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A recent report from a notable investment bank says newly imposed 25% tariffs on imported vehicles and components could decimate the 2035 earnings of European automaker Stellantis by as much as 75%. The automaker currently relies heavily on North American factories outside the US for that respective market, which contributes to a massive portion of its annual sales.

The impact of the Trump administration’s newly imposed 25% tariffs continues to echo throughout the global automotive industry. We are just starting to get a taste of their potential impact on many foreign OEMs, even those who assemble vehicles sold in the US in North America.

Starting April 3rd, 2025, the Trump administration plans to impose 25% tariffs on all cars and light trucks assembled outside the US and on all foreign auto parts. Still, the US government is extending the exemption to parts from Canada and Mexico under the USMCA free trade agreement until May 3rd.

Thus, many foreign automakers, like Stellantis, are staring down the barrel of a devastating earnings year, even though many of its vehicles sold in the US aren’t even built in Europe but in Canada and Mexico. A new report states that Stellantis’ 2025 earnings could stumble as far down as 75%, potentially putting the European auto conglomerate into a dire financial situation if nothing changes.

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Jeep Wagoneer S (Source: Stellantis)

Stellantis’ 2025 earnings face huge hurdle from US tariffs

As Automotive News Europe shared, the report from investment bank Jeffries outlined a trying earnings year for Stellantis. The bank pointed out that Stellantis’ US sales rely heavily on vehicles assembled at facilities in Canada and Mexico, in addition to approximately 58,000 additional vehicles imported from Europe in 2024. This includes marques like Maserati, Alfa Romeo, and Jeep.

Based on Stellantis’ 2024 financial and vehicle sales results, Jeffries stated that the incoming tariffs would have cost the company $7.1 billion in earnings and estimates its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) will be $9.3 billion.

Stellantis was already on shaky ground before the threat of tariff imports as the automaker’s 2024 EBIT tumbled by 64% after a September profit warning that led to the resignation of outspoken and many times dubious CEO Carlos Tavares. Company chairman John Elkann has taken over in the interim while Stellantis looks to announce Tavares’ successor in the first half of this year.

A significant threat to earnings will undoubtedly play a role in whom Stellantis selects to take the helm and navigate a global vehicle market that is becoming more cut-throat and competitive (with a dash of nationalism) every day, stoked by Trump and his Harem Guard Elon Musk.

Aside from manufacturing footprints in Europe, Mexico, and Canada, Stellantis operates facilities on US soil, contributing to roughly 61% of its branded vehicles sold there. However, Jeffries pointed out that those sites are significantly underutilized (52%) due to declining sales rates among US consumers.

Stellantis could pivot production from Mexico and Canada to the US if necessary and utilize a current build capacity of 1.3 million vehicles to avoid tariffs. Still, a transition of that scale is more easily said than done. During a recent call with analysts, Elkann spoke about looming tariffs and their effect on earnings, as well as the entire American Automotive Policy Council, of which Stellantis is a member. He reiterated the message delivered by the council:

(It) made a very clear statement about the dialogue ongoing with the Trump administration, and the importance of the competitiveness of the integrated North American automotive sector. But more importantly, the concern on the affordability of our products, our products made in America, and the implications on demand, on what will this uncertainty mean for demand in the United States of America.

Elkann relayed a commitment to the US administration’s vision to bring more work to the US but wants to ensure those measures don’t necessitate automakers raising MSRPs to remain competitive (and not go bankrupt in the process).

Stellantis’ stock is its lowest in years following the tariff announcement, so whoever takes over as CEO will have their work cut out for them in 2025 and beyond.

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BMW hits pause on EV production in the US, but don’t expect prices to rise yet

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BMW hits pause on EV production in the US, but don't expect prices to rise yet

BMW told dealers it plans to freeze EV production in the US in May as it deals with the uncertainty surrounding the new auto tariffs. Despite the pause, BMW said it won’t raise prices on most imported vehicles. At least, for now.

Why is BMW pausing EV production in the US?

After celebrating the assembly of its seven millionth vehicle in the US this week, BMW, like most major automakers, is bracing for a shakeup under the Trump Administration.

According to Automotive News, BMW told its dealers on April 29 that it will “postpone” EV production in the US in May. The note didn’t specify a reason, but it’s more than likely due to Trump’s 25% tariff on vehicle imports.

The luxury automaker has had more success than most of its peers with four electric vehicles: the i4, i5, i7, and iX. However, all four are built in Germany.

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In the first three months of 2025, BMW sold 13,538 EVs, up 26% from Q1 2024. The i4 was BMW’s top seller with sales surging 57% to 7,125, followed by the iX at 3,626. In comparison, Mercedes-Benz sold just 3,472 electric vehicles in the US in the first quarter, down 58% year-over-year (YOY).

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2025 BMW i4 M50 xDrive (Source: BMW)

Sebastian Mackensen, President & CEO of BMW of North America, said the company “remains in a strong position in the US, where the majority of the vehicles we sell in this market are also assembled.”

BMW also told dealers in the memo that it will not raise prices on most imported vehicles through June. The only exception is the 2 Series and M2 performance coupe.

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2026 BMW iX xDrive60 (Source: BMW)

The news comes after most major automakers, including GM, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Stellantis, withdrew their financial guidance this week due to the uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs.

Earlier today, Ford CEO Jim Farley told CNN, “We’re all trying to figure this out to do the right thing for the country,” adding, “It’s going to take a little time.” In the meantime, expect to see more drastic measures being taken.

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Ford is still offering big discounts including employee pricing and free EV chargers

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Ford is still offering big discounts including employee pricing and free EV chargers

After extending several promotions this week, Ford is offering significant discounts that could save you thousands. In addition to employee pricing on most Ford and Lincoln vehicles, the company is offering a free home charger with the purchase of an EV. Here’s how you can snag some discounts.

Ford launched its “From America, For America” campaign earlier this month, offering employee prices for all on most 2024 and 2025 models.

The promo was initially expected to end on June 2, but CEO Jim Farley told CNN in an interview on Wednesday that the company is extending it through July 4. Although the campaign now runs another month, Farley said he can’t promise prices won’t go up when the offer expires.

As for how much of a discount, it will depend on the vehicle’s cost. Under the employee pricing plan, the 2025 Mustang Mach-E, with an MSRP of $36,495, costs just $34,599. The 2025 F-150 Lightning, with an MSRP of $62,995, is nearly $5,000 off, at just $58,183.

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“We want to keep our prices competitive and low,” Farley explained. Like most automakers, Ford is bracing for the impact of the new auto tariffs in the US.

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2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E (Source: Ford)

Outside of Tesla, Ford builds a greater percentage of vehicles in the US than any other major automaker. According to Farley, “This is an opportunity for Ford.” He explained that Ford has “a different footprint, a different exposure for tariffs.”

Ford imports around 21% of the vehicles it sells in the US. Crosstown rival GM imports around 46%. According to S&P Global Mobility, Ford made around 2 million cars in the US last year. It also built around 391,000 in Mexico and 54,000 in Canada.

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Ford Mustang Mach-E (left) and F-150 Lightning (right) (Source: Ford)

For EV buyers, Ford is also extending its Power Promise program, which offers a free Level 2 home charger (plus standard installation) with the purchase of an F-150 Lightning or Mustang Mach-E.

Other benefits include 24/7 live electric vehicle support, roadside assistance, and an 8-year, 100,000-mile battery warranty. The promo now runs through July 6.

Ready to take advantage of the savings? We can help you get started. You can use our links below to find deals on the Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E at a dealer near you.

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Waymo and Toyota partner to go after Tesla with personal self-driving vehicles

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Waymo and Toyota partner to go after Tesla with personal self-driving vehicles

Waymo and Toyota have announced a partnership aimed at competing with Tesla in the development of personally owned self-driving vehicles.

Waymo is already widely regarded as the market leader in autonomous driving, as it currently provides approximately 250,000 autonomous paid rides per week in the few markets where it operates.

Tesla is playing catch-up as it plans to offer the same service Waymo offers, starting in Austin in June, with 10 to 20 vehicles.

However, there’s an area of autonomous driving where Tesla is still seen as the market leader: personally owned self-driving vehicles.

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While Tesla has yet to deliver on its promise of unsupervised self-driving capability in its consumer vehicles, it uses the same technology in those as it plans to do in its internal fleet in Austin, albeit with more Austin-specific training and some teleoperation assists.

Some see this as an opportunity for Tesla to take the lead in personally owned autonomous vehicles if it can solve self-driving on its current hardware, which is a big if.

It already has smoothly integrated sensors that don’t clash with the designs of its vehicles, which is something that car buyers care about, but it’s not a big deal for an autonomous ride-hailing fleet, which is what Waymo has focused on so far.

Now, Waymo and Toyota have announced that they are exploring collaboration on autonomous vehicles :

Toyota Motor Corporation (“Toyota”) and Waymo reached a preliminary agreement to explore a collaboration focused on accelerating the development and deployment of autonomous driving technologies. Woven by Toyota will also join the potential collaboration as Toyota’s strategic enabler, contributing its strengths in advanced software and mobility innovation. This potential partnership is built on a shared vision of improving road safety and delivering increased mobility for all.

More specifically, the collaboration will focus on “next-generation personally owned vehicles (POVs)”:

Toyota and Waymo aim to combine their respective strengths to develop a new autonomous vehicle platform. In parallel, the companies will explore how to leverage Waymo’s autonomous technology and Toyota’s vehicle expertise to enhance next-generation personally owned vehicles (POVs). The scope of the collaboration will continue to evolve through ongoing discussions.

This would point to Waymo integrating its technology into Toyota’s vehicles for consumers.

While it’s still early, Waymo appears to be doing something Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, claimed Tesla would be doing soon: announcing deals to integrate its ‘Full Self-Driving’ technology in vehicles built by other automakers.

For more than a year, Musk has said that Tesla has been in discussions with other automakers about licensing its self-driving technology, which is still in development; however, no progress has been disclosed about those discussions yet.

Waymo also announced a similar partnership with Hyundai last year, though this one is expected to first focus on Waymo using Hyundai vehicles for its own autonomous ride-hailing fleet.

Electrek’s Take

This is a big deal. The world’s leader in autonomous vehicles is partnering with the world’s largest automaker.

It’s still early in the collaboration, as per the press release, but it does sound like Waymo is going to develop a hardware suite that can be fitted into Toyota’s consumer vehicles.

This would go after Musk’s argument that Waymo can’t compete with Tesla due to the high cost of its autonomous vehicles.

Waymo’s counterargument is that it hasn’t focused on cost because safety is the priority, and the cost of the vehicles doesn’t matter as much if they are to be used in an internal ride-hailing fleet.

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