Automakers Eke Out Small Victory On Tariffs

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, April 30, 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 the ever-shifting world of automotive tariffs, as well as BMW’s EV-light response. We’ll also take a look at an automaker White House field trip, and how many OEMs are just straight-up admitting they have absolutely no idea what to expect from the future.

Bet you didn’t expect this one: A TMS first gear about tariffs. Original, I know, but they’re hitting the auto industry in new ways every day. Today, for instance, automakers actually get a bit of relief — they won’t be double-charged with tariffs for both parts and fully-assembled cars. From the Wall Street Journal: 

The decision, which Trump issued in a pair of proclamations Tuesday as he traveled to Michigan for a rally, means that automakers paying Trump’s automotive tariffs won’t also be charged for other duties, such as those on steel and aluminum or those imposed on Canada and Mexico due to the fentanyl trade. The move would be retroactive, meaning that automakers could be reimbursed for such tariffs paid since some tariffs on Canada and Mexico went into effect in early March.

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Trump’s tariffs on China, however, will continue applying on top of auto and parts tariffs.

The administration also modified its tariffs on foreign auto parts—slated to be 25% and effective May 3—allowing automakers to be reimbursed for those tariffs up to an amount equal to 3.75% of the value of a U.S.-made car for one year. The reimbursement would fall to 2.5% of the car’s value in a second year, and then be phased out altogether.

Can we, as journalists, all just agree to stop pretending this has anything to do with fentanyl? These are clearly protectionist trade practices being enacted globally. We don’t need to shoehorn some vague references to The Drug That Kills Instantly Even If You Don’t Touch It to pretend there’s more moral backing here. 

We live on a dying planet, and it’s dying at the hands of our various emissions-producing industries. Gas-burning cars are a major contributor to the rapid decay of our ecosystem and its ability to support human life, which means there’s at least one quick fix we can implement to buy ourselves some time: Electrify our private vehicle fleet. Unfortunately, automakers will only do what makes them the most money for the next fiscal quarter, so they’re still trepidatious about this whole “continued survival” thing. From Automotive News:

BMW, in an April 29 memo, told U.S. retailers that it will “postpone” electric vehicle production in May.

The memo did not provide a reason for the decision, and a BMW spokesperson declined to comment on the company’s communications with its dealers.

Will your earnings per share save you when the floodwaters arrive at your door? Will quarterly returns spell your salvation when a twister hits your home? Almost certainly, yeah. The people making these decisions will be the last to feel their impact. 

The White House is hosting automakers today, but not just any mom-and-pop auto CEO can roll up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The meeting is only for manufacturers who have promised to drop serious money on new factories in the States, from Hyundai to Nvidia. Yes, auto parts suppliers count too — they’ve got their own tariffs, after all. From Automotive News:

Officials from Hyundai Motor Co. and Toyota Motor North America are among those expected at the April 30 meeting, according to people briefed on the invitation. Both automakers were on a list of companies the White House said have committed to invest a combined $5 trillion in U.S. manufacturing since President Donald Trump took office in January.

The list also includes Stellantis, Nvidia and Siemens.

Representatives from MEMA, the association that supports auto supply chains, also are expected at the meeting, which comes a day after Trump agreed to ease his tariffs on imported vehicles. The tariffs, imposed April 3, triggered investment announcements from automakers and other manufacturers.

The meeting likely won’t have any major revelations, after yesterday’s updates to tariff policy, but you genuinely never know right now. The winds could shift at any moment, and that meeting could as easily end in the status quo as it could end with Nvidia buying Stellantis. Who even knows any more, no one can predict what’s next for 2025. 

Oh, hey, looks like automakers can’t figure it out either. Remember way back in the youthful bliss of yesterday, when GM said its estimates for 2025 were out the window because the company can no longer predict what’s coming down the pipe? Well, now Mercedes is making the same declaration, per Reuters:

Mercedes-Benz on Wednesday pulled its earnings guidance for 2025 amid uncertainty over the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on car imports, as the German automaker posted sharply lower first-quarter profit.

“Clearly Mercedes-Benz is a global player … we don’t fear competition in any direction,” CEO Ola Källenius told analysts. “But that’s not the environment we’re operating in.”

As is Stellantis, per Automotive News:

Stellantis posted weaker sales on slumping demand in North America, while suspending its financial guidance for the year on uncertainty tied to President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs.

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Guidance was withdrawn because the evolving U.S. tariff policies make it hard to predict possible effects on market volumes and the competitive landscape.

No one knows what’s happening any more, no one knows what to expect, but everyone can hazard a guess that they’ll make less money than they’d hoped. Eggs, though. At least the eggs are going well. Please no one correct me on the eggs. 

I’m familiar with this whole “internet” thing. The world wide web. It’s where I work, and where I try to spend as little non-work time as I can muster. Pro tip: If you find yourself spending too many non-work hours on the world wide web, consider purchasing ten frisbees. It worked for me. 

Who’s been watching GQuuuuuuX? As soon as this song showed up, I did the Leo DiCaprio pointing at the screen thing because I knew the vocals from somewhere. If you were also curious, Kenshi Yonezu also did KICK BACK from Chainsaw Man — possibly the greatest anime OP of all time.