Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Tuesday, April 1. And no, we aren’t going to have any April Fools’ humor today.
It used to be somewhat entertaining to see the jokes moving through the auto industry on this day. Not anymore.
The fun pretty much ended after the COVID-19 pandemic and — for at least some of us in the industry — totally ended when one automaker that shall not be named launched a joke through normal news distribution channels in 2021 that was plausible enough to generate faux news for a few hours.
With new U.S. tariffs to take effect this week, management upheavals at several automakers, Nissan’s worsening finances and all the routine drama in this industry, April Fools’ jokes just don’t feel right. One automaker still tried to have fun today, but we’ll get to that later.
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To be sure, President Donald Trump’s impending 25 percent tariffs are no laughing matter to Detroit 3 executives, who are in Washington pulling out all the stops to get the administration to at least modify tariffs on auto parts moving back and forth across the Canadian and Mexican borders. This story from Bloomberg tells us more.
This story from Reuters, however, suggests Trump could stick with the current plan for tariffs while mollifying automakers with drastically reduced emissions targets and regulations from the EPA.
While dealership profitability continued to decline in Q4 2024, the rate of the slide slowed significantly—offering a potential signal that stability may be on the horizon for auto retailers. The average publicly owned dealership posted an estimated $1.1M in pre-tax income, a modest decline of just 6% compared to Q4 2023.
Today also marks our first look at full industry 2025 U.S. auto sales reports. Most analysts expect a robust first quarter as customers hit showrooms ahead of the expected tariffs on imported vehicles. You can get the latest numbers in this story from David Phillips and the related live blog.
In case you missed it, the UAW filed its annual financial report with the U.S. Department of Labor on Monday. Typically, the key disclosure in this report is what raises the UAW leadership received — and whether the pay bump aligned with how the rank and file fared.
According to our story by Michael Martinez, UAW President Shawn Fain received $274,407 in total compensation, 20 percent more than the $228,872 he made in 2023. Given the historic wage gains Fain won for his members in 2023, his raise last year shouldn’t raise any eyebrows.
What might raise eyebrows in this report? UAW members paid law firm Jenner & Block roughly $5.8 million for services related to its court-appointed monitor stemming from the corruption scandals that permeated the union during the last decade. The bill was slightly more than the UAW paid the firm in each of the previous two years, Martinez wrote.
As mentioned, there’s not much to laugh about today. But if you really want to see one automaker attempt humor, Honda Motor Co. issued this press release out of its U.K. office today.
It reads: “Honda has launched a pawsome new technology that makes car journeys more enjoyable for cat-loving drivers. Available across the brand’s model line-up, the new Catnip Car Seats option are the purr-fect addition for drivers that regularly transport their furry friends.”
We hope this didn’t rub anyone the wrong way, so let’s just end this now. Have a great rest of your day.
