Good morning! It is Thursday, September 25, 2025, and that is The Morning Shift, your each day roundup of the highest automotive headlines from all over the world, in a single place. That is the place you will discover an important tales which can be shaping the way in which People drive and get round.
On this morning’s version, the U.S. formally cuts tariffs on automobiles made in Europe to fifteen%, Britain is contemplating propping up auto suppliers as Jaguar-Land Rover struggles to come back again on-line, CarMax sees a giant dip in second quarter revenue and Amazon’s Zoox desires regulatory approval to launch its driverless automobiles on an unsuspecting public.
1st Gear: Tariffs on European-built automobiles are 15%… for actual this time
The U.S. formally lowered auto import tariffs on automobiles made within the European Union to fifteen% — retroactive to August 1. That is down from the 25% levy they beforehand confronted on prime of a previous 2.5% tax. The transfer cements the phrases of a framework commerce settlement the 2 sides struck almost two months in the past at this level.
The order will assist to ease some tensions between Washington and Brussels, as either side work by way of ironing out the small print of the commerce deal they introduced at one in every of Trump’s golf programs in Scotland. In any case, here is a extra detailed have a look at the settlement, from Bloomberg:
The modifications specified by the submitting embody an inventory of exemptions for sectors together with plane, plane components and generic pharmaceutical medication plus substances, in addition to “unavailable pure sources” akin to cork and sure metals and ores, efficient Sept. 1. These items will preserve decrease so-called most favored nation, or MFN, charges.
Many of the new charges take impact for EU items shipped beginning Sept. 1, however the aid for cars and components was contingent on the EU introducing laws to decrease tariffs on American industrial items and a few non-sensitive agricultural merchandise.
The bloc adopted by way of with that motion on Aug. 28 and is at present within the strategy of implementing its concessions, paving the way in which for the Trump administration to backdate the brand new auto cost.
[…]
As a part of the preparations within the commerce deal, the EU faces a 15% tariff ceiling on most of its exports. That price would not stack on prime of any current industry-specific tariffs, and the EU expects it to additionally cowl any future sectoral levies that could be launched on medication and chips.
Not each element has been ironed out simply but. The 2 sides have not made a lot progress on reducing tariffs for metal and aluminum, that are each going through 50% export duties.
Nonetheless, do not anticipate this to be a lot of a aid in your pockets. We just lately reported that — whereas automakers are consuming tariff prices for now — they probably is not going to be doing so for very lengthy. That 15% goes to begin popping out of your finish, buddy.
2nd Gear: JLR suppliers could get assist from the British authorities
Britain’s authorities is outwardly contemplating a light-weight bailout of Jaguar-Land Rover’s suppliers following a cyberattack that has shut down manufacturing till a minimum of October. The automaker’s three British factories produce about 1,000 automobiles per day, and with all of them shuttered, the corporate is dropping about $68 million per week — all whereas lots of its 33,000 employees members are instructed to remain house.
Now, the federal government is taking a look at methods to maintain corporations additional down the provision chain afloat as JLR will get its crap discovered. It is not a great scenario over in England, I will inform ya that a lot. From Reuters:
Schemes into account included the federal government shopping for element components from the suppliers to allow them to outlive till JLR resumes manufacturing, in keeping with a BBC report.
An alternative choice was offering government-backed loans to suppliers, the BBC stated, though it added that the concept was not common with suppliers.
[…]
The British parliament’s Enterprise and Commerce Choose Committee will hear from corporations in JLR’s provide chain on Thursday.
Tata Motors finance chief P B Balaji instructed the committee’s chair Liam Byrne in a letter dated on Tuesday that JLR was working with its provide companions to prioritise funds to “these with the best want,” including that JLR meant to settle any excellent funds “within the coming weeks”.
He stated JLR was “absolutely empowered to take choices that finest replicate the pursuits of its enterprise and industrial companions,” within the letter, which was revealed by the committee.
A number of days in the past, we reported that it was fully attainable that issues wouldn’t be absolutely up and working at JLR till nicely after Christmas. I haven’t got to let you know how catastrophic that may be for a corporation that was already struggling and its downstream suppliers.
third Gear: CarMax has a tough Q2
No person has any cash anymore, and used automobiles are getting very costly. Maybe that is why CarMax reported fewer gross sales of used automobiles and decrease income in its fiscal second quarter that ended on August 31. The corporate’s web revenue fell 28% to $95.4 million, whereas income fell 6% year-over-year to $6.6 billion. That is apparently under analysts’ expectations.
General, CarMax bought 199,728 retail automobiles within the quarter. That is down 5.4% from the identical time final 12 months. It wholesaled an additional 138,302 automobiles throughout the identical interval, down 2.2%. From Automotive Information:
“Whereas this was a difficult quarter, we stay assured in our long-term technique and the energy of the earnings mannequin that now we have constructed,” CarMax CEO Invoice Nash stated in an announcement.
The corporate goals to take away a minimum of $150 million in promoting, basic and administrative bills over the subsequent 18 months, he stated.
[…]
CarMax purchased 293,000 automobiles from customers and sellers within the quarter, down 2.4 p.c 12 months over 12 months. Of that whole, it purchased 262,000 from customers, down 2.7 p.c, and 31,000 automobiles from sellers, up 0.2 p.c.
On a per-vehicle foundation, CarMax made $2,216 on each retail sale, down $53 from 2024. Margins had been slimmer on wholesale automobiles: simply $993, however they had been up $18.
4th Gear: Zoox says it is able to hit the highway
Amazon’s Zoox is searching for wider clearance from U.S. regulators to set its self-driving automobiles free on our roads. The corporate is reportedly requesting exemptions from U.S. car security requirements for area automobiles that can be operated by an autonomous driving system with out a human operator on board, in keeping with a submitting made by the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration. From Bloomberg:
The exemption Zoox is in search of would enable the corporate to function as many as 2,500 self-driving automobiles on US roads. A earlier approval solely coated automobiles that had been designed for analysis and demonstrations.
Zoox stated it is working carefully with NHTSA by way of the company’s new exemption course of.
The request reveals how self-driving car builders are transferring to capitalize on Trump administration strikes to clear regulatory boundaries which have traditionally posed hurdles for autonomous automobiles designed to be pushed by a pc moderately than a human being. These guidelines have beforehand tripped up corporations together with Zoox, Normal Motors Co. and Tesla Inc. which have designed self-driving automobiles with out foot pedals or steering wheels.
The Division of Transportation in August granted Zoox an exemption from federal car security requirements for automobiles that had been described in earlier regulatory filings as being “bi-directional, outfitted with an automatic driving system, and missing conventional driving controls.”
The corporate’s newest request seeks exemptions from requirements regarding options akin to windshield wipers, defogging programs and occupant crash safety tools.
Over the summer time, Zoox opened a robotaxi manufacturing facility in California. The plan is for it to finally construct 10,000 of those automobiles per 12 months on the plant.
Reverse: We have come a good distance
Historical past.com
Personally. I desire the 15-speaker, 1,170-watt Burmester audio system that got here within the Mercedes-AMG GT63S E-Efficiency I used to be simply testing, however I am positive this was good too.
On the radio: Steely Dan – Time Out Of Thoughts
I believe all of us want a bit of extra Steely Dan in our lives. What higher time to begin than proper now? Lock in, people, we’re approaching the top of the week.
