Get Ready For Car Prices To Climb

Happy Monday! It’s October 13, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you’ll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In this morning’s edition, we’re looking at how car prices are about to get even higher, and how GM may be insulated from China’s latest export controls on magnets. We’ll also look at Chinese car sales, and some rearranging at the heights of Ford. 

Automakers are businesses, which means they’re not building cars for the simple joy of solving complex engineering problems — they’re doing it to make money. The problem is that all these tariffs are now eating into that money, and automakers are getting tired of paying for them out of their own pockets. From Automotive News:

The arrival of the 2026 model year brings updated technology, fresh designs and a prime opportunity for automakers to cover more of their tariff costs by raising sticker prices.

So far, most brands that are paying more to get vehicles from overseas factories onto U.S. dealership lots have largely absorbed those costs into their bottom line and expanded domestic sourcing to avoid the tariffs when possible.

But their appetite to let President Donald Trump’s import taxes erode their profits is fading as more new models roll out and tariff bills continue to pile up. The duties Trump began imposing in April could cut automakers’ operating profitability by more than $30 billion this year, analysts at Moody’s estimated Oct. 6.

The question facing automakers trying to navigate a still-uncertain global trade environment: How much more can they reasonably ask buyers to pay while keeping their products competitive?

Are we tired of winning yet?

China’s response to American tariffs has come in a few forms, but one that’s gotten a lot of press is locking down exports. Companies that use Chinese magnets have had to pay more and more for less and less supply, and that supply is now getting even further restricted. GM, though, may actually come out unscathed. From the Wall Street Journal: 

Last week China introduced new draconian restrictions on rare-earth magnet exports, a reminder of its power to disrupt global supply chains—and cause American manufacturers, including carmakers, to halt production.

American auto companies have long relied on China for the magnets, which are essential for making everything from electric motors to headlights and windshield wipers.

But today, one automaker, General Motors, has less reason to fret.

In 2021, GM made the bold bet of investing in rare-earth magnet production in the U.S., as part of a broader effort to cut its reliance on China for parts, components and materials. As a result, in the coming months, GM is now set to be the only U.S. automaker with a large direct supply of American-made rare-earth magnets from multiple factories.

It has been a risky bet. GM had to commit to long-term purchase agreements with new suppliers, in some cases relatively unproven ones, whose magnets are more expensive than the Chinese ones.

Magnets are only getting more important to automaking as the world increasingly shifts to electric vehicles, which rely on magnets in their drive motors. Of course, the United States has decided that EVs are far too woke, so maybe we’ll all be fine here. Until the next natural disaster drowns us all, at least. 

As America increasingly positions itself as a market foreign companies need not do business in, China seems more than happy to pick up the slack. We’re charging more for imported cars, and selling them to a populace that’s increasingly unable to afford them anyway. China, though, is just selling cars to happy buyers. From Reuters:

China’s car sales accelerated in September, the traditional peak season for the auto market, as dealers and consumers took advantage of trade-in subsidies before more local governments suspended the incentives

Domestic car sales rose 6.6% year-on-year to 2.27 million units, following a 4.9% increase in August, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Monday.

Sales of electric vehicles and hybrid cars made up 57.2% of total sales and grew 15.5%, compared to 7.5% in August.

Buyers in the U.S. are getting broker, and moving goods in is getting more and more expensive. If China and India decide to flex buyer power, multinational corporations would be entirely justified in leaving us behind. 

Ford’s European business makes all of us American enthusiasts jealous. There are small cars over there, Fiestas and Focii, all great cars that disappeared from our market years ago. Now, though, Ford Europe is getting a new dad. From the Detroit Free Press: 

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley is making several executive changes to strengthen the company’s global performance and improve vehicle quality.

The changes, announced on Oct. 10, include hiring a former General Motors’ leader, appointing a new head to Ford’s Europe business and putting Ford’s gasoline, hybrid, electric vehicles and Lincoln brand all under one leader.

…

The Dearborn-based automaker said Vice President of Advanced Product Development, Cycling Planning and Programs, Jim Baumbick, will become president of Ford Europe, effective Nov. 1.

…

Succeeding Baumbick as vice president of Advanced Product Development is Sam Basile effective Oct. 13.Basile has spent most of his nearly 30 years in the auto industry at GM where he held a variety of executive roles. Most recently, Basile was GM’s vice president of Global Product Programs. He will report to Kumar Galhotra, chief operating officer.

Hopefully Baumbick keeps the fun stuff around, because the world deserves the Fiesta. The kids need the Fiesta. The Navy needs the Fiesta. 

It’s almost cold enough in New York for me to bust out my Navy overcoat, with all the wind and rain we’ve got.