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China Flips the Script, Offering to Help Western Automakers Build Cars Faster at Home: TDS

In the past, legacy carmakers helped emerging Chinese manufacturers get up to speed, in China. Now, the reverse is happening.

By Adam Ismail

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Geely Senior Vice President Victor Yang Xueliang, at left, holds a joint press conference with Ford Europe President Jim Baumbick at a Ford plant outside Valencia on July 23. The two companies will jointly develop vehicles for Europe at the site.
Geely Senior Vice President Victor Yang Xueliang, at left, holds a joint press conference with Ford Europe President Jim Baumbick at a Ford plant outside Valencia, Spain on July 23. The two companies will jointly develop vehicles for Europe at the site. Jose Jordan/AFP via Getty Images

Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news roundup bringing you the biggest automotive headlines from around the world.

Every item in The Downshift includes a link you can follow for the deeper story. Here’s your bulletin for Thursday, August 20, 2026.

🤝 Are you a legacy automaker that wants to develop new cars as quickly as Chinese manufacturers can? Geely is pitching “reverse joint ventures” that will leverage its technologies and staff to help other companies build more quickly in export markets. Now, imagine an auto exec time-traveling from 20 or 30 years ago and reading that news. [Automotive News]

⚙️ GM has made inroads into resolving an issue with some of its SUVs that use the eight-speed 8T65 transmission, involving a faulty outputs speed sensor that could confuse the vehicle and leave it stuck in first gear. The issue touches everything from the Chevrolet Equinox to GMC Acadia to Buick Enclave, and a new service bulletin details how techs should diagnose the issue and when to replace that pesky sensor, which is buried deep in the gearbox. [Autoblog]

✂️ We’ve heard for some time now that BMW would soon discontinue the XM and 8 Series, and the rumor mill is spinning yet again as the company seeks to reduce costs. [Automotive News]

🍁 As the U.S. government dismantles the trajectory of emissions regulations set under the prior administration, Canada has evidently decided to press on with its rules, which align with those the U.S. set before Trump reentered the White House. [Automotive News]

🪫 LG built factories in North America to crank out batteries for electric vehicles. Today, they’re mostly used to manufacture batteries for energy storage, which are in demand because of—you guessed it—AI data centers. [Reuters]

🤏 Few foreign automakers have tried to conquer Japan’s unique kei market, but BYD is going for it with its new micro EV, the Racco. It’s an especially bold move for a market that has demonstrated a strong preference for hybrids over fully battery-powered vehicles. [Bloomberg]

Got a tip or feedback for TDS? reach out to tips@thedrive.com

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Adam Ismail

Senior Editor

Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.

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