Trump Wants To Effectively Kill $5 Billion EV Charger Program
Happy Tuesday! It's March 17, 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 Trump's latest method for killing off EV charging, and Uber's latest plans for robotaxis. We'll also look at the death of the Audi A8, and another Ford recall.
1st Gear: Trump can't directly kill EV chargers, but he can make them impossible to build
Earlier this year, a judge struck down the Trump administration's plans to kill off federal funding for EV charging. Now, the administration is back with a new approach: Mandating that federal funds only be used on 100% American-made EV chargers, which don't exist. From Reuters:
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) – A group of 20 state attorneys general said on Monday the Trump administration proposal to boost American parts and components in federally funded electric vehicle charging stations would effectively make the $5 billion program unusable.
The attorneys general from states including California, Colorado, Arizona, New York, Virginia, Illinois and Michigan, said the U.S. Transportation Department proposal to hike so-called "Buy America" requirements from 55% to 100% would make it "impossible for manufacturers to achieve, frustrate congressional intent, and impair the public interest by slowing or halting federally funded EV charger deployment nationwide."
USDOT and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In January, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin ruled the Trump administration unlawfully suspended funding awarded to support the expansion of electric vehicle charger infrastructure, in a victory for 20 Democratic-led states that sued over the action.The Democratic state attorneys general – joined by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear – suggested the USDOT proposal on EV charger content "is yet another effort to carry out the president's directive to halt congressionally mandated funding for EV infrastructure."
The states support requiring Buy America rules but said the USDOT proposal is not feasible.
"There are currently no 100% domestically produced chargers available for purchase, there is not enough demand for 100% domestically produced chargers to justify investing in domestic production, and some critical components of the chargers are simply not produced in the United States," they said in the letter.
Can't ban something outright? Leave a loophole in your ban that only applies to a version of that thing that doesn't exist! From now on, the second amendment applies only to guns from "Halo." This is just a ban with some trickier wording.
2nd Gear: Uber wants to put robotaxis in 28 cities
Waymo is running the driverless taxi game right now, while Tesla flounders with an Austin fleet that may be as low as one vehicle. Uber, though, still sees an opportunity with Nvidia's self-driving software — an opportunity it wants to take worldwide by 2028. From Reuters:
March 16 (Reuters) – Uber Technologies and Nvidia said on Monday they will deploy a fleet of robotaxis powered by Nvidia's autonomous driving software on the ride-hailing network, starting in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2027 and expanding to 28 cities globally by 2028.
Robotaxis are rapidly expanding into more cities as companies race to commercialize autonomous ride-hailing, but Alphabet's Waymo remains the early leader while Tesla's vast manufacturing scale and financial resources could reshape the competitive landscape.
Competition in the sector has intensified as companies scale driverless fleets. Alphabet's Waymo currently operates the most advanced commercial robotaxi service, running fully driverless rides in cities including Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and steadily expanding its fleet.
In the press release for this plan, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called this "the ChatGPT moment" for autonomous cars. I do not want ChatGPT, or anything that can reasonably be compared to it, in control of thousands of pounds of vehicle on the same streets where I ride my bicycle.
3rd Gear: The Audi A8 is dead at the altar of the crossover
Nothing gold can stay, and that extends to Audi. The company's flagship A8 is dead, to be replaced with a Q9 crossover because that's all anyone buys nowadays. Pour one out for a real one, a giant comfortable sedan that held on until the end. From Automotive News:
Audi is ending production of its A8 flagship sedan without a successor, marking a strategic retreat from the large luxury sedan segment as the automaker refocuses on higher-margin SUVs.
Audi closed the A8's order books in Germany in February, signaling the wind-down of the model after more than three decades. Remaining markets will sell through existing inventory, indicating a gradual global phase-out.
The move underscores weakening demand for large sedans across key markets, where buyers have increasingly shifted toward SUVs.
Industry-wide, the segment faces pressure from changing consumer preferences and tightening emissions regulations, which have made updates to aging combustion platforms less viable.
The fourth-generation A8, on sale since 2017, has struggled to keep pace with newer rivals.
Audi has explored options for a next-generation model, including a potential electric successor, but has yet to commit to a timeline or platform.
Nine years isn't unreasonable for a car's life cycle, but it would be nice if Audi kept something long, low, and comfortable around as a flagship — even if it didn't sell much. Alas, in 2026 car companies only get by through making mass-market crossovers. Remember when auto engineers could do cool things just because they wanted to?
4th Gear: Ford recalls nearly 48,000 EcoBoost-powered cars
Another day, another Ford recall. This time it's the Ecoboost engines, the 1.5, 2.0, and 2.3-liter mills from the Explorer, Maverick, Bronco, Mustang, Escape, Ranger, Bronco Sport, Aviator, and Corsair. That's a mouthful. From the Detroit News:
A new Ford Motor Co. notice is recalling tens of thousands of vehicles like the Explorer, Maverick, Bronco and Mustang for an issue with its EcoBoost engines that can result in a loss of power.
The recall affects 47,804 vehicles in the United States and its territories with 1.5-, 2.0- or 2.3-liter engines and also includes Escapes, Rangers and Bronco Sports and Lincoln Aviators and Corsairs. A potential defect can result in a detached poppet head in the Engine Gas Recirculation valve that can result in loss of motive power, particularly at under 13 mph (20 kph). This can increase the risk of a crash, the manufacturer said in a statement.
The remedy for this issue is currently under development. Once available, Ford will notify owners of affected vehicles by mail. They then can take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the repair done without charge. Ford is not aware of any accidents, injuries or fires related to the problem.
Curiously, the worked-over 2.3 EcoBoost from the Focus RS is absent here. Maybe in all those head gasket revisions, Ford accidentally fixed this issue too?
Reverse: Someone should give this guy a day
And you learn to live with him in your heart, or it's to perdition you'll be bound!
On The Radio: Huntrix - How It's Done
Ah, you thought I was going to do "Golden" after The Fuel Up and its Oscar win, didn't you? Nope! "How It's Done" is the better track. Fight me.