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<\/p>\nIt\u2019s been one of those days and I\u2019m starting The Morning Dump at 11:42 AM. Technically, it\u2019s still morning. It won\u2019t be morning by the time you read this because even I\u2019m not that fast. You know who is fast, though? Policymakers in the United States, who keep changing the rules on tariffs.<\/p>\n
For a company like Nissan, this is super annoying. While Nissan builds vehicles in the United States, it doesn\u2019t think it can build a sub-$30k vehicle here, so it makes those cars in Mexico. There\u2019s essentially a 25% tariff on those vehicles, meaning it\u2019s cheaper to build something in a place like South Korea. Is that fair?<\/p>\n
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If you thought the original round of tariffs was unfair, you\u2019re not alone. After the Supreme Court ruled that the certain tariffs were unconstitutional, a bunch of companies lined up for refunds. Some of those refunds will be going to hedge funds.<\/p>\n
For all the crap Stellantis takes, it\u2019s at least finding a way to bring sales up in what was a tough quarter for most. In fact, Stellantis might be the only large automaker that did better in every market. Even China! It\u2019s a tough place to sell cars these days, and Ford CEO Jim Farley doesn\u2019t want to import that market stateside.<\/p>\n
\u2018It Is Not Feasible\u2019 To Move Cheapest Cars To The US Says Nissan CEO I finally drove the new Nissan Kicks and, eventually, I\u2019ll tell you about it in detail. It was good, although the high trim version I drove seemed a little expensive. That\u2019s not a coincidence. With a 25% tariff on the Kicks, the company basically can\u2019t make money on the vehicle if it can\u2019t charge a lot for it, according to the company.<\/p>\n This is a strange quirk of the tariffs. The original stated goal was to have \u201c90 deals in 90 days.\u201d It\u2019s been a year and there aren\u2019t 90 deals and, in many cases, the deals that do exist aren\u2019t fully signed or ratified. This means that automakers who build cars in countries that do have a mostly agreed upon or signed deal, like Japan and South Korea, save money relative to places like Mexico.<\/p>\n As with everything trade-related, this isn\u2019t universal. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is still in place, and vehicles that follow those rules are exempt. Well, the content of those cars that is USMCA-complaint is exempt from the newer 25% tariff. This is why Audi got hosed, because the Q5s they were building in Mexico were mostly non-USMCA complaint, with a lot of parts from Europe.<\/p>\n This is what Nissan is complaining about in this\u00a0Automotive News article<\/a> as the company\u2019s leaders complain about trying to sell Sentras and Kicks:<\/p>\n \u201cThese two products are sourced from Mexico because of the affordability requirements of the segment,\u201d CEO Ivan Espinosa told Automotive News at a media event here.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, it\u2019s not feasible to move them to the U.S.,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to continue working on the cost competitiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n Espinosa isn\u2019t the only one who takes issue with this. From the story:<\/p>\n The Trump administration\u2019s 25 percent tariff on imports from Mexico is \u201cunfair,\u201d particularly compared with the 15 percent charged on vehicles from Europe and South Korea, Nissan Americas Chairman Christian Meunier said.<\/p>\n \u201cA 10 to 15 percent tariff is manageable, but 25 percent is not sustainable long term,\u201d Meunier said.<\/p>\n Because few companies make a truly affordable car in the United States anymore, it\u2019s hard to argue that we aren\u2019t just raising the cost of these lower-priced vehicles. However, both Toyota and Honda have found a way to make some Corollas and Civics here, so it\u2019s not entirely impossible.<\/p>\n Nissan\u2019s plans involve increasing the amount of US-sourced parts in the Sentra and Kicks, which does point to the original goal of the White House being somewhat fulfilled. The other big part of the plan, reportedly, is to sell higher trims (Trimflation<\/a>), which counters the White House\u2019s other goal of making cars more affordable.<\/p>\n Hedge Funds Might Be Getting Your Tariff Refund When the Supreme Court overturned certain tariffs<\/a>, numerous companies had already filed lawsuits so they\u2019d be first in line to get refunds. Not everyone can wait for all the capital they lost, which is an opportunity for hedge funds that want to buy those refunds at a discount.<\/p>\n Per\u00a0Politico<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Supreme Court decision unlocked the market,\u201d said Wes Harrell, a managing director at Seaport Global, which connects hedge funds with importers holding tariff claims.<\/p>\n \u201cI think ultimately we\u2019ll see more folks come in as a result of higher inflation around input costs and what that\u2019s doing to liquidity concerns,\u201d Harrell said.<\/p>\n Tariff refunds were selling at 20 to 40 cents on the dollar before the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling. But prices have since skyrocketed with major brands taking legal action to get their money back.<\/p>\n Larger claims with high-quality sellers are going for up to 70 cents on the dollar, Harrell said. \u201cThe past month or so has been importers getting their ducks in a row, talking to trade counsel, determining how best to protect their rights in this litigation and in the refund process.\u201d<\/p>\n Will you see any of that money? Probably not.<\/p>\n Stellantis Saw A Lift In Every Market While Stellantis has been able to boost North American sales with the addition of the Hemi V8 back to the Ram 1500 (where it belongs), that\u2019s not going to work in Belgium. It turns out that Stellantis, which was near the bottom a year ago, has managed to find ways to sell cars everywhere. Is there any automaker that has improved its sales in every market? Not that I can think of.<\/p>\n As a whole, the company was up about 12% in Q1, including a 17% rise in North America and a 15% rise in Asia Pacific.\u00a0 The company even did well in Europe, as it explains:<\/p>\n In Enlarged Europe, Q1 shipments increased by approximately 69 thousand units, up 12% y-o-y. LCV volumes were stable at approximately 135 thousand units. Passenger car volume growth was driven by new launches. FIAT, Opel\/Vauxhall and Citro\u00ebn brands shipments benefited from the performance of Smart Car platform nameplates (Citro\u00ebn C3, C3 Aircross, Opel\/Vauxhall Frontera, Fiat Grande Panda) which increased by approximately 48 thousand units, or 85% y-o-y. Leapmotor-branded vehicles gained commercial momentum, with shipments increasing by 22 thousand units to approximately 27 thousand units; supported by the success of the T03, in the BEV entry-price segment across Europe, particularly in Italy.<\/p>\n I had an enlarged Europe once, but a doctor gave me a pill and it went back to normal size.<\/p>\n \u2018We Should Not Let Them Into Our Country\u2019 Ford CEO Jim Farley may have loved his SU7<\/a>, but he doesn\u2019t think Chinese automakers should be able to sell cars here. The CEO went on\u00a0Fox News and basically said it would be a bad outcome if that happened.<\/a><\/p>\n
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<\/a>Photo credit: Nissan<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Photo: The White House<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Photo credit: Dodge<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Credit: Xiaomi.<\/p>\n