Electric, and on paper it is the stronger package of the two.
The figures are 543bhp and 627 lb-ft (about 850Nm), enough for 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds, with roughly 300 miles of range expected. The range figure is likely to be an EPA estimate for the US market, which would explain why it sits below the 378 miles quoted for the full-size model on the WLTP cycle used in Europe. Visually it is near-identical to the combustion Range Rover Sport save for the absence of tailpipes, which is either restraint or a missed opportunity depending on your taste. Final US specifications have not been released, and UK pricing and arrival timing are still to be confirmed.
Lucid rewrites the Air’s software, for a price
Lucid has overhauled the Air’s infotainment system, aligning its interface with the newer tile-based design used in the Gravity SUV. The catch: 2024 and older Air models need a $950 hardware upgrade, roughly £750, before the new software will run.
It is a reminder that software-defined vehicles are only as upgradable as their silicon allows. Owners of newer cars get the improvement free; everyone else pays. The design itself is a sensible consolidation, and tile-based layouts have become the industry default for good reason.
The Drivecast returns
Finally, a new episode of The Drivecast, The Drive’s podcast, goes live on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms. If the week’s news is anything to go by, there will be plenty to discuss, not least a certain Ford chief executive’s view of the competition.
What the week tells us
Two strategies are running in parallel, and both are rational. The tension is that Farley may be right: if Chinese manufacturers can move share as quickly as they have in Europe, the pace of product renewal stops being a competitive advantage and becomes a survival requirement. The companies with the deepest pockets are hedging both ways, and that is probably the correct answer.
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