Vehicle Sales Are Up, But The Good Times May Be Over Soon – Jalopnik

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, July 2, 2025, and that is The Morning Shift, your day by day roundup of the highest automotive headlines from all over the world, in a single place. This is the place you will discover a very powerful tales which might be shaping the best way Americans drive and get round.

In this morning’s version, we’re checking in on gross sales studies for the second quarter and the place issues could possibly be heading. We’re additionally speaking about Tesla’s win in China, the actual fact the VW ID Buzz is again on sale and an enormous recall over at Chrysler.

It may be Wednesday, my dudes, however we have nonetheless acquired a busy one over right here.

Vehicle gross sales within the U.S. rose within the second quarter of 2025 due to a renewed demand for gas-powered autos, however the business would not anticipate the nice occasions to go on endlessly. More than probably, the second half of the yr goes to be made relatively bumpy as Presdient Trump’s tariff mess makes costs even increased.

General Motors noticed gross sales rise 7% within the quarter due to cheaper crossovers just like the Trax (which is great). That development helped GM keep its high gross sales spot within the nation. It wasn’t the one firm to see an increase, although. Ford reported a 14.2% quarterly gross sales improve, Hyundai Group was up 10% yr over yr and Toyota’s was up a strong 7.2%. Numerous these bumps will be attributed to patrons who wished to snag a deal earlier than it was too late. I’m positive these automakers are having fun with this second of happiness, however it all might come crashing down relatively quickly. From Reuters:

The tariffs are anticipated to hit budget-friendly imported fashions, together with Ford’s compact Maverick pickup and GM’s Trax, denting affordability considerations as the typical new-vehicle worth nears $50,000.

“Much of the pull-ahead demand that fired up sales in April and May has now been satiated, so consumer demand is expected to be weaker in the coming months,” mentioned Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive.

Overall, U.S. new car gross sales in June got here in across the 1.25 million unit mark. That represents a seasonally adjusted annual fee of about 15.34 million autos. Not too shabby. However, as soon as folks begin having to pay via the nostril to cowl a few of the prices of Trump’s tariffs (as a result of automakers aren’t going to swallow that cash endlessly), you possibly can in all probability anticipate car gross sales within the third and fourth quarter of 2025 to look a hell of so much completely different. 

Tesla appears to have caught no less than a modicum of a break in China, as gross sales of its Shanghai-made autos have been up 0.8% in June from a yr earlier. That’s not precisely an enormous quantity, however it’s fairly vital when you think about the truth that it snapped an eight-month dropping streak in one of many world’s most essential auto markets. It’s not all excellent news, although. The Austin, Texas-based automaker noticed gross sales proceed to fall on a quarterly foundation. 

This is all taking place as BYD — a Chinese EV large — elevated its year-over-year gross sales 11% to 377,628 autos in June. From Reuters:

Deliveries of Model 3 and Model Y autos made in its Shanghai manufacturing facility, together with each China gross sales and exports to Europe and different markets, rose 16.1% from May to 71,599 items, information from the China Passenger Car Association confirmed on Wednesday.

[…]

Tesla recorded the fastest-ever mannequin ramp-up with simply six weeks to full manufacturing of the refreshed Model Y in its largest manufacturing hub in Shanghai earlier this yr.

But its gross sales in China and Europe have been cooling and mounting pressures from rivals and the political backlash in opposition to CEO Elon Musk are dragging on demand.

Sales of its China-made EVs within the April-June interval slid 6.8% on-year, the third quarterly decline in a row.

Tesla’s China-made EVs accounted for 51.3% of its international deliveries within the first quarter.

The U.S. EV maker is anticipated to report one other fall in international quarterly deliveries in a while Wednesday.

When you have a look at 2025 as a complete, Tesla’s EV gross sales are anticipated to drop 10% this yr to make up 13% of the worldwide market. At the identical time, BYD’s international EV gross sales are speculated to develop by 45% to a file excessive, and so they’ll account for about one-fifth of the world’s complete EV market.

Volkswagen has fastened a few sorta foolish remembers that ended up halting gross sales and manufacturing of its ID Buzz electrical minivan earlier this yr. Under one of many remembers, the brake system warning gentle on the instrument panel might truly show as an incorrect image or coloration. The second recall was in some way even goofier — its third row of seats was too spacious for simply two passengers. Both remembers coated 5,637 autos constructed within the U.S. and 771 extra in Canada, constructed between September and February of 2025.

The gauge cluster recall took a couple of day to finish after a restore grew to become obtainable on June 6. The rear-seat recall is a little bit of a wierd repair. Dealers will set up a set, unpadded trim half to the edges of the seats that limits the width of the seating floor within the third row for 2 passengers. From Automotive News:

The stop-sale orders utilized to new, unsold ID Buzz autos in addition to preowned stock. ID Buzz gross sales started in November, which means the retro-inspired car had solely been on sale for a couple of months earlier than gross sales have been paused, irritating sellers.

U.S. gross sales of the ID Buzz totaled 1,162 within the fourth quarter and 1,901 within the first three months of 2025, the mannequin’s first full quarter on sale.

I’m not going to take a seat right here and deceive you that I believe the ID Buzz is the most effective automotive in the marketplace (and even actually value its asking worth), however I’m glad it is again on sale. Despite my points with it as a car, I do love the best way it appears to be like.

Chrysler is recalling 208,668 Pacificas and 40,983 Voyagers constructed between the 2022 and 2025 mannequin years due to improperly sealed airbags that would result in a passenger ejection — one thing that’s lower than excellent. Additionally, 21,734 vans are being recalled in Canada and an additional 403 have to be checked in Mexico.

While this recall is wide-ranging, it is anticipated that about 14% of the recalled automobiles will even have the defect. Better protected than sorry. From Automotive News:

“An internal investigation revealed that certain vehicles may have been built with a side curtain airbag that may not maintain sufficient inflation pressure for the intended duration upon deployment. While the airbags will still deploy, the pressure may not reach the intended level, potentially compromising occupant protection in certain types of collisions,” the spokesperson mentioned in an announcement to Automotive News.

The defect might trigger ejection of occupants via facet home windows in sure sorts of crashes, NHTSA mentioned. The automaker was not conscious of any accidents or accidents associated to the defect.

Dealers have been notified of the recall on June 24, and prospects ought to anticipate their notification between June 30 and July 3. Once a treatment turns into obtainable, they’re going to get one other letter, in response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Owners will have the ability to take their Pacificas and Voyagers to a dealership to interchange one or each of the curtain airbags as wanted.

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There are few locations I’d relatively be than Ocean Avenue proper now. It’s July. It’s the Summer. We’ve acquired a protracted weekend in a few days. Things are trying up.