Attention Shifts to Mercedes as Senate Committee Moves Forward with Chinese Car Ban: TDS
Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images
The most significant automotive news and reviews, no nonsense
Welcome to The Downshift, abbreviated as TDS, The Drive’s morning round-up of automotive news highlighting the most important stories from around the world.
The Downshift condenses articles into a brief summary with a sentence or two, along with links for those who want to explore further. Here’s what’s happening on Thursday, July 23, 2026.
🔊 The latest episode of The Drivecast, The Drive’s weekly podcast, was released yesterday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
📜 A bill that prohibits automakers from selling cars in the U.S. if they are more than 15% owned by a Chinese entity received approval from the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday. This legislation puts Mercedes-Benz in the spotlight, as 20% of its investments are from China; however, Senator Bernie Moreno, one of the bill's sponsors, stated that Mercedes would have until 2030 to comply and could apply for waivers. Senator Ted Cruz mentioned that General Motors supports the bill, anticipating that Cadillac could acquire Mercedes’ market share should it need to exit, while GM clarified that its backing of the bill is not targeted at a specific automaker. [Reuters]
🔧 BMW is recalling 318,495 vehicles in the U.S. due to starter motors that may overheat and create a fire hazard. The affected models include the 3 Series, 4 Series, X3, X4, Z4, and—surprisingly—the Toyota Supra. [Reuters]
📉 Hyundai’s global operating profit for Q2 dropped by 21% compared to the same quarter last year, with sales in China specifically declining by 33%. [Automotive News]
🔽 Porsche plans to reduce its workforce by an additional 5,000 jobs in Germany, totaling a headcount reduction of 8,900, as it looks for more ways to decrease costs. [Automotive News]
🏭 Ford has formed a partnership with Geely, allowing the Chinese company to utilize some of its unused production capacity at its Valencia plant in Spain. The two firms will collaborate on developing electric vehicles as part of this deal. [Bloomberg]
💷 Aston Martin has secured £550 million (equivalent to $736 million) in debt financing from HPS Investment Partners, resulting in a share price increase of over 9% in London following the announcement. [Bloomberg]
Have a tip or feedback for TDS? Get in touch at tips@thedrive.com.
Other articles
The Six Firms That Subtly Control Nearly Every Auto Service Chain in the U.S., Clarified.
Mavis has recently acquired Pep Boys. This acquisition represents another step in the ongoing trend of consolidation that private equity has been pursuing for years, with each new sign marking the progress.
Driving an Aston Martin brings out the best in people around you.
Navigating a quarter-million-dollar Aston Martin Vantage through Detroit is always an experience.
There is a complete hierarchy of performance cars that is indicated by the colors of brake calipers.
It can be challenging to tell apart a standard Nissan Z from a Z Performance model without checking the window sticker, but there are indicators.
Attention Shifts to Mercedes as Senate Committee Moves Forward with Chinese Car Ban: TDS
Mercedes would have until 2030 to decrease its Chinese ownership or apply for waivers to keep selling cars in the U.S.