- It’s Official: U.S. Will Not Renew USMCA - U.S. Car Sales Only Up 0.4% - Mining, Not Refining, The Big Bottleneck for Batteries - Robotaxi Companies Will Struggle to Scale - BYD Wants Legacy EU Plant - China Sets New Safety Rules for Batteries - VW To Sell Stakes in Futbol Clubs - Autoline Helps Ford Museum Get Car It Wants

AD #4331 - It’s Official: U.S. Will Not Renew USMCA; U.S. Car Sales Only Up 0.4%; BYD Wants Legacy EU Plant

Autoline Daily

# Full Transcript

**Podcast:** Autoline Daily

## Transcript

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[SPEAKER_C] This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to all of you enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. Well, Sean is still on jury duty, and so I'm still filling in. But let's get to the show. You know, we said it could happen, then we said it will happen, and now it has happened. It's official. The United States will not renew the USMCA trade agreement. Instead, the Trump administration will conduct annual reviews of the pact, which is exactly what all the automakers and suppliers in North America did not want to see happen. All they see is years and years of arguments and negotiations over tariffs and rules of origin that will continue to leave their supply chains in chaos. Yesterday, every single automotive trade and industry group representing automakers, suppliers, car dealers, and consumers came out with a joint statement urging the administration to extend the USMCA, calling it—and I'm quoting them here—"a success story for the entire U.S. auto industry." Just weeks ago, Swamy Kotagiri, the CEO of Magna, said he wanted a new USMCA agreement to provide stability and visibility so Magna would know when and where to invest its capital. Obviously, he's not getting that, which leaves those investments in limbo. Look, we commend the Trump administration for wanting to revive manufacturing jobs in America. But the way it's going about doing it is leaving the industry in chaos, facing uncertainty, tangled up in red tape, and dealing with higher costs. So how are sales of new cars and trucks doing in the American market? What with high gasoline prices, high interest rates, the cost of tariffs, and everything else that's going on? They're barely treading water, but at least they're not down. According to the investment bank Stephens Incorporated, Q2 sales were up 0.4% compared to a year ago. Automakers sold 4.2 million vehicles. But here's the interesting thing. In the last quarter, the NYSE, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ have all posted double-digit gains. As AI and microchip mania drove the markets up. That was supposed to generate a wealth effect, but if it did, it didn't show up in new car sales, or at least not for a good chunk of the luxury brands. BMW and Mercedes did well, but Lexus, Audi, Acura, Cadillac, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Porsche all reported lower sales. One interesting point about Cadillac: Its sales were down 19%, but its EVs were up 3.5%. And 34% of every Cadillac sold was an electric. Meanwhile, any...

AD #4331 - It’s Official: U.S. Will Not Renew USMCA; U.S. Car Sales Only Up 0.4%; BYD Wants Legacy EU Plant

Transcript

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AD #4331 - It’s Official: U.S. Will Not Renew USMCA; U.S. Car Sales Only Up 0.4%; BYD Wants Legacy EU Plant

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are findingedge in conversations you're not hearing.

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.