The Industry Brief

Edition No. 2Covering September 21–28, 2026Published September 28, 2026

34.9 MPG, the Chinese-Car Bill and Bentley's First EV

Washington finalizes a lower fuel-economy target, the Senate takes up a permanent ban on Chinese-connected cars, Mercedes puts 2 German plants on notice, and GM answers with the most powerful diesel ever offered in a heavy-duty pickup.

By Priya Raghavan · 19 minute read

In this edition

  1. Washington lowers the 2031 fuel-economy target to 34.9 mpg
  2. Chinese cars reach the Senate floor
  3. Europe's EV surge, and who is getting it
  4. Mercedes puts 2 German plants on notice
  5. GM answers with a 1,230 lb-ft diesel
  6. Nissan brings e-Power to America
  7. The Tesla Semi finally reaches volume production
  8. Bentley's first EV: 876 hp, built in Crewe

The week's theme was divergence. Washington lowered the efficiency bar in the same week Europe's electric share passed a quarter of the market. GM built its biggest diesel yet while Nissan launched a car whose engine never turns a wheel. And the question of who gets to sell cars in America moved from tariffs to the Senate floor. As always, every story carries a status line, because a final rule, a press release and an anonymous tip are not the same kind of news.

Policy · United States

Final rule · announced September 28 · savings figure is the department's own estimate

Washington Lowers the 2031 Fuel-Economy Target to 34.9 MPG

The number automakers must average by 2031 falls by roughly a third from the 2024 rule. What it changes in showrooms depends less on the target than on a penalty that has already been set to zero.

Fuel pumps at a Shell station
A Shell station. The new target applies to automakers' fleet averages, not to what any one car returns at the pump.

WASHINGTON — The Transportation Department finalized its reset of federal fuel-economy rules on Monday, September 28. The corporate average fuel economy target for model year 2031 is now a fleet average of 34.9 mpg. That is slightly above the 34.5 mpg the department proposed in December, and well below the roughly 50.4 mpg the 2024 rule had set for the same year.

The rule also makes 2 structural changes. Automakers will no longer be able to trade fuel-economy credits with each other starting in model year 2028, and the categories that decide whether a vehicle counts as a car or a light truck are redrawn from model year 2030. The department estimates the rule takes about $1,300 off the average new vehicle. That figure is its own projection, not an independent one.

Why the penalty matters more than the number

A fleet average is not a per-car requirement. An automaker can keep selling thirstier trucks and SUVs as long as its whole lineup averages out. And the pressure behind the average was already weakening: Congress cut the civil penalty for missing a CAFE target to $0 in 2025. With no fine for missing the number, the target works more like a planning signal than a limit, and the credit market that let efficient automakers sell their surplus to thirstier ones had already lost much of its value. Ending trading in 2028 closes it formally.

The Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse-gas rules and California's own standards are separate from this rule, so an automaker selling nationwide still has more than 1 set of numbers to plan against.

The Carveyance take

Expect fewer engines to be retired early. When no penalty rides on the fleet average, the business case for killing a V8 or a big turbo six rests on what buyers want and what the other rulebooks demand, not on this one.

What to watch: publication of the full rule text and its effective date, how the new vehicle categories are drawn in 2030, and whether the rule is challenged in court.

This week, in depthThe $1,300 QuestionWhat the new rule saves you at the dealer, and what it costs you at the pump. From the Carveyance archiveThe Three-Row Hot Rod That Refused to DieThe supercharged V8 SUV that outlived every rival that read the room.

Trade · United States

Proposed law · fast-track vote postponed

Chinese Cars Reach the Senate Floor

A bill to make the ban on Chinese-connected cars permanent was held for a week to win over 1 senator. Polestar shows what the ban already does, even to a car built in South Carolina.

A silver BYD Shark pickup on red dirt
The BYD Shark, a plug-in hybrid pickup sold in Mexico and Australia but not in the United States.

WASHINGTON — The US and China extended their trade truce by 2 months as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on September 23. The next day, Senators Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan took their Connected Vehicle Security Act to the Senate floor. The bill has 51 Senate backers and cleared committee unanimously in July. They put off a fast-track vote to negotiate with Senator Rand Paul, who was expected to object, and say they will try again this week.

The industry is split with the White House on the question underneath. Earlier in the month, the president said in a television interview that he would accept Chinese companies building cars in US plants staffed by American workers. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most of the major automakers selling in the US, asked Congress for a permanent ban instead. And on September 28, Nissan Americas chairman Christian Meunier predicted Chinese brands will be building cars in Mexico within 3 years, though not selling in US showrooms for at least 5.

What already keeps Chinese cars out, and what the bill adds
BarrierWhat it doesWho can change it
Tariff100% on Chinese-built EVsThe administration
Commerce connected-vehicle ruleBars Chinese connected-car software from model year 2027 and hardware from 2030, including in US-built cars from Chinese-controlled companies; exceptions possibleThe administration
Connected Vehicle Security ActWrites that rule into lawCongress

The Polestar test case

The rule is already working. In June, Geely-controlled Polestar said it would stop US sales from model year 2027 after the Commerce Department declined to authorize it. The decision turned on ownership, not geography: the Polestar 3 is assembled at Volvo's plant near Charleston, South Carolina. Volvo Cars, also Geely-owned, was approved to stay. So the rule has a door, and an administration can open it for some companies and not others. A statute would make that door much harder to reopen.

The Carveyance take

For buyers, the question is not whether Chinese cars are coming. They are already in Mexico, Europe and Australia. The question is whether a car built in America by a Chinese-owned company can ever be sold here, and so far Polestar's answer is no.

What to watch: this week's unanimous-consent attempt, House action on a companion bill, and the trade truce's expiry in about 2 months.

This week, in depthBuilt Here, Banned HereWhy a car built in South Carolina can't be sold in America, and what Mexico, Canada and Europe show. From the Carveyance archiveDying StarPolestar has been shown the door in America. Its carbon-bodied coupe is still here. From the Carveyance archiveEverything Is Two CarsThe 1964 tariff that walled off the American pickup, and what grew up outside it.

Markets · Europe

Confirmed data · August registrations, EU only

Europe's EV Surge, and Who Is Getting It

More than 1 in 4 new cars registered in the EU in August was fully electric. Chinese-owned groups took roughly 1 in 9 of all of them.

A white Omoda SUV on a city street, on Spanish plates
An Omoda, from Chery's Omoda brand, on Spanish plates. Chery's EU registrations roughly tripled in August.

BRUSSELS — New-car registrations in the European Union rose 4.5% in August from a year earlier, according to figures the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) released on September 24. Battery-electric registrations jumped 62.7%, lifting their share of the market to 27.7% from 17.8%. For the first 8 months of the year, the market is up 5.3% and battery-electric cars hold 21.7%.

The 5 Chinese-owned groups grew about 71% and took 10.8% of the EU market in August, up from 6.6% a year earlier. Leapmotor, Chery and BYD each more than doubled. Tesla grew 53%.

The fine print

The consultancy EY credited much of the jump to purchase subsidies and to an extra working day in many countries compared with August 2025, and warned that growth could fall sharply when the subsidies end. A single strong month is not a trend. But the direction has held all year: battery-electric cars hold 21.7% of the EU market so far in 2026.

The Carveyance take

Europe's EV transition is not stalling. It is being shared, and a growing slice of it is going to brands most Europeans could not have named 5 years ago.

What to watch: September registrations, due from ACEA in late October, and whether growth holds as national subsidies change.

From the Carveyance archiveThe Corner Office Has a Sliding DoorDenza, Zeekr and the Chinese luxury vans rewriting their class.

Industry · Germany

Stated · conditional, no plants named · cost target reported, not confirmed

Mercedes Puts 2 German Plants on Notice

A week after Volkswagen wrote down Porsche, Mercedes says building cars in Germany costs too much, and names a price for keeping every plant open.

Mercedes-Benz compact cars on an assembly line
Mercedes-Benz compact models on the assembly line.

STUTTGART, Germany — On Monday, September 21, Mercedes-Benz production chief Michael Schiebe said the company's goal is to keep all of its German sites, but only with a joint commitment to cutting costs. Without one, he said, Mercedes would close 1 German assembly plant and 1 German powertrain plant. He named neither. The works council rejected the approach outright, answering that threatening closures is no way to plan the future.

On Thursday, the German business weekly WirtschaftsWoche, citing 3 unnamed sources, reported the size of the ask: about €800 million ($911 million) a year in German labor savings, through longer working hours without extra pay, smaller holiday and Christmas bonuses, and an end to some special payments. Mercedes declined to comment.

1 + 1Assembly plant and powertrain plant at risk, unnamed
€800MReported yearly labor-savings target ($911 million)
~20%Drop in China's car market this year, per VW's China chief

The squeeze from both ends

The same week, Volkswagen's top executive in China, Ralf Brandstaetter, said China's passenger-car market could shrink about 20% this year, a contraction he compared to the pandemic. China was where Germany's expensive cars went. Now German automakers face costs at home that their own management calls uncompetitive, and a Chinese market that is buying fewer of the cars those plants build.

The Carveyance take

Porsche showed the strain in its numbers last week. This week Mercedes put plants on the table. Neither is likely to be the last German automaker to have this conversation.

What to watch: the works council talks, whether Mercedes names the plants, and third-quarter results from Mercedes and Volkswagen in October.

Read nextHow Porsche Became Volkswagen's Problem ChildThe brand that paid for everything is now the largest weight on the group.

Trucks · Detroit

Confirmed · dealers from late 2026 · pricing not announced · best-in-class claims are GM's

GM Answers With a 1,230 lb-ft Diesel

A week after keeping diesel in the half-ton Silverado, GM gave its heavy-duty trucks an all-new 8.3-liter V8 that out-torques every rival.

A gray Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 in the desert
A Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2. The 8.3-liter Duramax arrives in 2027 Silverado HD and Sierra HD trucks from late 2026.

DETROIT — General Motors revealed an all-new 8.3-liter Duramax turbo-diesel V8 on September 24 for the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD. It makes 555 hp and 1,230 lb-ft, up from 470 hp and 975 lb-ft in the outgoing 6.6-liter. It drives through an Allison 10-speed automatic and is built at GM's expanded DMAX plant in Brookville, Ohio.

The trucks also get the segment's first rack-and-pinion electric power steering and an electronic brake booster. Properly equipped, they tow up to 9,072 kg (20,000 lb) conventionally or 17,237 kg (38,000 lb) with a gooseneck, with a gross combined weight rating of up to 21,092 kg (46,500 lb). They reach dealers from late 2026. GM has not announced pricing.

Why it fits

Diesel lost its price advantage at the pump years ago, but it never lost its advantage under load. A heavy-duty truck spends its working life pulling weight from low engine speeds, which is exactly where diesel earns its keep. GM's half-ton decision last week was about range for people who drive far. This one is about the people who tow for a living.

The Carveyance take

Headline torque is the easy part. The questions that decide whether 1,230 lb-ft improves the work or only the brochure are cooling, transmission life, payload lost to a heavier engine, and the price on the window.

What to watch: pricing, configuration-by-configuration tow ratings, and how Ford and Ram respond.

Last week, in depthDiesel, Hybrid, or Generator?GM kept diesel in the half-ton Silverado while Ford and Ram went other ways. This week it went bigger. Read nextDiesel's Lost AdvantageWhy the more efficient fuel now costs a dollar more than gasoline.

Launches · Hybrids

Confirmed · mpg figures are preliminary estimates · not a plug-in

Nissan Brings e-Power to America

The 2027 Rogue Hybrid is the first American car with Nissan's series-hybrid system: a gasoline engine that only makes electricity, and electric motors that do all the driving.

A light blue Nissan SUV on a show stage
The 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Nissan detailed the 2027 Rogue Hybrid on September 23. Its gasoline engine works only as a generator and never drives the wheels. The wheels are driven by 2 electric motors, 1 at each axle, giving standard all-wheel drive and 225 hp, 24 more than the gasoline-only Rogue. There is no charge port. A small battery, about 2.1 kWh, buffers the flow between engine and motors.

Preliminary estimates for the SR are 40 mpg city, 36 highway and 38 combined. Prices start at $37,065, but the first cars arriving this fall are SRs with the Technology Package at $43,065. The rest of the lineup follows in early 2027. All prices include a $1,575 destination charge.

225 hp2 electric motors, standard all-wheel drive
40 / 36 / 38City / highway / combined mpg, preliminary (SR)
$37,065Starting price with destination (SV)
$43,065SR with Technology Package, first to arrive
680 kgTow rating, about 1,500 lb

Why the highway number is lower

In a conventional hybrid, the engine can drive the wheels directly at cruising speed. In a series hybrid, every mile goes through the generator and the motors, which is efficient in stop-and-go traffic and less so at a steady 75 mph. That is why the Rogue's city estimate beats its highway estimate, the reverse of most gasoline cars.

The Carveyance take

It is the same idea as Ram's range-extended pickup, a gasoline engine making electricity, minus the plug. It drives like an EV and fuels like a gasoline car. Whether that beats a RAV4, CR-V or Tucson hybrid will come down to EPA figures and real highway miles.

What to watch: EPA ratings, independent highway-economy tests, and when the full lineup arrives.

New on CarveyanceNatural SelectionEvery powertrain explained, including the range extender, whose engine only makes electricity: the same idea behind e-Power.

Trucks · Electric

Confirmed · production underway · capacity and output targets are Tesla's

The Tesla Semi Finally Reaches Volume Production

Nearly 9 years after its reveal, the Semi has its own factory and its biggest order yet. What it still lacks is a published price.

A silver Tesla Semi pulling a trailer
A Tesla Semi. Production trucks now come from Tesla's dedicated plant in Sparks, Nevada.

SPARKS, Nev. — Tesla formally opened the Semi's dedicated factory next to Gigafactory Nevada on September 24. The plant has been building trucks on its high-volume line since April and is designed for up to 50,000 a year; Tesla says it expects to build many thousands by the end of 2026. Standard Range, Long Range and European versions come off the same line.

Tesla announced no prices at the event. Electrek has reported about $290,000 for the 500-mile Long Range and about $260,000 for the 325-mile Standard Range, against the $180,000 Tesla quoted at the truck's 2017 reveal (roughly $245,000 in 2026 money). Earlier in the week, the ZET SCALE alliance, whose founding members include PepsiCo and Microsoft, ordered up to 2,500 Semis, which the clean-transport group CALSTART says would roughly double America's electric Class 8 fleet. Einride ordered 500 in August.

50,000Trucks a year, designed capacity
325 / 500 miStandard and Long Range, Tesla figures
~$290,000Long Range, reported by Electrek
2,500Trucks ordered by the ZET SCALE alliance
2027European deliveries targeted

What the numbers do not say yet

A factory's designed capacity is not its output. Tesla has not said how many Semis it will actually deliver this year, and fleet buyers will judge the truck on payload lost to the battery, charger availability at both ends of a route, and uptime at full legal weight. Elon Musk appeared only by pre-recorded video. Tesla also used the night to set October 1 for the full reveal of the next Roadster.

The Carveyance take

With no engine to package, the Semi never had to choose between the American long nose and the European flat face. It has always been the shape of an argument. This week it became a production truck, and the argument moves from styling to spreadsheets.

What to watch: Tesla's third-quarter delivery report in early October, and whether it breaks out Semi numbers.

From the Carveyance archiveFreightliner OptimusAmerican long-nose or European cab-over? Where the Semi fits in the argument over a truck's face.

Launches · United Kingdom

Revealed · US deliveries early 2027 · range is a European (WLTP) figure, not an EPA rating

Bentley's First EV: 876 hp, Built in Crewe

The Torcal is a fastback SUV on Porsche's electric platform, and Bentley's quickest car yet. It will not sound like a V8. It will sound like a band.

A lime-green Bentley Torcal on a coastal road
The Bentley Torcal, Bentley's first battery-electric car.

LONDON — Bentley unveiled the Torcal on September 23, a 5-seat fastback SUV and its first battery-electric car. The Torcal S makes 876 hp and 1,350 Nm (996 lb-ft) and reaches 60 mph in 2.8 seconds, the quickest Bentley yet; the standard car makes 810 hp and gets there in 3.3 seconds. A 113-kWh battery gives up to 375 miles (600 km) on the European test cycle and charges from 10% to 80% in under 20 minutes at up to 400 kW. Bentley has not published a weight; early reports put it near 2,790 kg (6,150 lb).

Prices start at £173,000 ($230,000) in the UK and about $230,000 in the US. The car is built in Crewe, where Bentley has spent £350 million ($465 million) preparing for it, and becomes the brand's 4th model line next to the Continental GT, Flying Spur and Bentayga. Underneath is PPE, the electric platform Bentley shares with the Porsche Cayenne Electric.

876 hpTorcal S (standard car: 810 hp)
2.8 sec0–60 mph, Torcal S
375 miWLTP range, 600 km
<20 min10–80% charge at up to 400 kW
£173,000UK starting price ($230,000)

The sound of a Bentley

Instead of a synthesized engine note, the Torcal plays what Bentley calls its Dynamic Symphony, recorded on real drums, viola and bass guitar, with the volume rising and falling with the driver's inputs and speed. Autocar reports that Bentley has also dropped its fixed date for going all-electric.

The Carveyance take

Bentley did not use its first EV to reinvent itself. It built something that looks and behaves like a Bentley and happens to have no engine. For buyers who come to the brand for its manners, that may be exactly the point.

What to watch: EPA range, final US pricing and first deliveries in early 2027.

Also That Week

5 more stories worth knowing, in brief.

Production · Michigan

Confirmed stoppage · part and supplier not named

Ford Stops the F-150 in Dearborn

DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford's Dearborn Truck plant stopped building F-150s on September 24 because of a supplier shortage and was not scheduled to build trucks again before September 29, according to an internal memo reported by Reuters. Kansas City Assembly, the other F-150 plant, has lost shifts to the same shortage this month. Ford has not named the part; reports say it is unrelated to the 2025 fires at Novelis's aluminum plant in Oswego, New York.

Why it matters: the F-Series has been America's best-selling vehicle for 44 consecutive years, and every idle day is lost output from Ford's biggest source of profit.

Technology · Driver assistance

Agreement · no models or launch date named

Mercedes Signs Up Wayve's AI Driver

STUTTGART, Germany — Mercedes-Benz signed a production agreement on September 22 to put the British company Wayve's AI driving system into its cars within 2 years. Mercedes describes it as point-to-point driving assistance in cities and on highways, which means a driver still supervises. Mercedes is already an investor in Wayve.

Why it matters: even the automaker that sells Level 3 highway driving is buying part of its "driver" from outside.

Recalls · United States

Recall filed · free over-the-air fix

Rivian Recalls Nearly 99,000 Vehicles

IRVINE, Calif. — Rivian recalled nearly 99,000 R1S, R1T and R2 vehicles on September 23 because an on-screen notification can cover the rearview camera image in reverse. The fix is a free over-the-air software update, and owners will be notified starting November 9.

Why it matters: the recall is large, but the repair never touches a service bay, which is how most software-defined cars will be fixed.

Manufacturing · Ohio

Reported · Honda says no decision

Honda Weighs a Hybrid Plant in Ohio

TOKYO — Honda is weighing a new hybrid-vehicle plant in Ohio worth ¥300–400 billion ($1.9–2.5 billion) for production around 2030, the Nikkei reported this week. A Honda spokesman said no decision has been made. An executive said separately that Honda is close to full production capacity in North America.

Why it matters: a new factory dedicated to hybrids would be a long bet on the powertrain that has held up best in the US market.

Autonomy · Europe

Independent test · EU vote delayed

Tesla's FSD Speeds in Brussels, and Europe Waits

BRUSSELS — A Belgian road-safety group found that Tesla's FSD (Supervised) exceeded the limit in most of the 19 mph (30 km/h) zones it tested around Brussels, averaging 27 mph (44 km/h), while noting it behaved courteously around pedestrians and cyclists. The EU committee vote on wider approval has slipped from October 6 to December at the earliest. 7 EU countries have approved the system nationally.

Why it matters: Europe's speed limits change street by street, which makes them one of the hardest tests any driver-assistance system faces.

Since That Week

Where last week's stories went next.

Follow-up · McLaren's first SUV

On September 22, McLaren revealed a new wordmark drawn from the sign above Bruce McLaren's parents' service station in Auckland, New Zealand. It will roll out across future production cars, starting in the same period as the SUV it confirmed the week before.

Follow-up · XPeng's technology

On September 24, Volkswagen opened presales in China for the ID. UNYX 09 sedan, its second XPeng-developed model, from 199,900 yuan ($29,620). Launch is set for late October.

In Depth This Week

4 of this week's stories get the full Carveyance treatment, 1 a day. Links appear here as each goes live.

Tuesday
The $1,300 Question: the math behind 34.9 mpg, cheaper cars, and who pays at the pump
Wednesday
Built Here, Banned Here: the door Polestar couldn't open, and what the Senate bill means for Chinese-owned brands
Thursday
1,230 lb-ft: inside GM's new 8.3-liter Duramax
Friday
The EV that never plugs in: how Nissan's e-Power works

News Versus Noise

How solid is each story? Our ledger for the week.

Confirmed
The final fuel-economy rule. ACEA's August registrations. GM's 8.3-liter Duramax. Nissan's Rogue Hybrid pricing. The Tesla Semi factory and the ZET SCALE order. The Bentley Torcal. Ford's F-150 stoppage. Rivian's recall. The Mercedes–Wayve agreement.
Reported, not confirmed
Mercedes' €800 million labor-savings target (WirtschaftsWoche, 3 unnamed sources). Honda's Ohio hybrid plant (Nikkei; Honda says no decision). Tesla Semi prices (Electrek; Tesla announced none).
Plans without dates
Mercedes' plant closures, which are conditional. The Senate vote. Wayve's integration "within 2 years."
Not final yet
The Rogue's mpg, which is preliminary until EPA rates it. The Torcal's range, which is a European figure. The Transportation Department's $1,300 saving, which is its own estimate.

The Industry Brief publishes every Monday.

Sources

Fuel economy

Chinese cars

Europe

Mercedes and Volkswagen

GM Duramax

Nissan Rogue Hybrid

Tesla Semi

Bentley Torcal

Also that week and since

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