Welcome to today's edition of the Daily 5.
Here we go again.
For anyone who remembers President-elect Donald Trump's first term, his administration spent the better part of two years threatening major tariffs on European auto imports. This story from February 2019 was just one of many we published about the topic. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to just change the date on that story to November 2024.
This analysis today from Automotive News Europe's Lois Hoyal brings us up to date on the latest round of automotive tariff speculation faced by German automakers.
"In any scenario you can think of, German automakers are going to be at the center of the storm, if you believe Trump's rhetoric," Jacob Kirkegaard, senior fellow at Bruegel and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said in Hoyal's report. "German automakers are going to literally be in Trump's bull's-eye — he is going to 'end them,' if you believe what he has historically said."
In 2023, about 400,000 cars were exported from Germany to the U.S., according to the German Association of the Automotive Industry.
But hold on. In the world of tariffs, one set of tariffs usually creates retaliatory tariffs. Nobody knows how Germany would respond to new U.S. automotive tariffs.
Secondly, Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW all generate significant production of key vehicles at their U.S. plants in Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina. BMW's Spartanburg, S.C., assembly complex — the company's largest plant in the world — has been cranking out crossovers and other vehicles for 30 years.
As we reported last week, Japanese automakers face the same kind of dilemma with President Trump Part 2. Yes, import business could suffer, but their U.S. operations could flourish.
In other news, Tesla Inc. remains in the crosshairs of a safety probe by NHTSA over its Full Self-Driving software capabilities. NHTSA in October opened an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles with Full Self-Driving software after four reported collisions, including a 2023 fatal crash, during conditions including sun glare, fog and airborne dust, Reuters reported.
NHTSA told Tesla in May that its social media postings could encourage people to see Full Self-Driving as a robotaxi "rather than a partial automation/driver assist system that requires persistent attention and intermittent intervention by the driver," Reuters reported.
In more troubling job cuts in the supply chain, Webasto Roof Systems is slashing 218 jobs at two Michigan plants, as reported by our affiliate Crain's Detroit Business on Friday. The supplier, which counts the Ford Bronco among its largest programs, is cutting the third shift at factories in Plymouth Township and New Hudson, the company confirmed.
Meanwhile, Carvana's stock surge continues to make billions of dollars for shareholders — and for the Garcia family, as Bloomberg reported. Ernest Garcia II, a major shareholder and father of founder and CEO Ernie Garcia, sold $1.4 billion worth of Carvana shares recently. The stock continues to go through the roof. Shares in Carvana started the year under $50. Today, they closed just under $250, up 2.3 percent.
There has been plenty of good news coming out of Mazda's North American operations these days. Carly Schaffner's story today tells us more about Mazda dealer profits rising this year.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, we'll be taking a closer look at California's looming fight with the new Trump administration over the state's regulatory authority on auto emissions. This was another messy battle during the previous Trump administration. It promises to be just as controversial in 2025 and beyond.
That's it for today. Have a great rest of your afternoon.
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— Philip Nussel, online editor
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