Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Thursday, May 1
The April U.S. sales numbers — from the automakers reporting monthly results — looked robust today, led by Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Honda, Ford and Toyota.
Deliveries surged 14 percent for the seven automakers that reported results today.
Ford Motor Co.'s employee pricing incentives, extended through the July 4 weekend, clearly worked, with sales rising 16 percent. As Larry P. Vellequette reports, truck sales led the way for Ford, rising 19 percent over a year ago, with SUVs up 13 percent, the company said. F-Series sales jumped 13 percent in the month, while Maverick sales rose 67 percent. Lincoln sales jumped 40 percent in April to 11,615, the automaker said.
Toyota Motor Corp. generated a 10 percent boost during the month, highlighted by a tripling of Prius sales, a 72 percent surge in Sienna deliveries and a 45 percent gain from Tacoma pickups. Lexus sales improved 23 percent.
Honda Motor Co. said deliveries rose 18 percent in April to 137,656, led by a 33 percent jump at its premium Acura brand.
Read more: Live updates on tariff news and impacts
Interactive map: Auto manufacturing sites in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico
It all begs the question: How much of these sales gains are cannibalizing future months with buyers accelerating their decisions in fear of tariffs? After all, tariff concerns and low consumer confidence are surely going to impact buying decisions, right? You wouldn't know it based on April and year-to-date results.
"With economic concerns rising and consumer confidence declining, the outlook for new-auto sales from here is more troubling," Cox Automotive Senior Economist Charles Chesbrough said in our story.
Meanwhile, General Motors took a stab at predicting how much tariffs would ding its results this year. The company's best guess is that tariffs as currently configured will cost the company $4 billion to $5 billion. But, of course, it's all subject to change.
Mercedes-Benz signaled plans to add production of a core model in 2027 to its 30-year-old assembly operations in Vance, Ala. Our story today by Urvaksh Karkaria says Mercedes did not disclose the nameplate. But AutoForecast Solutions predicts Mercedes will build the compact GLC crossover at the plant near Tuscaloosa.
"Adding production in the U.S. just makes sense," Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions, said in our story. "Not only does it fill the plant, but it gets the company around the costly tariffs associated with imports from the EU."
Speaking of the GLC, Mercedes plans to unveil a new full-electric GLC at the Munich auto show in September. The GLC will replace the full-electric EQC, which Mercedes stopped making last year.
Finally, you don't see many stories about it, but leading global auto suppliers are still developing new business in China despite ongoing trade and political tensions between Washington and Beijing.
In a story from China correspondent Yang Jian, Aptiv is on track to open two plants in China this year amid the automotive technology supplier's ongoing efforts to localize production and technology development in the country. Aptiv operates 21 factories and three tech centers in China, with the number of local employees exceeding 33,500, our story says.
Separately, Aptiv said today that it swung to a net loss of $11 million during the first quarter compared with net income of $218 million a year ago. Revenue slipped 2 percent to $4.8 billion. Adjusted operating income improved 5 percent to $572 million.
Looking ahead to Friday, we'll have first-quarter results for suppliers Magna International Inc. and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. We'll no doubt learn more about the impact of tariffs on the two leading North American suppliers.
That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day.
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— Philip Nussel, online editor
