EV Slump, Airline Records and a Rough Week for European Carmakers

US plug-in vehicle registrations posted their worst July in four years in 2026. That is the headline from ORTEX's ingestion of US state EV fleet data, which recorded just 21,482 plug-in registrations for July. The figure sits well below the previous four-year low of 25,394 set in July 2022. Battery-electric and plug-in hybrid combined, the market has given back years of gains in a single month.

Air Travel Pulls in Two Directions

Brazil's airline sector told the opposite story in September. ANAC departure records, tracked by ORTEX, show 79,566 departures for the month, the largest September since the series began in 2024, edging past the 77,900 recorded in September 2025. Paid passengers also set a September record at 10.85 million, above the prior September best of 10.76 million. Brazilian aviation is running at its strongest seasonal pace on record.

Australia moved the other way. ORTEX's tracking of domestic sectors flown shows 45,324 for September 2026, the lowest September reading in two years and just below the 45,430 recorded in September 2024. The softness is modest but it breaks a run of stronger readings.

Massachusetts sports betting added a further note of caution for leisure spending. The state's casino sportsbook gross revenue came in at $407,627 for September, a record low for any September since the series began in 2023. Taxable revenue has now fallen for three consecutive months, reaching $325,816.

European Carmakers Face the Scorecard

Several large automakers report this week, and ORTEX holds registration datasets measured in out-of-sample backtests to lead their revenue figures.

MBG (Mercedes-Benz Group) reports on 28 October. Dutch car registrations, which carry a strong measured fit and lead Mercedes revenue by 26 days, are running 6% below the same quarter last year, with all three months of the quarter in. A second signal, Finnish registrations, runs ahead 36% year on year with a weak fit.

VOW3 (Volkswagen) reports 29 October. Austrian registrations, a moderate-fit leading indicator with a 18-day lead on revenue, are running 6% below the same quarter last year, three months in.

RNO (Renault) also reports 29 October. Austrian registrations point to plus 6% year on year. Dutch registrations, a separate moderate-fit series with a 43-day lead, are running 19% below the prior year. These are where the data points so far, not a forecast of the print.

A000270 (Kia) reports 26 October. Austrian registrations, a moderate-fit series leading revenue by 45 days, are running plus 9% year on year with all three months counted. MARUTI (Maruti Suzuki) reports 27 October. India registrations, which carry a weak measured fit and lead revenue by 58 days, are running plus 31% year on year, three months in.