AD #4028 – Corvette Unveils Hypercar Concept; EU, Asia Auto Stocks Tank Again; U.S. Battery Plants Cancelled Left & Right

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

EU, ASIA AUTO STOCKS TANK AGAIN
Looks like we could be talking about the impact of Trump’s tariffs for a while as automotive stocks in Europe and Asia took a pounding this morning. The Autoline stock index shows that European automakers fell another 4% on top of last week’s losses. Mercedes alone was down more than 6%, while European suppliers were down 5%. In Asia, the damage was even worse. Japanese automakers were down 5.7%, with Mitsubishi down 12%. In China, the traditional automakers were down 12%, and for the NEV automakers, the damage was profound. They were down 13.5%, with Leapmotor dropping a whopping 24.6%. Remember, Leapmotor is now in partnership with Stellantis and investors must be worried about the future. 

QUICK RECAP: OEMs MOVE QUICK TO COUNTERACT TARIFFS
But there’s a lot more happening than stock prices going down. General Motors hired about 250 workers to increase pickup truck production in the US. But Stellantis laid off 1,000 American workers, many of whom make parts that are shipped to Canada and Mexico, because plants in those countries have temporarily stopped production. Infiniti, Audi and Volkswagen have stopped shipments to the US of all vehicles made in Mexico. Mercedes and Nissan are considering moving more production to the US. Meanwhile, Ferrari and Ineos say they’ll raise their prices by 10%, which means they’re ready to absorb 15% of the cost of the tariffs. All this has happened in less than a week, but we expect to see a lot more changes, and a lot more damage, in the days to come.

 

CLASSIC CARS EXEMPT FROM TARIFF HIKE
You may remember we reported that classic car importers and parts sellers were worried they were going to get hit by the tariffs too. But the Trump Administration spared classic cars and components from the tariff barrage. Cars that are 25 years or older only face the same 2.5% tariff that’s been in place for half a century. But it seems like this was more for purely economic reasons. A classic car that sells for $10 million can generate up to $700,000 in sales taxes. And Trump’s treasury probably didn’t want to miss out on that kind of revenue.

CORVETTE UNVEILS HYPERCAR CONCEPT
GM is showing off a new Corvette hypercar concept as part of a bigger announcement that it’s opening a new advanced design studio in the UK. The 30-member team, headed up by Julian Thomson, were asked to rethink what a Corvette could be with a true blank-page approach and this is what they came up with. The upper half of the car is meant to capture classic Corvette design elements, like the split windows, while the lower half focuses more on vehicle function, like aerodynamics. There are no production plans for this model, but the company has asked its other design studios around the world to come up with their own Corvette hypercar concept and it says we’ll see those throughout the year. The new UK studio also teased a new GMC concept that was developed with the GMC design team in Detroit and will be fully revealed sometime later this year. GM says that the new design center helps demonstrate its commitment to Europe and gives it valuable insight into the market. Currently, Cadillac is scaling up its EV business in Europe and Chevy is preparing to launch Corvette sales in the UK and mainland Europe. We’d also add that it probably doesn’t hurt that GM is getting back into F1 next year with the Cadillac brand.

CORVETTE Z06 TO COST $220,000 IN CHINA
And another reason Chevy might want to expand Corvette’s availability? Prices are going up significantly in China. Starting this week, the Chinese government announced it will impose an additional 34% tariff on all imported U.S. goods. That will stack on top of existing tariffs, like the 10% fee on U.S.-made vehicles that have engines 2.5L or larger. So, CarNewsChina reports that the comprehensive tax rate on models like the Corvette Z06 are expected to go to 200%, which would bring its starting price to over $220,000. And that’s not the only area where GM will be hit. It set up a new business, called the Durant Guild, whose whole model is set up around importing higher-end vehicles made in the U.S. The Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon only recently went on sale and they already came with pretty high price tags. A Yukon Denali started at just under $111,000 through the Durant Guild in China. But now the new tariff will push that price to over $148,500, which is nearly double the $77,500 starting price of a Yukon Denali in the U.S.

U.S. BATTERY PLANTS CANCELLED LEFT & RIGHT
More EV and battery plant projects were canceled in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2025 than in the previous two years combined. According to Atlas Public Policy, nearly $8 billion worth of projects were canceled in the first three months of the year. There was a flood of EV investment in the U.S. after the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, which provided subsidies for EV and battery plants. According to the Rhodium Group, the U.S. was even on track for making nearly all the batteries needed for electric vehicles by 2030 before the projects were scrapped. But with slowing EV demand, the Trump Administration working to rollback fuel economy and emission targets and the uncertainty caused by tariffs, companies have decided to cancel EV projects.

LG ENERGY PROFIT SOARS 138%
And here’s an example of how important the subsidies provided under the Inflation Reduction Act are. LG Energy Solution estimates that its operating profit soared 138% to about $256 million. However, excluding tax credits under the IRA, LG says it actually posted an operating loss of $56 million in the first quarter because of slowing EV demand.

TOYOTA TO LAUNCH 15 EVS IN TWO YEARS
Toyota is planning to significantly increase EV production over the next two years. Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reports that Toyota will introduce 15 in-house developed EVs globally and it’s aiming to produce 1 million EVs a year by 2027. Toyota currently has five EV models developed in-house, which are produced in Japan and China. So in order to meet its targets, the Nikkei reports Toyota could expand EV production to the U.S., Thailand and Argentina.

AUTOLINE POLL RESULTS
We’ve got the latest results for Friday’s Autoline Poll. We pointed out that sales of EVs in the US, not counting Tesla, Mercedes and Porsche, shot up 43% in the first quarter and we wanted to know what you thought was going on. 36.8% of our members that voted believed car buyers were rushing out to buy an EV before the subsidies go away. 5.4% of you said it was because there is significant demand for EVs. 34.2% of you said EV sales were up because as more EV models come out, they’re appealing to more customers. And 23.6% said that customers were looking for an alternative to Tesla. 

Kevin Theobald said, “The global markets are going EV and as more US buyers get EVs and realize the myths about EVs are wrong, others will buy them as well.” Philip Garrelts says “2025 is set to be a pivotal year for electric vehicles!” But he also wonders that as automakers adopt Tesla’s North American Standard, “Can Tesla’s superchargers accommodate the increased demand from multiple brands using their charging system?” And Keith Mensing points out, “There are also a lot of incentives at the dealership as the EV’s have been sitting on their lots for a while and they want to sell that inventory.”

Thanks for your feedback. We know a lot of automakers keep track of what we report on this show, and they’ll be interested in these results. And remember, our polls are open to viewers with Autoline memberships. And if you haven’t done so already, now’s a good time to join, which only costs a few dollars a month. Look for a link to Patreon in the description box, or click the button that says “Join” on our YouTube home page.

But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.