Tesla reported its second annual sales decline on Friday – a dip made worse by the fact that the Texas-based automaker also slipped to second in the global EV sales race, ceding its crown to China’s aggressive upstart BYD. Headlight.News has more.
Deals and acquisitions
The Top Auto Stories of 2025
Trump, tariffs and trade barriers. EVs disconnected. Autonomy and hackers. Elon Musk’s very good/very bad year. And affordability. Oh, yes, 2025 brought a series of significant developments to the automotive market. Here are the top 5 stories from the past year as picked by Headlight.News editors.
U.S. Market Will Be Core to Mitsubishi Turnaround
Despite being hammered by auto import tariffs, Mitsubishi is betting big on the U.S. market, the company told dealers on Friday. It plans to launch a variety of new products to flesh out its currently meager product line-up. But there is one problem: a lack of U.S. production. More from Headlight.News.
GM Tells Suppliers to Stop Sourcing Parts from China
As trade friction grows, General Motors wants its suppliers to stop sourcing parts and raw materials from China by 2027, according to a new report, though meeting that deadline could be challenging considering the way the global network has been set up over the last few decades. More from Headlight.News.
Exclusive: Toyota Looking to Boost U.S. Auto Exports to Japan, Along with $10B Investment in States
Toyota committed to invest another $10 billion in the United States, as negotiations on a new U.S.-Japan trade deal moved forward — prompting Pres. Donald Trump to tell troops stationed in Japan, “Go out and buy a Toyota.” In an exclusive report, Headlight.News reports Toyota also is looking for ways to boost U.S. auto exports to Japan.
Is it Time to Break Up Stellantis?
There were high hopes when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the PSA Group officially completed their merger on January 16, 2021. But things haven’t worked out quite as planned, the automaker now known as Stellantis struggling to reverse a sharp decline in sales and earnings. While the company insists it’s on the mend, some wonder if it would be better to consider this a failed experiment and break the company up. That notably includes former CEO Carlos Tavares. Headlight.News has more.
GM Kills Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle Program, Abandons Production Plans
General Motors has ended a program aimed at using hydrogen fuel-cell technology as an alternative to battery power, in the process scrapping plans for a $55 million factory in Detroit. The automaker will continue producing fuel-cell stacks for use in stationary applications, however. More from Headlight.News.
Hyundai Expanding Georgia Plant Hit by ICE Raid as Part of $55 Bn Global Investment Plan
Hyundai plans to locally produce 80% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S., the automaker announced Thursday. As part of a $55 billion global investment program it will spend $2.7 billion to expand the electrified vehicle plant near Savannah, Georgia hit by an ICE raid two weeks ago, boosting its production capacity to 500,000 vehicles annually. More from Headlight.News.
Ford Set to Demolish “Glass House,” Move to New World Headquarters
Ford Motor Co. will move into a new world headquarters inside of its main product development campus a few miles away from its current corporate office building. In turn, Ford will tear down “Glass House,” the 12-story building that had served as its HQ for the last 70 years. More from Headlight.News.
Hyundai Plant ICE Raid Kicks Off Diplomat Incident
South Korea’s foreign minister headed to the U.S. Monday morning to move forward with plans to release hundreds of South Korean nationals arrested last week while working on the construction of a $7.6 billion Hyundai battery plant in Georgia. The move came just days after the Korean carmaker upped investment plans for the U.S. to $26 billion — and threatens to chill relations between the U.S. and one of its staunchest allies. Headlight.News has more.
ICE Takes 100s of Workers Into Custody at Hyundai Battery Plant
Hundreds of employees of LG Energy Solution, a South Korean battery maker, were taken into custody in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant being built outside Savannah, Georgia, officials from both ICE and the South Korea’s Foreign Ministry have confirmed.
Tesla Board Wants to Give CEO Elon Musk a $1 Trillion Pay Package
He’s already the richest man in the world but the Tesla board of directors has proposed a new $1 trillion pay package that would put CEO Elon Musk’s wealth nearly on a par with the market capitalization of some of the world’s most exclusive companies. Headlight.News has more.