Foley Automotive Update – Rail, Road & Cycling – United States
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Analysis by Julie Dautermann, Competitive Intelligence Analyst Foley is here to help you through all aspects of rethinking your long-term business strategies, investments, partnerships, and technology.
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Key Developments
Foley & Lardner partners Vanessa Miller
and Alejandro Gómez-Strozzi shared highlights
from their participation in a pivotal discussion in Mexico City
last month at the 23rd Annual International Automotive Industry
Congress (Congreso Internacional de la Industria
Automotriz, CIIAM), organized by the Mexican Autopart Industry
Association (Industria Nacional de Autopartes, A.C.,
INA).
Foley & Lardner provided an overview on
supply chain cyber threats, and best practices for
mitigating cyber risks.
The Michigan Supreme Court intends to rule in
the months ahead on a dispute over the “legitimacy of
Stellantis’ supplier contracts,” according to an
update from Crain’s
Detroit.
U.S. new light-vehicle sales in October 2025
fell by over 4% year-over-year to a SAAR of 15.4 million
units, according to preliminary analysis
from Haver Analytics.
Foley & Lardner partner Gregory Husisian
shared insight on how a possible tariff refund process could play
out in the SupplyChainDive article, “What shippers need to
know about potential tariff refunds.” The
U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral
arguments on November 5, 2025, regarding the legality of the
Trump administration’s tariffs as imposed under the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
China’s Commerce Ministry suggested it will
offer exemptions to the recently imposed
export restrictions on
semiconductors made by Chinese-owned,
Netherlands-based Nexperia, which supplies an
estimated 40% of certain chips critical to
automakers. The company has various issues to resolve
with the Dutch government, and uncertainty remains
over when the shipments will resume.
A new trade and economic
deal between the U.S. and
China includes a reprieve
on certain rare-earth export controls recently
imposed by China. Despite the two nations’ recently announced
trade agreement, U.S. Trade Representative
Jamieson Greerplans to continue an
investigation into China’s compliance with a limited trade
agreement reached during President Trump’s first term. The
results of this Section 301 probe could result in
new tariffs, or leverage in subsequent trade negotiations.
S&P Global Mobility assessed the impact
of the Section 232 tariffs on truck and bus
imports imposed by the Trump administration on November 1.
The analysis notes the October 17 executive order
announcing the levies also expanded the list of tariffed
auto parts, with “more varieties of drive axles,
wider application of engine components, and adds items including
touch screen displays, certain engine control units and
speakers.”
President Trump extended a November
1, 2025 deadline to reach a trade deal with Mexico
for an unspecified number of weeks, resulting in a delay of
higher tariffs on Mexican goods that do not meet the
content rules of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade
agreement.
President Trump intends to impose an
additional 10% tariff on Canadian imports, and
said he does not plan to resume trade
negotiations with Canada due to an anti-tariff advertisement
aired by the Ontario government. The Trump administration did not
provide details on the implementation of the new tariffs or if
USMCA-compliant goods would be exempt.
The U.S. and South Korea are reported to have
finalized a trade deal that is expected to establish a
15% cap on U.S. tariffs on Korean
goods. This follows a framework agreement the nations
announced in July.
Last month the U.S. Senate narrowly passed three
measures opposing President Trump’s global
“reciprocal” tariffs, as well as the emergency
authorities underpinning the tariffs on
Canada and Brazil. The U.S. House
is not expected to vote on the measures in the near future, and
Congress would require a two-thirds majority to overcome a
presidential veto.
OEMs/Suppliers
Revised projections for tariff-related costs in
2025 are between $3.5 billion to $4.5
billion for GM, up to
$1.2 billion for Stellantis, and up
to $1 billion for Ford.
Canada intends to reduce
the number of vehicles GM and
Stellantis can import tariff-free into the
country in response to the automakers’ plans to reduce
vehicle production in the nation.
A number of major automakers submitted filings to urge the
U.S. Trade Representative’s Office to
extend the USMCA, as it accounts “for tens of
billions of dollars in annual savings.” The
USMCA is scheduled for formal review in
2026.
Ford estimated the recent
fire at a significant aluminum supplier will
impact profitability by $1.5 billion to $2 billion
in 2025, while noting mitigation efforts are expected to offset
half of the cost.
American Axle plans to invest $133
million to increase production and upgrade its plant in Three
Rivers, Michigan.
Nissan reduced its U.S.
output by approximately 7,400 vehicles in October due to
parts shortages.
Geely will acquire a 26.4%
stake in Renault do Brasil, and the Chinese
automaker expects the partnership will accelerate its plans to
expand sales in the market.
Multiple European automakers have
replaced CEOs this year, as
ongoing economic and market challenges impact European vehicle
sales.
Market Trends and Regulatory
According to the NADA Data 2025: Midyear
Report released in October, there were 16,972 new-car
dealerships in the U.S. as of June 2025, and the top five
states with the most dealerships were California, Texas,
Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. In
addition, 90.7% of all new light-vehicle dealers owned one to five
stores, down from 95% in 2014.
WardsAuto provided a list of the
top automotive conferences to consider in
2026.
Vulcan Elements and ReElement
Technologies secured $1.4 billion
in combined funding from the U.S. government and private investors
to establish a domestic rare-earth magnet supply
chain.
Autonomous Technologies and Vehicle Software
Waymo began testing its
autonomous vehicles in Detroit. The company
currently offers robotaxi service in parts of San Francisco, Los
Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Austin, and it plans to expand
services to cities including San Diego and Las Vegas next
year.
Uber announced plans to
launch autonomous taxi service in the San Francisco Bay
Area in 2026 with vehicles developed in partnership with
EV maker Lucid and self-driving technology company Nuro Inc. Uber
has also established a goal to
have a fleet of 100,000 autonomous vehicles in its fleet that are
powered by Nvidia technology beginning in
2027.
Bloomberg provided an overview of Chinese
companies’ robotaxi deployment plans within
multiple regions.
Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
J.D. Power predicted
U.S. EV sales in October 2025 will decline 3.4
percentage points to a market share of 5.2%, as
the market recalibrates following the expiration of federal tax
credits.
On November 4, Automotive News updated its list of U.S.
EV models that have been delayed or canceled.
GM plans to lay off
over 3,000 hourly workers across its EV and EV battery
plants in Michigan, Ohio, and
Tennessee in the coming months. Over half of the
layoffs are expected to be indefinite. The automaker also laid off
over 200 salaried
workers at its Warren Tech Center in Michigan as part of a
restructuring of its design-engineering team, and over 300 employees
as part of the closure of its Georgia IT center.
BYD reported its
third-quarter 2025 net profit declined 33%
year-over-year, and revenue fell 3% YOY.
LG Energy Solution – Stellantis joint
venture NextStar Energy will shift to producing
batteries for energy storage systems at its
Windsor, Ontario factory instead of EV batteries.
Volkswagen subsidiary PowerCo
started construction
on a $7 billion EV battery plant in St. Thomas, Ontario.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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