Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Friday, July 18. TGIF!
It's not a good time to sell imported luxury or ultraluxury vehicles in the U.S. Sales and registration data reported by Jack Walsworth in this story point out a clear downward trend for upscale brands in 2025.
And given that the full bite of President Donald Trump's tariffs and trade wars won't be felt until the third and fourth quarters, there's little hope for sales gains for the luxury brands in the U.S. this year.
Why? The simple answer is that most luxury and ultraluxury vehicles come to the U.S. from Europe.
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Granted, higher sticker prices from tariffs are the very definition of a first-world problem for wealthy car buyers. Paul Waatti, director of industry analysis at AutoPacific, told Walsworth that exotic and ultraluxury vehicle shoppers are less price-sensitive than others.
"But that doesn't mean they're indifferent," Waatti said. "A $50,000 swing in tariffs or taxes might not dissuade someone buying a $400,000 vehicle, but it could shift the timing or the configuration."
Customers are canceling orders for $750,000 Lamborghini Revueltos when the price rises an additional $75,000 because of tariffs, said one dealer who requested not to be identified.
Robert DiStanislao, president of RDS Automotive, a prominent ultraluxury dealership group, said the wind has come out of the sails at his stores, which represent Bugatti, McLaren, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche and Ineos, Walsworth wrote.
"It's incredibly frustrating," DiStanislao said. "Because of the uncertainty, people are canceling orders and don't know how to proceed. It's ruining confidence on a multitude of levels."
In other stories, Subaru is about to find out if its third battery-powered automobile can thrive in an environment that's not as welcoming as it once envisioned, Larry P. Vellequette reports in this piece.
Its new baby EV — the Crosstrek-size 2026 Subaru Uncharted, which will be the smallest and the newest EV in its U.S. lineup — is scheduled to arrive in U.S. dealerships early next year. But its sales birth will happen without the lucrative federal subsidies that have helped other automakers find buyers for their EVs, Vellequette wrote. As always, the key to success for this vehicle will be price. Stay tuned.
That's it for now. Have a great weekend. If you want to read this story in your browser, click here.
— Philip Nussel, online editor
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