Volkswagen is teaming up with Uber to field what eventually could be thousands of fully driverless ID.Buzz microbuses. The first should show up on Los Angeles streets next year. Headlight.News has more.
Regulatory
Trump Administration Eases Rules for Autonomous Vehicle Development Standards
Under the guise of unleashing “American ingenuity,” the Trump administration eased some of the rules regarding the development and testing autonomous vehicles. Among the changes, automakers will not be required to report certain types of crashes involving their self-driving cars. Find out more at Headlight.News.
Musk Says He’s Returning in a Month to Focus on Tesla
Tesla CEO Elon Musk attempted to use the EV maker’s earnings calls to quell concerns about his work with the Trump administration. He plans to leave his day-to-day role at the Department of Government Efficiency in a month to focus on Tesla. Get details about Musk’s plans and Tesla at Headlight.News.
Tesla’s Q1 Earnings Fall Short of Wall Street Expectations
EV maker Tesla’s first-quarter earnings didn’t meet Wall Street expectations. Analysts predicted the company’s earnings would be flat on a year-over-year basis, but the company’s revenues were down 9%, and its adjusted earnings slid 17%. Find out more at Headlight.News.
Tesla Accused of Rigging Odometers to Minimize Warranty Claims
Tesla faces a new lawsuit accusing the company of intentionally inflating the mileage shown on its vehicles’ odometers in order to avoid warranty claims. The new class action suit filed in California could expose the automaker to potentially massive fines, penalties and other costs under both state and federal law if it were found to be rigging odometer readings. Separately, CEO Elon Musk signaled that Tesla will have to replace as many as 4 million onboard computers not capable of operating the latest version of the company’s Full Self-Driving system.
Ford Warns Dealers Tariff Price Hikes are Coming
As buyers snap up unsold vehicles, Ford cautions dealers prices will be going up as the result of the new Trump auto tariffs. And other manufacturers say they likely will follow. More from Headlight.News.
Higher Tariffs, Plummeting Consumer Confidence, Threaten to Crash Auto Sales
The outlook for the automotive industry is starting to look increasingly dim, automakers frantically searching for a way to respond to the Trump administration’s broad tariff on imported autos and auto parts. The question is whether to raise prices and risk a sharp slump in sales or absorb tariffs and crash earnings.
Trump May Offer Exemptions on Import Auto Tariffs
President Donald Trump signaled he may again reverse himself on a key part of his tariff plan, this time telling reporters that he is “looking at” temporary exemptions from the 25% tariffs covering imported autos and auto parts. Experts warned that plan would add thousands of dollars to the cost of both U.S. and foreign-made vehicles and cost the industry nearly 2 million sales for all of 2025. Headlight.News has more.
Trump Puts 90-Day Freeze on Tariffs, Except China and Automakers
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. Traffic Deaths Fall 3.8% in 2024 Continuing Trend
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.
Frantic Automakers Search for Trump Tariff Strategies
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.
New Car Sales Jump in March But Tariffs May Cause 1.8M Drop in 2025 Sales
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.