Word up, Germany! Don’t blame tariffs or China for your auto sales tanking here in America . . .

Photo above - German auto sales are tanking in America. Is this upcoming Hyundai electric van an existential threat to VW?

I was going to make today’s column about “Average US new car price exceeds $50,000 for the first time”. This endlessly repeated headline dominated the news cycle yesterday. But I realized this would just be clickbait for certain people to post anti-Trump rants after only reading one sentence. This is a much better story (link below): Germany’s auto industry facing historic decline”.

Germany’s car sales volume in the USA is off 6%. That’s not due to tariffs, since none have actually taken effect yet. Germany’s auto sales are off even more in The People's Republic of Communist China. The reason is that China’s EVs are quickly making ICE vehicles from Europe both obsolete and overpriced. Wages in Europe might be a factor.

The same thing could happen in the USA if Chinese EVs start showing up uninvited. Trump has – practically since inauguration day – promised huge tariffs on Chinese EVs. Anywhere from 25% to 100%. Biden was promising 100% tariffs even earlier, in an attempt to connect a defibrillator to his comatose campaign. Trump merely copied Biden's rhetoric.

I’m certain there’s a big market for affordable, city parking space sized EVs. At least if they’re well made. Nissan planked with its Leaf, and Chevy had to recall 100% of its Chevy Bolt cars for emergency battery transplants. The market for affordable EVs in the USA is dominated by Hyundai and Kia, which were punchlines to auto jokes a decade or so ago. Models from both of those brands have been named “electric vehicle of the year” recently.

The last time Chevy had an “electric vehicle of the year” it was the Volt, a vastly inferior copy of the Toyota Prius. The media obediently lined up behind President Obama to salute this exercise in mediocrity. By some measures federal agencies may have purchased up to half the total production volume of Volts. Do you see any on the road today? They're probably hiding in the back row of the General Services Administration lot in DC.

I’m pretty sure Hyundai and Kia pay their workers more than what someone in a Chinese factory gets. But certainly less than what US and German assembly line people make. I don’t think anyplace else on earth besides the USA has a $140,000 annual contract for union autoworkers. President Biden famously walked the Detroit picket lines to work this out, hoping to snag more union votes in 2024. Along with his promise of a 100% tax on Chinese cars.

I haven’t yet bought a pure EV. I currently own a Honda Civic Sport Touring Hybrid. I did, however, visit the local VW dealership recently, with a friend. He had been eyeballing the long promised, perpetually delayed VW ID-Buzz. All fully electric revival of the VW Bus minivan. My friend didn’t even get as far as the test drive. The dealer only had fully loaded “launch edition” models on the lot. $75,000 each. The base models – if and when they’re delivered – won’t be much better. Stickers are said to start at $65,000 for a bare bones model with content deletion related to safety equipment, comfort and range.

The VW ID-Buzz is the poster child for why German automakers have fallen into a pothole of declining sales. They had nearly a decade to get this thing right. And still brought something to market which any consumer focus group could have told them was overpriced for its target audience.

Hyundai is previewing it's all electric "Staria minivan to compete with the ID-Buzz. Advance info reveals it as sleek, futuristic and affordable.

I’m just sayin’ . . .



Germany’s Auto Industry Is Facing Decline. Here’s Why