Happy Thursday! It’s November 12, 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 we’re looking at Jensen Huang leaving Nvidia, and global EV sales rising. We’ll also look at Honda’s hybrid plans for the U.S., and Stellantis’ continued shutdown of its Fiat 500 plant.
If you’d like a recap of the latest auto news sent to your inbox each weekday, you can sign up for Jalopnik’s free Morning Shift newsletter here.
1st Gear: Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, has walked off into the sunset
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang cheated on his wife, allegedly with a Chinese spy. Nvidia was already spinning up investigations when that news broke, but new reporting alleges Huang also cheated with an employee at the company — one who reported to Huang himself. Now, Huang is out, and Nvidia CFO Colette Kress is in the CEO chair in an interim role. From Nvidia:
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) Board of Directors announced today that Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately.
Colette Kress, current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NVIDIA, has agreed to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Kress will continue to serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer while serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer until a permanent successor has been named. The Board is initiating a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer and will consider internal and external candidates.
Huang cofounded Nvidia, but he doesn’t seem as integral to its operations as, say, Elon Musk is to SpaceX. The bigger issue Nvidia is facing right now is a lack of clear successorship, with no one sitting as heir apparent to the top spot — Huang planned to run the company himself for decades more before ever thinking of leaving, and he didn’t exactly prepare anyone to take his place.
Kress, the CFO, is a logical interim replacement for the state of Nvidia right now: A financial house of cards built on circular financing and impossible valuations, moreso than a creator of cutting-edge computing hardware. What happens next, though — to both NVIDIA’s automotive chipsets and its role in AI — is anyone’s guess.
2nd Gear: EV growth is back up globally, despite flailing in the U.S.
EV sales are rough in the U.S. right now, and growth in China has tapered off. European sales, though, are still growing — and they’re bringing the world up with them. Sales are climbing, despite our intent to go as backwards as possible. From Reuters:
Nov 12 (Reuters) – Global demand for electrified cars returned to growth in October, reflecting a very low US comparison base coupled with continued growth in Europe, data from UK-based research firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence showed on Thursday.
“Even though the Chinese market is down domestically, that has then in turn resulted in a lot of OEMs pushing the exports and contributing significantly to the rest of the world,” Benchmark data manager Charles Lester told Reuters.
* Global sales of new battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles climbed 8% from a year ago to 2.09 million vehicles in October, while year-to-date volumes were up 5% at 17.5 million units
It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens with U.S. EVs over the next couple of years. Will the midterm “blue wave” propel us to government funding for EV infrastructure?
3rd Gear: Honda wants hybrids to bring it to 1.6 million U.S. sales
Honda wants to grow sales in the U.S., despite buyers’ financial struggles, but it has a plan for how to marry those factors: Hybrids. The company thinks that, by making cars that save you on fuel, it’ll make you more likely to spend upfront for one. From Automotive News:
Honda, aided by a $3 billion assembly plant planned for central Ohio, is striving to boost U.S. sales 17 percent within five years.
…
Honda retailers who attended the meeting at Resorts World Las Vegas got a preview of a handful of new and updated models arriving in the next several years, including the highly anticipated overhaul of the top-selling CR-V crossover and the return of a cult favorite, the Element. Dealers who spoke to Automotive News asked not to be identified while discussing information shared at the event.
I love a hybrid, so I can’t wait for a hybrid Element. Sure, it won’t be quite as simple as the outgoing one, but I’m excited to take one rock climbing anyway. Hopefully Honda keeps the doors right, at least.
4th gear: Stellantis’ Fiat 500 plant is still shut down
The Fiat 500 is a fun little car, but we’re not much in an era of fun little cars at the moment. As such, demand is low, and the Fiat 500 is selling so slowly as to make Stellantis idle its Italian manufacturing plant. From Reuters:
Stellantis’ historic Mirafiori plant in northern Italy, which makes the Fiat 500 city car, will remain shut next week, extending a production halt into a fifth week, unions said on Thursday.
…
Igor Albera, from the FIM-CISL union, told Reuters that the prolonged production stoppages at the Turin plant were due in part to component shortages and in part to weak demand for the model
You’d think, with wages stagnating as costs increase, that people would return to cheap small cars. Have we really ceded so much of our souls to the C-HRs of the world that there’s no room left for the humble Fiat 500?
Reverse: I know writers who use subtext, and they’re all cowards
“I lift my lamp beside where the golden door used to be” just doesn’t hit the same.
The Fuel Up
Prices keep dropping! Gas is free now.
On The Radio: Carrie Underwood – ‘Before He Cheats’
At this point, Jensen probably wishes it was just a pretty little souped up four-wheel-drive.
