Happy Wednesday! It’s January 28, 2026, 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 GM’s reaction to Canada welcoming Chinese EVs, as well as the Trump administration’s attempts to make Mercedes-Benz an American company. We’ll also look at BYD’s expansion plans for 2026, and GM workers getting enrolled in the Jelly of the Month club.
1st Gear: Mary Barra ‘can’t explain’ Canada welcoming Chinese EVs, says it’s a ‘very slippery slope’
Canada recently reworked its international trade deals to welcome Chinese EVs, and last night we got GM CEO Mary Barra’s thoughts on the move. She sounds, in a word, miffed — perhaps even baffled. From the Wall Street Journal:
A recent deal by Canada to allow tens of thousands of inexpensive Chinese electric vehicles into the country is a risk to North American auto manufacturing, General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra said Tuesday.
Barra said Canada’s China deal, announced earlier this month, is counter to building a strong North American industrial base and to protecting jobs and national security on the continent.
“I can’t explain why the decision was made in Canada,” Barra said during an all-hands meeting with employees Tuesday. “It becomes a very slippery slope.”
The appeal is, of course, obvious. Canada isn’t immune to the global cost of living crisis, and politicians that deliver cheaper, more efficient cars to their constituents are likely to be seen as doing something to help — especially when they come up for reelection.
2nd Gear: Trump administration tried to lure Mercedes headquarters to US
Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius doesn’t seem to be the biggest fan of Germany. The Trump administration apparently took notice of this, and sent Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to try and poach the company’s headquarters over to U.S. shores. As you might imagine, it didn’t work out. From Bloomberg:
Mercedes-Benz Group AG’s chief executive officer turned down a Trump cabinet secretary’s attempt to lure the manufacturer’s headquarters to the US from Germany, where its roots date back to the invention of the automobile.
In an interview with The Pioneer, a German media outlet, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius said US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made the overture roughly a year ago, dangling tax relief and other incentives. Although Källenius declined, Mercedes later announced plans to shift production of a sport utility vehicle from Germany to its existing plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
…
Källenius has repeatedly condemned German bureaucracy and labor costs, and has drawn ire from worker representatives after publicly highlighting high sick-leave rates. During his tenure, Mercedes has shifted some production to plants in Kecskemét, Hungary, as well as China and the US.
Europe has plenty of strong worker protections, so it makes sense that the Trump administration wouldn’t understand the appeal of running a company there. Fortunately for Mercedes workers, Källenius gets it a little more.
3rd Gear: BYD sets its sights on Europe and Canada for 2026
BYD is the best-selling EV maker in the world, and it’s looking to extend its lead over the floundering Tesla in 2026. To do that, it’s aiming to get even more buyers in Europe — and taking advantage of that Canadian trade deal that Mary Barra maligned. From Automotive News:
Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD plans a big leap into international markets this year, eyeing further expansion in Europe and possibly Canada, as international sales supersede domestic demand as its profit engine.
Sales outside China are expected to surge 24 percent to 1.30 million vehicles in 2026, following a huge expansion the year before, the company said.
BYD is considering a second assembly plant in Europe, even as its readies its first to start production in Hungary in the coming months. Meanwhile, the company is assessing a possible entry into the Canadian market, following the recent trade deal between Ottawa and Beijing to lower tariffs on China-built EVs.
Building your second factory on a continent before the first is even pumping out cars is bold, but BYD’s cars seem popular — the company likely understands its appeal, and is scaling production to match.
4th Gear: GM workers will get smaller bonuses for 2025
GM employees usually get a bonus check every February, but next month’s checks will likely be smaller than those workers hoped. The company didn’t hit all its financial goals for 2025, and workers will pay the price. From the Detroit Free Press:
GM’s bonus program is dependent on both an employee’s performance and the company’s. The automaker, which reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings on Jan. 27, fell short of the performance targets it hit in 2024. Therefore, GM will use a smaller multiplier to calculate bonus payouts for salaried workers, two people confirmed to the Detroit Free Press. The people asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the news media.Those sources also said that GM informed its salaried workforce on Jan. 27 that the bonus percentage in its formula that determines employees’ bonuses will be a multiplier of 114% ― a significant drop when compared with last year’s 144%.
What that 114% multiplier means for a salaried employee who has a base salary of $100,000, in a salary category that earned a 13% bonus, is they could receive a bonus of about $14,820 compared with the previous year when that person would have received a bonus of $18,720 at 144%. The calculation assumes that employee met their own performance objectives. A source familiar with GM’s plan confirmed those figures.
That source also noted that the salaried employees’ bonus formula was impacted by the rising cost due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs the same way the profit-sharing checks to union employees were impacted. Trump imposed 25% tariffs on all imported cars and auto parts in March 2025. Though the tariff landscape changed repeatedly in 2025, and GM altered its strategy to avoid a worse impact, GM ultimately recorded a $3.1 billion tariff hit for the year.
“The Trump administration took money from your bonus check” seems like a winning message for Democrats going into the midterms, so don’t expect to ever hear it. Just be happy with your Jelly of the Month Club membership.
Reverse: The Bath Riots
Where we are today, as a country, didn’t come out of nowhere.
On The Radio: the Mountain Goats – ‘Woke Up New’
