Nissan’s Grand U.S. EV Plans Are Already Falling Apart

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, September 2, 2025, 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, Nissan’s EV plans are in for a bumpy ride in the U.S., Tesla can’t get a win in Europe, Audi is feeling good about where it’s headed and Ford issues yet another recall.

Nissan’s grand $500 million plan to turn its Mississippi factory into a “center for EV manufacturing and technology” is in serious trouble right now, and the company’s plan to bring a pair of U.S.-made electric crossovers to market later this decade has completely stalled. I don’t have to tell you this, but neither of these are good or ideal for an automaker that is already struggling mightily. 

A source told Automotive News that the Japanese company has “a cost problem,” and the crossovers are going to have to be reengineered to be more price-competitive because of lower-than-originally anticipated sales volumes. Initially, Nissan aimed to sell 200,000 EVs in the U.S. in 2028, and that’s almost certainly not going to be the case anymore, as demand for EVs. From Automotive News:

Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman said suppliers were asked to “temporarily pause work” on the electric crossover programs while the company assesses “competitiveness and EV market growth opportunities.”

The next-generation EVs will be built on a scalable platform that can support multiple models and could be shared with other automakers.

Nissan previously delayed the battery crossovers by 10 months, to November 2028 for a Nissan-branded model and March 2029 for an Infiniti version.

Brockman said the programs are under review but that those production timelines remain unchanged for now.

While all of this is going on, Nissan is planning to focus its 4.7 million-square-foot Mississippi complex on producing electrified truck-based vehicles. It’ll still involve some heavy lifting: modifying one of the two assembly lines at the plant (which currently builds the Altima). 

Starting in 2028, Nissan will deliver up to five vehicles on a new body-on-frame platform, including the Frontier, a new Xterra, the Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60. Nissan’s CEO said production volumes of these body-on-frame vehicles could reach 250,000-300,000 units per year.

Depending on how you look at it, it is either an incredibly exciting time for Nissan or a very worrying time. I suppose there isn’t much left to lose for the company. Let’s just hope it can return itself to some of its former glory.

Tesla’s sales numbers don’t seem to be turning around in Europe in any meaningful way, as strong competition and backlash against CEO Elon Musk continue to turn off buyers. Registrations of new Teslas in France were down a whopping 47.3% year-over-year in August, despite the fact that the overall market grew 2.2%. Things were even worse in Sweden, where sales dropped 84% despite 6% market growth. They also dropped 42% in Denmark, 50% in the Netherlands and 4.4% in Italy. Still, it wasn’t all bad news. Tesla made some gains in a few countries. From Reuters:

Norway, where Tesla has deep roots and virtually all new car sales are electric, saw a 21.3% jump in registrations for the U.S. EV maker. But BYD’s registrations jumped 218%.

After seven months of declines, Tesla’s registrations in Portugal rose 28.7% in August.

And in Spain, which provides EV subsidies of up to 7,000 euros ($8,200), Tesla’s sales rose 161% to 1,435 cars from 549 in August 2024. But BYD’s sales rose more than 400% to 1,827 cars.

In the year so far, BYD’s sales in Spain have surged 675% to 14,181 cars, while Tesla’s sales have risen 11.6% to 9,303 vehicles.

[…]

Earlier this year Tesla representatives in Europe argued that the sales decline was largely because production was shifting to a revamped version of the Model Y that had been Europe’s top-selling car in 2023.

Deliveries began across much of Europe in June, but Model Y sales were down 46.5% in Denmark in August and 87% in Sweden.

In the United Kingdom, something that is certainly hurting new Tesla sales is the fact that there are so many G-D used Teslas available. Sales of used Teslas hit a record in July — jumping 270%, according to Reuters, while the average price of a used Model Y hit a new low — down 41% in two years.

Audi is feeling good about its prospects, and it could end up targeting annual sales of at least 2 million vehicles — up a fifth from 2025 — under a new strategy the German automaker is expected to release later this year. This goal would actually be an annual record for Audi, and it points to a more aggressive approach following some serious down years. From Reuters:

Audi has been a headache for parent Volkswagen, suffering from model launch delays and technological setbacks that have widened a gap with rivals, challenges that are being compounded by U.S. car tariffs that forced the company to cut its outlook.

Under CEO Gernot Doellner, who took the helm in 2023, Audi is currently revamping its strategy and could include the long-term sales target when it briefs the public about its new plans later in the year.

The person did not tie the 2 million vehicle target to a specific year.

For 2025, Audi is targeting vehicle sales of 1.7-1.8 million, following a 11.8% decline to 1.67 million last year.

The upbeat long-term outlook partly rests on greater expectations for the United States – the world’s second-largest auto market after China – where Audi could nearly double sales from the roughly 200,000 cars sold annually in the U.S. now, the person said.

Audi has been hit much harder than BMW and Mercedes-Benz when it comes to President Trump’s tariffs for one simple reason: it doesn’t build any cars in the U.S. Because of that, it has spent $702 million in the first half of 2025 alone on tariffs. Still, it believes the brand can catch up to those two. Godspeed.

I know y’all thought Ford would take the long weekend to fix its recall issue, but that’s not the case. The Blue Oval is recalling 105,441 2024 and 2025 Mustangs because of improperly sealed body seams, but just 1% of those Mustangs will actually have the defect. The problem could allow water to get into the vehicle’s control models and mess up its exterior lighting, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. From Automotive News:

Ford said another 8,528 cars are being recalled in Canada along with 2,181 units in Mexico.

Water may get into the vehicle’s body control modules, which may result in a loss of communication with the exterior lighting components. This may result in signal lamps not turning on when the low beams are on.

Ford first became aware of the issue in April, with 69 warranty claims dating to August 2024. The automaker is not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to the defect.

The issue can be remedied by sealing the affected body seams and replacing the body control module if necessary. Owners can take their vehicle to Ford or Lincoln dealers.

From the looks of it, Ford has issued a staggering 109 recalls in 2025 alone. It has already eclipsed its own record for most recalls in a single year, and back in July, it said it was taking a more proactive approach to recalls. I suppose we have yet to see the results of that action.

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The endurance of the human spirit is wild, man. If you want to learn more about Nyad and her swin, head over to History.com.