Wall Street Journal (August 1)
“There is an irony in Detroit right now: The automaker most reliant on U.S. manufacturing is among the hardest hit by tariffs.” Of any automaker, Ford manufactures the most vehicles in the U.S. “Some 80% of the cars Ford sells in the U.S. are built there,” but Ford is being “put it at a disadvantage with foreign rivals. Those deals now set a 15% tariff rate.” Ford which paid $800 million for tariffs in Q2 has been particularly hard hit as it “faces steeper tariffs on many parts as well as higher costs for imported aluminum, which is subject to 50% duties.”
Tags: $800 million, 15%, 50, Aluminum, Automaker, Detroit, Disadvantage, Ford, Foreign rivals, Irony, Manufacturing, Parts, Q2, Reliant, Tariffs, U.S., Vehicles
Washington Post (July 4)
“Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index closed Thursday at a fresh record high of 40,913.65, pushing past its most recent record close set in March on heavy buying of automaker and technology shares…. Both foreign and domestic investors have piled into the Japanese market in recent months even as the economy has slowed.” The weak yen is “part of the attraction…. But changes to investment regulations have also lured many Japanese investors into the equity market.”
Tags: Automaker, Domestic, Economy, Foreign, Heavy buying, Investors, Japan, Market, Nikkei 225, Record high, Shares, Technology, Weak yen
Wall Street Journal (January 3)
“Chinese automaker BYD for the first time topped Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles on a quarterly basis, a sign of China’s emerging strength in the global market for battery-powered cars…. The Chinese rival’s ascent in the global pecking order has put new pressure on Tesla at a time when the U.S. electric-car maker is already leaning on steep price cuts to juice its sales.”
Tags: Ascent, Automaker, Battery-powered, BYD, China, Emerging, EVs, Global market, Pressure, Price cuts, Sales, Strength, Tesla, U.S.
New York Times (January 5)
“Toyota Motor unseated General Motors as the top-selling automaker in the United States last year, becoming the first manufacturer based outside the country to achieve that feat in the industry’s nearly 120-year history.” Coming amidst a “tumultuous” year shaken by supply chain and manufacturing issues, the milestone also “underlines the changes shaking automakers… as they move into electric vehicles.”
Tags: 120 years, Automaker, EVs, GM, Issues, Manufacturing, Milestone, Supply chain, Top-selling, Toyota, Tumultuous, U.S.
New York Times (September 23)
“What was Volkswagen thinking?” Clearly it was not about the massive fallout that has ensued since the automaker’s rigged emissions tests, affecting 11 million vehicles, came to light. “For something this deceitful and stupid, a corporate mea culpa is not enough. Volkswagen must explain how something like this could happen, and identify those who came up with the idea and authorized it.”
Tags: Automaker, Deceitful, Emissions, Fallout, Volkswagen
