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.
The automotive industry is filled with powerful people and deals with powerful people. That didn’t change in 2025 and although there plenty to choose from, Headlight.News believes these five were the most influential — in no particular order. Check out who made the list.
The Trump administration’s denial of federal government support for electric vehicles is being challenged in court by attorneys general from 17 states. In the lawsuit led by California, the states contend the administration is withholding funding allocated to build vehicle charging infrastructure. Get details at Headlight.News.
In the Headlight News podcast for this week, we cover everything from the pending drop in U.S. new vehicle sales for the next two years to the debut of the all-new Kia Seltos to Porsches bricking in Russia. We review the 2026 Hyundai Palisade and take a look back at this week in automotive history. Give us a listen.
Expect to pay more for that new Porsche next month, the German automaker advising dealers it will start passing on more of the cost of the tariffs Pres. Donald Trump has put in place on imported autos. Porsche isn’t alone, however, a growing number of brands are raising already record-high prices to cover those new duties, even on domestically made products due to the cost of imported parts and components, reports Headlight.News.
Since its debut in 2019, the Kia Seltos has grown to become the Korean carmaker’s best-selling model line. But Kia has even bigger ambitions for the subcompact crossover as it gets a complete makeover that will see it grow larger, add more features and a first-time hybrid option. Headlight.News takes a first look at the 2027 Kia Seltos.
There’s growing pressure on the European Commission to drop, or at least push back, a mandate that would see sales of vehicles powered by internal combustion engines banned by 2035. Among those calling for such a move are the leaders of Germany, Italy and Poland. Headlight.News has more.
In this week’s episode of the Headlight News podcast, we talk about Kei cars, the Trump administration cutting fuel economy standards, the latest grades from Consumer Reports, Toyota’s new supercars, plus a review of the 2026 Infiniti QX60 Autograph as well as look back at this week in automotive history. Check it out and give us some feedback!
The electric vehicle segment took a blow at the end of September, when the federal EV tax incentives disappeared. Not only did it chill new vehicle sales overall, it may also have slowed the ongoing development of the vehicles. There may be no better example than the 2025 Kia Niro EV Wave. Check out our review to see more.
They’re some of the smallest cars in the world and make up 40% of the Japanese domestic market. But could “Kei cars” find a niche here in the United States? That’s something Pres. Don Trump suggested this week as he announced a rollback of federal fuel economy standards. More from Headlight.News.
The Trump administration moved ahead with plans to gut fuel economy standards set by former Pres. Joe Biden – effectively eliminating any significant role for EVs. But the proposal is expected to face stiff challenges and may have little impact on the price of new vehicles, as Headlight.News reports.
The Trump administration has invited executives from the three Detroit automakers to be on hand at the White House today as details on the rollback of current corporate average fuel economy standards are announced. It’s the latest move by the president to back off of automotive emissions and safety standards set during the prior Biden administration. More from Headlight.News.