Jim Henry

1 month ago | cars.usnews.com | Jim Henry |Cherise Threewitt

There’s a growing certainty in the U.S. auto industry that some sort of tariffs on imported cars and car parts will eventually stick, forcing automakers and their suppliers into a potentially long and costly process of “on-shoring” auto plants and/or their supporting parts factories to escape the tariffs. In turn, that means consumer prices are heading higher, and auto sales in 2025 are probably heading lower than expected, analysts said.

2 months ago | cars.usnews.com | Kristen Hall-Geisler |Warren Clarke |Jim Henry |George Kennedy

It seems like "tariff" is the word of the moment. Early in his second term, President Donald Trump initially implemented 10% tariffs on goods coming in from China, with an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports coming a few weeks later. Today, he is imposing 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada. The tariffs will remain in place indefinitely at the President's discretion and may increase if other nations retaliate. There are also threats of tariffs on European imports.

Jan 8, 2025 | wardsauto.com | Jim Henry

The new year has just begun, and dealers already have a piece of good news. The major credit union TransUnion expects auto loan delinquencies to fall slightly in 2025 after three years of increases including only a tiny increase in 2024 vs. 2023. “There are some moving parts, but net-net is, we’re really seeing stability in this market – auto in particular,” Michele Raneri, vice president and head of U.S. research and consulting at TransUnion, tells WardsAuto.

Nov 25, 2024 | cars.usnews.com | Jim Henry |Cherise Threewitt

It’s a good bet the second Trump administration intends to roll out protective tariffs aimed at limiting imported autos and auto parts — especially those that would eventually arrive from China. That emphatically includes those assembled for Chinese brands in other countries, such as Mexico, which has a growing Chinese manufacturing presence.

Nov 18, 2024 | wardsauto.com | Jim Henry

The cyclical decline in auto loans to borrowers with subprime credit could be bottoming out at last, as the latest Household Debt and Credit Report from the New York Federal Reserve shows an increase in the subprime share of auto-loan originations in the third quarter of 2024 vs. the same quarter a year ago.