It’s September 2, 2026, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. In this morning’s edition, we’re looking at Honda’s latest cost-cutting measures and August’s auto sales. We’ll also look at Tesla’s latest FSD push in the EU and more Chinese EVs in Canada.
1st Gear: Honda Has Four Years to Save $9 Billion
Every automaker outside of China is in a panic-induced cost-cutting era, and Honda is no different. The company is looking to save over $9 billion within the next four years, and it has a method it’s trying right now: telling suppliers to charge less. From Reuters:
TOKYO, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Japan’s Honda aims to cut more than $9 billion in costs over the next four years and has instructed suppliers to drastically reduce their prices, according to internal documents and one person familiar with the matter.
The maker of the CR-V sport-utility vehicle now aims to save 1.5 trillion yen ($9.4 billion) by 2030, according to the documents and the person.
Honda managers briefed suppliers on the plan and said it would also look to source more components from Chinese suppliers, one of the people said. Each supplier was later presented with company-specific targets to cut costs, the people said.
Honda is aiming to reduce costs by 30% in three key parts categories: pressed and forged components, electrical parts and parts related to software-defined vehicles (SDVs), according to the documents. Such a reduction would allow Japanese suppliers to better compete with Chinese rivals, the documents said.
I understand this amounts to bargaining, but I’d love to be able to tell my suppliers to charge less. I want to set prices for gas, grocery stores, and for the cars on Facebook Marketplace.
2nd Gear: August Was a Bad Month for Toyota, but a Good One for Subaru
August sales numbers are coming in, and the month wasn’t fantastic for Toyota. Its sales dropped, largely thanks to a lack of RAV4s as the company retools to produce the updated model, but its business partner had a much better outlook. From Automotive News:
U.S. sales edged up at Honda Motor Co., Kia and Subaru but fell at Toyota Motor Corp., Hyundai and Mazda in August, previewing what is expected to be a weaker month across the industry.
Toyota reported a 4.4 percent drop in August deliveries, with volume down 4.8 percent at the Toyota division and 1.6 percent at Lexus.
It was a mixed month for Toyota’s biggest sellers: RAV4, down 19 percent; Camry, down 9.7 percent; Tacoma, off 8.9 percent; Corolla, up 1.5 percent; Corolla Cross, up 25 percent; Grand Highlander, down 24 percent; and Prius, off 32 percent.
Toyota, already facing the industry’s leanest supplies, is also hamstrung by a shortage of RAV4s. The compact crossover has been redesigned for 2026 and supplies are tight as Toyota retools several plants to build it.
Subaru saw a 1.3% rise in sales, which is notable at a company that only currently sells two hybrids. Fuel-efficient vehicles are where the market is, and that segment has never been Subaru’s strong suit.
3rd Gear: Tesla Wants Full EU Approval for FSD
Tesla’s FSD software suite is available in a few select parts of Europe, but not the entire economic bloc. The company is looking to change that with an EU vote, but it’s going to need data to support its safety claims — data that experts say isn’t all it claims to be. From Reuters:
STOCKHOLM, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Tesla’s supervised self-driving technology recorded 4.1 times fewer collisions than manually driven Tesla cars in the five European countries where it is permitted, the automaker said on Tuesday, as it steps up lobbying efforts ahead of an EU vote on wider deployment of the technology.
Tesla’s push for broader EU approval comes as the company faces increased scrutiny over the validity of its safety data, with independent experts questioning the methodology behind its collision figures. The outcome of the EU vote could significantly expand — or limit — where FSD is permitted to operate across the continent.
