Toyota Good morning! It's Tuesday, June 23, 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, new and used car buyers are turning to hybrids as gas prices remain elevated, Porsche is looking to cut its lineup and deepen its ties with Volkswagen to deal with shrinking margins, Lucid just laid off nearly 1-in-5 of its U.S. workers and some genius Nissan investor thinks that the company needs Carlos Ghosn at the helm again. 1st Gear: Buyers turn to the automotive middle-ground of hybrids Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock I'm not sure if you've noticed, but gas prices are pretty damn diabolical right now. Yeah, they've come down a bit, but they're certainly not at the under-$3.00 levels we were used to before the U.S. and Israel decided to go to war with Iran and jack up fuel prices across the globe. Well, that choice has had the cascading effect of pushing car shopping into more fuel-efficient vehicles. Though instead of going for EVs, they're opting for hybrids. Much like Charli XCX in 2024, hybrids are having "a moment," according to Karl Brauer, executive analyst over at iSeeCars. It's not just new cars either; the used hybrid market, where prices are even more affordable, is hot, hot, hot. Oh, and just for clarity, "hybrid" refers to both traditional and plug-in hybrids in this context. From the Detroit Free Press: In the used market, hybrids are steadily gaining share and taking market share from traditional gas vehicles, Brauer said, as consumers look for a practical, range-anxiety-free alternative to fully electric cars. Brauer said the prices for all used vehicles are rising. Between January through May this year, the average 1- to 5-year-old car's price has increased by 4.9% compared with the same period in 2025. In dollar amounts, that means the average 1- to 5-year-old used car sold for $31,266 in the first five months of 2025 compared with $32,794 this year. The average 1- to 5-year-old [Ford] Maverick hybrid's price between January through May of this year has increased by 2.6% compared with the same period a year ago. In dollar terms, that is an average transaction price of $27,766 compared with $27,061. It isn't just the used market, though. They're also selling very well on the new market. Keep in mind, this data from Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of Industry Insights at Cox Automotive excludes PHEVs. "Hybrids are hot, hybrids are having their moment," Streaty told the Detroit Free Press. "There's a lot of product out there. There's trust around the hybrid because it's been around a long time with Toyota RAV4 and Ford Maverick establishing it. Then you have these high gas prices. If you don't want to worry about charging an EV, (a hybrid) takes away that friction." [...] January through April sales this year of traditional hybrid new vehicles are up 11% compared with the same period last year, Streaty said. Whereas the total U.S. new car sales in the same period are down 5.7% compared with the period last year. [...] Some of that boost can be attributed to the fact that there are more products. While Toyota has dominated hybrid offerings, more brands such as Hyundai, Kia and Ford are offering hybrid options. Besides the Maverick, Ford offers the F-150 Hybrid pickup — officially known as the PowerBoost. It has a 3.5-liter V6 engine paired with a 47-horsepower electric motor. The PowerBoost can add $1,900 to $3,000 onto the sticker price of the truck, which starts at about $40,300. But Ford said due to the combined electric motor efficiency and a large 30.6-gallon fuel tank, the truck drives more than 700 miles per tank on the highway. Also, luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Porsche and Audi offer various hybrid options. It's easy to see why this transition is happening. In May, Cox Automotive surveyed about 1,000 in-market car shoppers, and gas prices ranked as the second most influential factor when picking a vehicle type — pushing nearly one-in-three buyers to delay their purchase timing. It also boosted more than half of them to look at more fuel-efficient options like hybrids rather than full EVs. Younger shoppers — those 29 and under — or folks with higher incomes, pivoted toward electric vehicles. Even though price parity between gas and electric vehicles is closer than it ever has been, automakers are clearly not getting that message across to buyers, and hybrids are reaping all the benefits. 2nd Gear: Porsche has big plans for fixing itself Atlantide Phototravel/Getty Images Porsche has had a rough go of it for a while now, and because of that, it's all but giving up on a plan it sold to investors when the company went public in 2022. Back then, it had promised to become the new benchmark of automotive luxury, but it has since failed to meet nearly every target it promised at the time of its IPO. Now, CEO Michael Leiters is telling ticked off shareholders that the automaker plans to cut down its model lineup, deepen its cooperation with Volkswagen and look into further job cuts in an effort to revive profitability. Of course, it's not all Porsche's fault. U.S. tariffs have taken a real toll on Porsche's business, as has dismal demand in China and a slower-than-expected transition to electric vehicles. Because of all this, Leiters warned investors that the turnaround and return to Porsche's historically high profitability wouldn't be quick. From Automotive News: "In the short term, we will not see a return to the targeted margins we have seen in the past," he said. With no quick fix in sight, Leiters presented the outlines of what he called "Strategy 2035," which seeks to restore Porsche's profitability through a leaner product portfolio, greater use of VW technology and additional cost cuts. "Our product strategy is the key lever for making Porsche stronger again — both economically and in terms of desirability," he said. "That is why we are reducing the number of derivatives and narrowing our focus." Porsche cut about 2,000 jobs in 2025 and has been in negotiations with labor representatives to cut an additional 1,900 jobs. It wasn't immediately clear if Leiters was referring to the targeted cuts in the current negotiations or a new target for even more cuts. The overhaul marks a sharp departure from the investment case Porsche presented during its 2022 initial public offering, which promised rapid electrification, growth in China and operating margins above 20 percent. [...] [An investor] said Porsche had promised investors that 80 percent of vehicle sales would be electric by 2030, that the company would continue growing globally and that operating margins would remain above 20 percent. Instead, Porsche now faces shrinking sales in China, slower-than-expected EV adoption and profitability well below historical levels. "All three central metrics have turned into their opposite," [the investor] said, describing Porsche's challenges as "a structural problem" rather than a cyclical downturn. Leiters also laid out Porsche's plans for future models — including the 911. "For the 911, our in-house developed performance hybrid is a fundamental building block, a kind of elixir of life for the future," he said. "There will never be a fully electric 911." Leiters said Porsche intends to reposition itself around exclusivity and pricing power rather than volume growth. "We're not concerned with maximizing volume. We're concerned with value," Leiters said. The German automaker reported an operating margin of about 1% in 2025 after taking on $3.6.billion in restructuring-related charges and absorbing about $800 million in costs tied to U.S. tariffs. Vehicle deliveries also fell by 10% last year. Things didn't start out any better in 2026, with first-quarter deliveries falling another 15%. 3rd Gear: Lucid cuts 18% of its U.S. staff Around the World Photos/Shutterstock Man, if you think Porsche is having a rough time, don't look at Lucid. The Newark, California-based EV maker is slashing its workforce for at least the second time this year and eliminating a top executive role in an effort to reduce costs as demand for electric vehicles wanes. Now, the company is laying off about 18% of its staff in the U.S., and that includes full-time employees, contractors and hourly production workers. The company is expected to get rung up for about $32 million in cash charges because of the reduction, but it'll save about $158 million annually going forward. From Bloomberg: Lucid in February cut 12% of its global workforce to streamline its organization and boost efficiency, saying at the time that it was sparing production workers at its manufacturing facility in Arizona. The company had about 9,000 workers as of Dec. 31, suggesting the two rounds of layoffs may have eliminated about 2,500 employees. [...] The EV maker, which produces the luxury Air sedan and the Gravity SUV, has grappled with production challenges, supply-chain turmoil and rising costs as tariffs whipsawed the industry and policy changes pressured sales. Lucid last month suspended its full-year production guidance as new Chief Executive Officer Silvio Napoli launched an operational review. The cuts announced Monday are part of a plan to put Lucid on a "path toward profitability and positive cash flow generation by streamlining its organizational structure, optimizing operating expenses and aligning production plans with anticipated demand." The moves included eliminating a second shift at the company's Arizona facility, which had been added late last year to accelerate output. The plan also led to the elimination of the chief operating officer role. Marc Winterhoff, who held the COO title and was previously interim CEO, has departed the company, Lucid said. I really, really am rooting for Lucid. I know there are some questions around reliability, but pound for pound, it's hard to think of a better sedan than the Air and a better crossover than the Gravity — gas or electric, those vehicles are really that good. Here's hoping it can get itself sorted in time for the introduction of the Earth and Cosmos. 4th Gear: Nissan investor proposes bringing Carlos Ghosn back Plamen Galabov/Shutterstock Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa is doing, by all accounts, a pretty good job of righting the ship and getting the struggling Japanese automaker back to where it needs to be, but his efforts didn't seem to be enough for some shareholders at a bizarre and unruly investors meeting where he had to fend off multiple floor motions to remove him as chairman of the gathering, a no-confidence vote and — I'm not joking — a proposal to appoint former Chairman and current fugitive Carlos Ghosn to the automaker's board. From Automotive News: "We need a person like Carlos Ghosn. He had bad aspects, but he had good aspects as well," said one attendee who wanted to restore the indicted fugitive executive to the board he was ejected from following his 2018 arrest on financial misconduct charges. "I want such a leader." [...] Nissan's contentious meeting contrasted with last week's placid affair at rival Toyota Motor Corp. It underscored the lingering shareholder discontent that still plagues Nissan more than seven years after Ghosn's arrest threw the company and its alliance with Renault into a tailspin.Shareholders reject director Motoo Nagai amid concerns about independence Some shareholders pined for the lofty share prices Nissan enjoyed during the Ghosn era. Nissan's stock price has dropped 43 percent over five years and 66 percent from just before Ghosn's arrest. Shares have lost about 9 percent over the past year after rising then falling; they are down by a third from their 52-week high in February. [...] Underscoring Nissan's credibility challenge, shareholders rejected the nomination of Motoo Nagai as an outside independent director. First appointed in 2019, Nagai was Nissan's statutory auditor during the Ghosn scandal. Ghosn's defenders accuse Nagai of being one of the insiders who plotted against Ghosn, partly to block a full merger with alliance partner Renault. Nagai was a force behind Nissan's governance reform following the ouster of Ghosn and a backer of the proposed merger between Nissan and Honda Motor Co. that imploded last year. Ya know what, if Trump gets to be President twice, Ghosn should get to be Nissan's CEO twice. It's only fair. Though I'm sure this time, when he escapes, the box will be bigger. Reverse: He was the best guy around! History.com I'm sure folks have a lot of thoughts when they hear John Gotti's name or when they think about his arrest, but what I think about is these two jamokes ABC7 interviewed in the immediate aftermath of his arrest. This, right here, is one of my favorite videos on the internet. "He was the best guy around!" and "What murda?" would be amazing on their own, but the fact that his buddy chimes in under his breath with "They say he murdered people" just ties the whole thing together. It's just beautiful. Anyway, if you want to learn more about Gotti's actual arrest and conviction, head over to History.com. The Fuel Up Brandon Bell/Getty Images Folks, I've got a bit of worrying news. Regular gas prices didn't change overnight — not even a fraction of a cent. Mid-grade and premium average prices actually rose a little bit, and it's making me worried that we're about to undo some of the progress that has been made when it comes to falling prices. At the very least, WTI Crude Oil futures and Brent Crude prices seem to be trending a bit lower today. Both were sitting at $73 and $76, respectively, at the time of publication. Here's where national average prices stand right now, according to AAA: AAA As I said, the average price of a gallon of regular gas remained exactly the same overnight. You can see that it didn't move even a fraction of a penny, so it's still currently sitting at $3.93. Still, there's some good news. Prices didn't go up, and we're now down 63 cents from the 2026 record that was set back on May 21, when gas hit $4.56 per gallon. On the radio: Role Model - High Hopes 3000 This is my last Morning Shift for over a week before I head to France to check out the latest Maybach and Spartanburg, South Carolina, to check out the latest REDACTED, so yeah, I'm feeling pretty good this morning. Don't worry, I'll still be checking in with you all every once in a while. I just can't quit you the same way you can't quit me.