Ford’s push into affordable EVs appears to be coming a big step closer to reality, CEO Jim Farly planning to make a major announcement on August 11 at the automaker’s assembly plant in Louisville, Kentucky next week. It will be, the CEO suggested, “a Model T moment,” referencing the legendary vehicle that put Ford on the map more than a century ago. More from Headlight.News.
On this week’s Headlight News podcast, we talk about President Trump’s trade deals, how the existing tariffs crashed Tesla’s and GM’s second quarter earnings, the new Honda Prelude as well as offering a review of the new Toyota Prius Prime. Check it out and tell us what you think.
After throwing its support behind Pres. Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported autos and auto parts, the United Auto Workers admits is coming up empty handed in the administration’s new deal with Japan, which offers nothing for workers and could lead to lower wages. Headlight.News has more.
General Motors reported a 35% decline in net income for the second quarter of the year, much of that due to the new Trump tariffs which took a $1 billion bite, the automaker reported. More from Headlight.News.
Detroit’s Big Three automakers are among those cheering the Trump administrations decision to end penalties for missing federal fuel economy mandates. Not so Tesla, however. The automaker stands to lose billions of dollars in revenues earned selling mileage credits. Headlight.News explains.
It’s been a bad year for Ford Motor Co. – and, in this case, that’s bad for customers who have had to cope with a record flood of recalls. Add to the list another one announced Tuesday covering nearly 700,000 recent SUVs at risk of catching fire. For Ford, the service action will result in a $570 million charge to earnings. More from Headlight.News.
General Motors will build a mix of light-duty trucks, including the Chevrolet Silverado and Cadillac Escalade, at its Orion Assembly Plant in suburban Detroit, scrapping plans to use that plant to build an assortment of new battery-electric vehicles. The move reflects shifting market demands – and the pressures of the Trump import auto tariffs. Headlight.News has more.
“The party’s over,” said one key analyst. While domestic carmakers reported a modest upturn boost in sales for June, the U.S. auto market largely stalled out as buyers began pulling back due to price increases caused by the Trump tariffs on imported autos and auto parts. Headlight.News has more on the winners and losers.
Between heat waves and major storms, the number of blackouts and brownouts has increased sharply in recent years, but a start-up launched by a former Tesla exec plans to use as many as 100,000 old EV batteries in “second-like” backup energy storage systems to minimize the risk of grid outages. More from Headlight.News.
Yet again, Tesla sales stumbled by double-digits in May, marking the fifth monthly decline in a row. Meanwhile, the man appointed to run operations and sales in Europe and the U.S. has left the automaker, as has its head of human resources. Tesla has seen a flood of senior execs leave in recent months, including the head of its Optimus robot program. But it did manage to snag the former head of autonomy from GM’s now shuttered Cruise subsidiary.
Looking for the brands delivering the highest levels of initial quality? Lexus and Nissan rose to the top in this year’s J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, while General Motors had more top-ranked models than any other manufacturer. There were some surprises in this year’s IQS by Jaguar and Ram. But, yet again, motorists pointed to onboard technology as the biggest source of trouble. More from Headlight.News.
Cadillac’s pushed into new territory with the delivery of its most expensive model ever. It just so happens that the new Caddy Celestiq is also the luxury brand’s latest battery-electric vehicle. More from Headlight.News.