Global electric vehicle sales continue to increase, even in the absence of support from the U.S.: TDS

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      Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, which serves as The Drive’s morning news summary featuring the top automotive headlines from across the globe.

      Each entry in The Downshift contains a link to the complete story. Here’s your update for Thursday, August 13, 2026.

      🔊 The latest episode of The Drivecast, The Drive's weekly podcast, was released yesterday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other podcast platforms.

      📈 According to analytics firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, global sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids increased by 9% in July compared to the same month last year, although EV sales in North America specifically have dropped 27% during that same time frame due to the cessation of federal incentives. [Reuters]

      💵 Over the past six months, the average price of new EVs in the U.S. has been on a decline. This trend changed in July, when the average increased by 1.2% from the previous month and by 1.6% year-on-year. This rise is linked to a decrease in automaker incentive spending. [Electrek]

      📱 Mercedes' Chief Software Officer, Magnus Östberg, has announced his departure from the company at the end of August. Östberg joined in 2021 and played a significant role in developing MB.OS, the latest operating system that launched with the new CLA. [Automotive News]

      🏁 Meanwhile, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius is promoting the forthcoming AMG GT Black Series, which has been spotted testing at the Nürburgring. He stated, “Sometimes you must let the engineers go wild, and the next vehicle like that is in development,” and mentioned that the new track-oriented supercar “will be extraordinary and completely unexpected.” [Autocar]

      🚙 Jeep has launched a new Grand Cherokee variant called the Laredo Upland, which features all-terrain tires and off-road trim elements at a lower price point compared to the Overland or Trailhawk models. [Stellantis]

      🪫 General Motors and LG's Ohio battery plant has been inactive for the last seven months due to a reported decline in demand, but production is finally anticipated to restart next week. [Reuters]

      🏎️ The Cadillac F1 team has announced that Marcin Budkowski will take over as team principal, succeeding Graeme Lowdon. [Racer]

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