Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Good morning! It's Tuesday, May 26, 2026, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around. In this morning's edition, production issues for the Ford F-150 mean both GM and Ram see openings to gain ground, the Honda Ridgeline is taking the next 18 months off because of emissions issues, the Toyota GR Corolla is making life harder for British automakers, and Chinese vehicle exports popped off in April. 1st Gear: GM, Ram try to pounce on struggling Ford F-150 production Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Ford is getting ever-so-close to hitting the 50-year anniversary of the F-Series being the best-selling truck in America, but it has a hell of a lot of work to do if it wants to get across that finish line — especially because of what seems to be a never-ending line of supply chain woes, which have caused its closest competition to push even harder. After a massive fire at an aluminum supplier in New York last year that snarled production, Ford factories have been working overtime to catch up, but so have General Motors and Ram. GM announced it would increase heavy-duty Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra production in Flint, Michigan, starting in June, citing demand. Additionally, Ram just launched its new lineup of "muscle trucks" aimed squarely at the Ford F-150 Lobo. Things are heating up, and Ford is almost certainly feeling the pressure. Last month, Ford leadership said it had a 55-day supply of F-Series pickups at the end of Q1. A 60-day supply is considered the industry standard for a healthy inventory. Ford says it's down by about 60,000 pickups overall from the same time a year ago, but a spokesperson for the brand says it has the trucks to meet demand. From the Detroit Free Press: In the first quarter, Ford sold 159,901 F-Series, a 16% decline from the year-ago period, but still topping its closest two rivals. Chevrolet sold 127,545 Silverados, down 0.1% and Ram sold 98,425, a 24.8% increase over the year-ago quarter. GM's other pickup, the GMC Sierra, came in fourth place having sold 75,607 in the quarter, a 3.7% decline from the year ago period. The sales figures combine sales of heavy-duty and light duty pickups. Consistent strong demand for Silverado and Sierra pickups is the driving force for GM's decision to increase truck production, GM spokesman David Caldwell told the Detroit Free Press. He said tight inventory levels in the first quarter are the result of strong sales last year following the best combined sales of Silverado and Sierra vehicles in 20 years. [...] At Stellantis, Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis knows that it may be a herculean task to win over customers from other truck brands, but that doesn't stop him from trying. In the first quarter, Ram posted a 20% gain in sales, bucking an industry-wide downturn and netting its highest sales gain in three years. Kuniskis said a good warranty package and the return of the HEMI V-8 engine is behind the growth. [...] "It's really, really expensive (to poach buyers), so you try not to," he said. "Because Ford in particular is over 80% loyalty. So, you can get somebody that wants a Ford to come and buy your vehicle. But you're gonna have to give them a really compelling reason to give up that loyalty, because it may be generational loyalty." Ram is currently producing 1500 pickups — particularly those equipped with a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine — at a slightly slower clip than what would be ideal, Kuniskis said. The truck brand's manufacturing facilities are not equipped to produce the engines in the massive numbers consumers are demanding, after the HEMI was discontinued for the 1500 pickups after the 2024 model year and revived two model years later. It's not just the F-Series that Ram is aiming to supplant. Last week, Stellantis revealed North American plans for a Maverick-rivaling compact pickup, the Rampage, along with a midsize pickup named the Dakata, and for the launch of the range-extended Ram 1500. When asked about the target on Ford's back, Said Deep, Director of North America Communications at the automaker, was unfazed. He told Freep that, "at the end of the day, leaders lead," and "for nearly 50 years, millions of truck owners have spoken, keeping Ford the No. 1 best-selling truck in America." 2nd Gear: Honda Ridgeline taking a year-and-a-half off Honda Honda is pausing Ridgeline production in another blow to its lineup, because the truck will no longer be able to meet tightening emissions regulations. The Japanese automaker will pump the brakes for about 18 months at its factory in Lincoln, Alabama, starting in the fourth quarter of this year. It plans to release a heavily refreshed Ridgeline starting in the third quarter of 2028, which will be the "impression" of a next-generation truck, according to one unnamed spokesperson. It comes at a very weird time for Honda. It just posted its first annual loss in nearly 70 years, killed its entire U.S. electric vehicle program and extended the lifecycle of some key players like the Accord, Odyssey, and HR-V to squeeze some extra cash out of their platforms. At the same time, it's investing a lot in updates for emissions compliance, improving performance and increasing customer appeal. From Automotive News: The 2028 Ridgeline update is said to buy Honda time to complete development of an advanced large-vehicle hybrid architecture. The unibody pickup is expected to move to that higher-efficiency platform in the early 2030s. The system — designed for larger North American utility vehicles including the Pilot, Passport and Odyssey — will feature a new V-6, multiple electric motors and a lower-cost battery pack. This powertrain is meant to deliver improved fuel economy, torque and towing capacity — key areas where the current Ridgeline lags its body-on-frame rivals. While the Ridgeline is resting, Honda plans to crank out other high-volume nameplates like the Odyssey and Passport — upping production of each by more than 10%. That might be welcome news to some dealers, who have struggled to meet the demand both those vehicles have commanded. At the same time, the Ridgeline hasn't been much more than a niche player. In the first quarter, it ranked second-to-last in the segment, only ahead of the Jeep Gladiator, with 10,980 sales. The Toyota Tacoma was number one with 69,263. To be honest, though, most of those Tacoma owners would probably have been better off with a Ridgeline. They're just too proud. 3rd Gear: Toyota GR Corolla causing a headache for British automakers Toyota Toyota's decision to import the GR Corolla from England is making life a nightmare for British automakers. Eight brands that build vehicles in the U.S. to sell in the U.S. — Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lotus, McLaren, Mini, and Rolls-Royce — likely won't have trouble complying with a country-wide import quota of 25,000 vehicles per quarter at a 10% tariff charge. However, the British-built GR Corolla could push exports above the quarterly cap and trigger hire tariffs. Once they top 25,000 quarterly and 100,000 annually, the tariff charge jumps from 10% to 27.5%. I'm sure all of those companies are thrilled with Toyota's decision. From Automotive News: The automakers already are edging toward the cap. Combined, the eight manufacturers sold more than 97,000 U.K.-made vehicles in the U.S. last year, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center. Toyota could push it over the edge. The Japanese automaker will begin exporting the GR Corolla — a hatchback with punched-out fender flares — to the U.S. from its Burnaston plant in Derbyshire in central England, close to many JLR plants. Toyota says it can build as many as 10,000 GRs in the U.K. for the U.S. market per year. Last year, Toyota sold 5,816 GR Corollas, priced at nearly $42,000, in the U.S. The GR Corolla, built in Japan, faces a 15 percent tariff. Toyota paid $9 billion in tariffs in 2025. The U.K.-built GR Corolla, with a 10 percent levy, could help Toyota reduce its massive tariff bill. [...] Based on first-quarter sales, British automakers are on track to sell around 80,000 vehicles in the U.S. this year, the data center estimates. But that figure doesn't take into account the GR Corolla and the possible arrival of two new EVs from JLR. JLR was expected to begin shipping the battery-powered Range Rover Sport this summer. But supplier issues could delay those plans. The larger, electric-only Range Rover was scheduled to arrive by the end of the year. JLR says it has more than 60,000 interested customers, though it isn't clear how many are in the U.S. Late next year, Jaguar is expected to begin deliveries of its new $150,000 high-performance GT four-door ultraluxury sedan. It's not just expensive cars either. Relatively cheap ones from Mini could get hit with the same 27.5% taiff, and there's really nothing anyone can do about it unless the British auto industry creates some sort of export plan where companies build cars for the U.S. in advance and rush to ship them at the start of each quarter. Still, that won't guarantee that they'll stay under the quota. Everyone say, "Thank you, President Trump!" 4th Gear: Chinese auto exports explode in April Dinphotogallery/Getty Images China's electric vehicle exports were on a heater in April — with sales rising 40% from the same time last year to a whopping 278,081 vehicles. Hell, they were even up 264% for the North American market to 4,422 vehicles. Unfortunately, almost none of those came to the U.S., because we really cannot have nice things. From Bloomberg: China's EV exports to Brazil in April rose 221% y/y to 38,144, the highest among all nations or territories, according to data from China Customs. By region, Asia was the biggest importer with 110,613 (+20% y/y) EVs, followed by Europe's 83,813 (+36% y/y) and Latin America and the Caribbean's 52,897 (+80% y/y) China's exports to the European Union rose 41% y/y to 63,063 EVs Outside of Brazil, Bengium (35,646), Australia (21,678), Thailand (19,882), and the Philippines (19,577) rounded out the top five when it came to Chinese vehicle exports. Truly, these cars are reaching just about every part of the globe... except ours, of course. Reverse: Built Ford Tough History.com It's sort of wild to think that the company that recently sold the EcoSport and currently sells the fourth-generation Escape once built possibly the most consequential vehicle in human history, but just look at the impact the Model T had on the world. Though I'm not sure how much of a "real" Ford it is. I mean, has it even been recalled this year? The Fuel Up Scott Olson/Getty Images I've got some semi-good news when it comes to filling up at the gas pump. Fuel prices are falling — down 6 cents since we last spoke on Friday, May 22. WTI Crude Oil futures and Brent Crude prices are also down, currently sitting right around $94 and $97, respectively, at the time of publication. This drop in prices across the board mostly has to do with a peace deal that's being brokered between the U.S. and Iran that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but with a new surge in fighting, I'm not sure how "peaceful" it's going to end up being. Here's where national average prices stand right now, according to AAA: AAA All of this is to say that the average price of a gallon of gas dropped another 2 cents overnight, and it's now sitting at $4.49, according to AAA. While it's still massively inflated from the $2.98 it was at when the war first broke out, it's undoubtedly a step in the right direction. On the radio: Olivia Rodrigo - the cure Olivia Rodrigo is back, and I, for one, could not be more excited. Is she technically making music for 30-year-old men? No, but that's nobody's business but mine. Now, I've just got to wait patiently for the full album to come out on June 12.
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