After days of watching the stock market crash again and again, members of his own party begin to revolt, and an outcry from businesses of all types, President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on the global tariffs he revealed last week. Find out why at Headlight.News.
U.S. roads were a bit safer last year, according initial estimates by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The federal safety agency projects that 39,345 people died in traffic crashes last year — a 3.8% decline over 2023. Find out more at Headlight.News.
Tariffs continue to dominate the auto industry, manufacturers around the world struggling to figure out formulas that will minimize the impact on consumers – and U.S. sales – while avoiding budget-busting new costs that could send their balance sheets deep into the red. Here are some of the latest developments.
In this week’s podcast, we discuss the impact of the Trump tariffs, March new vehicle sales, Tesla and Stellantis taking a dip. We review the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid Review and take a look at This Week in Automotive History.
Automakers got to celebrate a bit in March as new vehicle sales jumped 10.7% compared to year-ago numbers. However, that celebration is likely to be short-lived, if the assertions in a new report prove true. The tome authored by Telemetry’s Sam Abuelsamid predicts sales will fall 1.8 million units in 2025 and the next several years don’t look much better, reports Headlight.News.
Hyundai said it will temporarily refrain from passing on to consumers any additional tariff costs as part of a new “Customer Assurance” program. That could add up to thousands of dollars on a new vehicle as a result of the new tariffs enacted by President Donald Trump this week. But the program runs only through the beginning of June. Other automakers are weighing their own plans which, for VW means making it clear to buyers why they’ll soon pay more for their vehicles. Headlight.News has more.
In a surprise twist, Trump’s tariff war has so far left Mexican auto plants humming despite promises to blue-collar workers in the U.S. For now, at least, the USMCA trade agreement remains in force along the Southern border. But the tariffs have already had a negative impact on autoworkers Stellantis announcing layoffs at several of its plants.
President Donald Trump’s press conference laying out the remainder of his tariff policy revealed automakers would not be facing any additional tariffs beyond the 25% on vehicles and parts crossing into the U.S. Volkswagen is adding an “import fee” to vehicles hit by the tariffs while Ford is offering discounts to try to improve affordability. Headlight.News tracks down how other carmakers are dealing with the problem.
Tesla shareholders breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday morning, word leaking out of the White House suggesting CEO Elon Musk will soon give up his controversial role as the head of the Trump administration’s Dept. of Government Efficiency. Then, Tesla released its first-quarter sales numbers, global deliveries falling three times further than what Wall Street anticipated. Its stock rebound in reverse, a growing number of investors and analysts now wonder whether Tesla and its CEO can recover from the hit they’ve taken.
April 2, says Pres. Donald Trump, is “Liberation Day,” claiming his new tariffs will free the U.S. from its reliance on foreign-made goods. But U.S. car buyers may see things in a very different light. Virtually all vehicles, even those assembled in the States, will see price hikes. And a number of automakers, from mainstream brands like Chevrolet, to high-line marques such as Mercedes-Benz, are weighing the prospects of pulling entry models off of the American market. More from Headlight.News.
The Biden administration’s effort to make new electric vehicles more appealing to the American public with $7,500 tax credits is becoming a big hassle for some buyers. The Internal Revenue Service has been rejecting the tax returns of some EV owners claiming the credit. However, they are also looking to help. Find out more at Headlight.News.
Good news or bad? It all depends on how you choose to look at Rivian’s first-quarter sales and production results. Headlight.News explains.