Fabian Kirchbauer/BMW Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short. TDS is your daily one-stop shop for all the auto industry headlines from around the world fit to print. In the old days, before the internet, a kid on a bicycle would throw a rolled-up copy at your door, and you’d sit and read it at your breakfast nook with coffee in hand and get ink all over your fingers. The modern version’s a lot less romantic, but just as informative. Let’s get into it. 👋 The BMW iX is officially dead, the automaker confirmed to BMWBlog, saying that it’s proud of what it accomplished with the all-electric SUV, and that it’s concluding U.S. allocation to clear space for its successor, the next-generation BMW iX3, which is expected to arrive at dealerships this summer. 📉 Speaking of BMW, like other European automakers, it had a difficult first quarter, reporting a 3.5% year-over-year decline in deliveries globally—specifically, 4.3% down in the U.S. and 10% in China. However, Europe was up 3%, so, it could’ve been worse. 👔 Lucid has finally named a new CEO to replace its interim chief executive after last year’s departure of founder Peter Rawlinson. Silvio Napoli comes to Lucid after decades at the Swiss industrial tech firm Schindler Group. 💰 Lucid has also announced that Uber will increase the number of robotaxis it will order from the EV maker, and invest another $200 million in the company. Plus, Lucid has secured an additional $500 million from an affiliate of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which owns over 58% of the company. 🖊️ McLaren’s next design chief will be Kemal Curić, who previously headed up Ford Performance design and is responsible for the last-gen (S550) Mustang, per Autocar. ❓ Tesla owners in Europe who wish to use Full Self-Driving will need to pass a two-question quiz before the vehicle will unlock the capability, according to InsideEVs. The feature was only recently legally permitted for use in the Netherlands this month. 🍁 Stellantis had an encouraging first quarter in the U.S., with a slight uptick in sales. But the news is even better up in the Great White North, where the company outperformed the same period in 2025 by 14.9%, per Automotive News.
