Weekly car news, one email.
Lexus revealed a mid-cycle facelift of the NX on 1 September 2026, with a stiffened body, variable-ratio steering and a chassis tuned at the Nürburgring for European roads. The plug-in NX 450h+ gets a 23 kWh battery, 307 hp, and DC fast charging for the first time, while the NX 350h hybrid carries on at 199 hp. European pre-sales open this autumn ahead of an early 2027 launch; the wider rollout across 90-plus countries begins in late 2026.
Mitsubishi revealed an all-new Pajero on 2 September 2026, a body-on-frame diesel SUV that ends a five-year gap since the outgoing generation left production. It launches in Thailand first, then Japan and Australia within this fiscal year, before reaching roughly 100 countries from fiscal 2027 - some of them under the Montero name. Mitsubishi has not confirmed a US launch.
Denza has detailed the N8, a five-seat electric SUV that shares its 3,075 mm wheelbase with the six-seat N8L. Chinese filings list two Blade Battery packs and CLTC range from 800 km to 1,003 km, with a tri-motor version making 890 kW (1,194 hp). The interior drops the instrument cluster for a 1.1-metre projection strip and a 30-inch screen. No prices yet.
Toyota is finishing a Lexus factory in Shanghai's Jinshan district, the brand's first production site in China and the first Japanese-owned car plant in the country with no local joint-venture partner. Investment is 14.6 billion yuan ($2.02 billion), capacity around 100,000 cars a year, and production starts in the second half of 2027.
Li Auto delivered 37,679 cars in August, its first year-on-year growth in four months and its fastest in two years. The eight-month total is still 0.6% below last year's, and hitting the company's own third-quarter guidance now requires a September bigger than August.
The Genesis GV90 is the brand's first full-size SUV and its new flagship, unveiled on 19 August 2026. It is electric only, with two motors making a combined 490 kW (657 hp) and 800 Nm, a 123.5 kWh battery and 350 kW charging. It is also the first production car with a Roof Airbag, and the top GV90 Neolun replaces its B-pillar with coach doors that open independently.
Land Rover has shown the Defender Dakar, a limited-run road-legal version of the D7X-R that won the Stock class at the 2026 Dakar Rally. The 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 runs unrestricted at 635 PS (626 hp) and 750 Nm, on 35-inch tyres and Bilstein dampers. Reservations open in early 2027 and no price has been announced.
The Times reports that JLR has paused work on the next-generation Defender, pushing the full electric version into the 2030s. Staff were told the reason is that the current car keeps selling, at around 110,000 units a year. What JLR has confirmed itself is separate: a smaller Defender-family model on the EMA platform, now offered as a hybrid as well as an EV.
Dongfeng has opened pre-orders in China for the Epicland X9, the first car from a brand it set up with Huawei in November 2025. The full-size six-seat SUV is sold only as an extended-range electric vehicle, with a 74.29 kWh CATL battery on an 800 V system and prices from 299,800 to 379,800 yuan ($44,200 to $56,000). Sales start in the third quarter.
A mid-cycle facelift of Lexus's compact SUV, with a stiffened body, variable-ratio steering and a Nürburgring-tuned chassis. The plug-in NX 450h+ gets a bigger 23 kWh battery and DC fast charging for the first time, alongside the self-charging NX 350h hybrid.
Body-on-frame diesel SUV revealed 2 September 2026, ending a five-year gap since the outgoing generation. 2.4L turbodiesel, 150 kW (201 hp), 480 Nm, 8AT, Super Select 4WD-II plus S-AWC. Built in Thailand; Thailand first, then Japan and Australia in FY2026, roughly 100 markets from FY2027.
The Lynk & Co 20 is a China-only compact electric SUV, the same SEA2 car that Europe buys as the 02. The 2026 update dropped the Z from the Z20 name and moved the car onto an 800-volt silicon-carbide architecture with 6C charging, which Lynk & Co rates at a 460 kW peak and 10 to 80% in 12 minutes. A 245 kW rear motor drives it, LFP packs of 61.52 or 70.01 kWh give 535 to 630 km on the CLTC cycle, and lidar is standard on every version. Chinese sales start in the third quarter of 2026 and prices have not been announced.
The Denza N8 is a five-seat electric SUV from BYD's premium brand, 5,150 mm long on a 3,075 mm wheelbase. Chinese certification filings list two second-generation Blade Battery packs, 105.8 kWh and 130.15 kWh, with CLTC range from 800 km to 1,003 km, and three motor layouts topping out at a tri-motor 890 kW (1,194 hp). Prices have not been announced.
The Ram ProMaster City is a front-wheel-drive midsize commercial van sold in the United States from the first quarter of 2027. It is the American version of the Stellantis midsize van sold in Europe as the Citroen Jumpy, Peugeot Expert, Fiat Scudo and Opel Vivaro, and it is built at the Tofas plant in Bursa, Turkey. One powertrain is offered, a 166 hp 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol four with an eight-speed automatic. Cargo van and passenger wagon bodies are sold in Tradesman and SLT trim, listing from $37,400 before a $2,595 destination charge.
The Lincoln Corsair is the brand's smallest and cheapest SUV. For the 2027 model year it is sold in the United States only as a hybrid, with a 2.0-litre turbocharged four, two electric motors, a combined 305 hp and standard all-wheel drive. It is built by the Changan Ford joint venture in Chongqing, China, after US production ended in December 2025, and lists from $46,495 plus a $2,295 destination charge. Deliveries start in early 2027.
The Epicland X9 is a full-size six-seat SUV and the first model from Dongfeng's Huawei-partnered brand. It is sold only as an extended-range electric vehicle, with a 74.29 kWh CATL battery on an 800 V system, 465 km of CLTC electric range and more than 1,500 km combined. Pre-sale prices run from 299,800 to 379,800 yuan ($44,200 to $56,000).
The Jetour Tourer is the brand's first battery-electric model, a boxy compact SUV shown at the 2026 Chengdu auto show. Certification filings list a 200 kW rear-drive version and a 275 kW dual-motor all-wheel-drive version, on a Chery-developed lithium-iron-phosphate battery. Chinese sales start in the fourth quarter of 2026; prices have not been announced.
The Volkswagens sold in China are built by two companies, and one of them is Chinese. That arrangement started in 1983 as a condition of entry, and it has since produced badges that exist nowhere else: Jetta, Wuling, and AUDI in block capitals with no rings. Who holds which half, which brands the ventures invented for themselves, and which of the old partnerships have quietly ended.
Aion is GAC, Jaecoo and Omoda are Chery, Deepal is Changan, Nammi is Dongfeng. Ten Chinese brands whose names do not carry the parent company, grouped by how each one relates to its owner: brands sold only outside China, recent badges on long-established state groups, brands two levels below the group, and one that Huawei supplies but does not own.
Twelve European badges whose nationality does not match their ownership: Cupra, Vauxhall, DS, Opel, Lancia, Alpine, Abarth, MG, Ebro, DR Automobiles, smart and Leapmotor. Some are Spanish or British names owned in Germany or the Netherlands, some are revived badges on Chinese hardware, and several are assembled in a third country again.
China's charging network reached 23.683 million points at the end of July, up 41.9% year on year. Almost all of the month's growth was private: 536,000 of the 626,000 points added were home or workplace wallboxes, and public charging now accounts for barely a fifth of the total.
The Tesla Model Y outsold every domestic model in South Korea in July 2026, its second month at number one in three. The mechanism is a price: the Shanghai-built Premium rear-drive version lists at 49.99 million won, just under the 53 million won ceiling for a full government EV subsidy.
Kelley Blue Book puts US electric vehicle sales at roughly 463,000 in the first half of 2026, half of them Teslas. The Model Y alone accounted for 163,454 of them, more than ranks two through nine put together, while Toyota and Lexus were the only names in the top 10 to post triple-digit or near triple-digit growth.
Germany
Japan
United Kingdom