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Episode #1300: EV bargains are stacking up as gas prices climb, GM patents a daisy-chain charger that could end the wait-time headache, and the NRF says retail is growing in 2026 but the spending power is concentrated at the top.

Gas price anxiety is driving a spike in EV and hybrid searches, according to Edmunds and the timing couldn't be better. With manufacturer incentives replacing the expired federal tax credit, dealers are stacking deals that are turning heads and moving metal.

• One buyer in Orange County paid $23,991 for a 2026 Equinox EV with a $48,269 sticker, after GM contributed nearly $10,000 and the dealer added further discounts on top.
• Kia is offering up to $18,300 in lease support on the EV6, Toyota is cutting $5,000 off the bZ, and Hyundai has added $10,000 on top of already-reduced 2026 model-year pricing on vehicles like the Ioniq 5.
• Kevin Roberts, head of market intelligence at CarGurus, noted the inventory reality: "There's probably still too many new EVs out on lots as dealers try to rebalance things."
• Dealer Ryan Rohrman: "If it fits your lifestyle, it makes sense all day long just because of the rebates that are out there."

Charging wait times are one of the biggest friction points in EV ownership, and GM may have found a clever hardware solution. A newly unearthed patent shows a system that could let one DC fast charger serve multiple vehicles simultaneously.

• GM's patent, surfaced by GM Authority, details a main DC fast charger connected to a series of low-power access points in a daisy chain, each capable of charging a separate EV at the same time.
• Each access point has three plugs: one connecting to the charger or previous unit in the chain, one for the vehicle, and one passing power to the next unit, with built-in controllers managing communication between the car and the main charger.
• With the most common public fast-charging speed sitting at 150 kW, a single 350 kW station running this system could theoretically serve two vehicles simultaneously at full standard speed.

The National Retail Federation is projecting a strong retail year, and the underlying fundamentals back it up. The catch is that not all consumers are riding the same wave.

• NRF forecasts retail sales will grow 4.4% in 2026 to $5.6 trillion, outpacing the 10-year average annual growth rate of 3.6%.
• Tax refunds tied to the Working Families Tax Cut Act are expected to give consumer spending a modest boost in the first half of the year, with inflation projected to ease by Q3.
• Unemployment is expected to stay below 4.5%, and NRF noted that consumer sentiment has historically been disconnected from actual spending, meaning people often spend more than their mood suggests.

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Today, Chris Reeves joins Paul and Kyle to talk about the monthly and weekly events that MileOne holds for their communities with car seat distributions and teen driver courses.

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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Episode #1298: The Alliance for Automotive Innovation CEO John Bozzella joins Paul and Kyle to discuss his automotive news op-ed that lays out the case for a recent Washington state piece of legislation that could pave the way for Chinese automakers to bypass the U.S. franchise system.

• In an Automotive News Op-Ed, John Bozzella argues that Washington state quietly handed EV-only manufacturers a direct-sales pass, and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation CEO says the real danger isn't Rivian or Lucid — it's who comes next.
  • Washington now allows three EV-only manufacturers to sell directly to consumers, bypassing the franchised dealer system that protects the broader retail network.
  • The Washington State Auto Dealers Association backed the law, believing it would lock in protections for franchised dealers by drawing the line after existing EV-only brands.
  • The Alliance for Automotive Innovation opposed the plan, arguing one set of rules should apply to all manufacturers regardless of powertrain or market entry date.
  • The bigger concern: Chinese automakers with ambitions to enter the U.S. market now have a legal framework they could use to pursue a fourth, fifth, or sixth direct-sales exemption.
  • Bozzella didn't mince words: "The competitiveness of the auto industry and the dealer franchise system will suffer if Chinese automakers are allowed to do in the U.S. what they're already doing around the world."
  • This comes as the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, NADA, Autos Drive America, the American Automotive Policy Council, and MEMA, sent a joint letter to the Trump administration this week with a unified message: keep Chinese automakers out of the U.S. market, and don't let them build their way around the rules either.

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Episode #1297: The EV world is getting hit from all sides — punishing fee proposals, $50 billion in industry write-downs, and a bold $1.25 billion Uber-Rivian robotaxi bet.

A growing wave of state and federal EV fee proposals would charge electric vehicle owners two to three times what the average gas car driver pays in federal fuel tax.

• House Transportation Committee Chairman Sam Graves introduced a federal $200 annual EV fee — more than double the ~$95 average gas car driver pays in federal fuel tax each year.
• The fee is a flat charge with no connection to actual road usage, meaning a grandmother driving 3,000 miles pays the same as a daily commuter logging 25,000.
• 36 states already impose EV fees that result in EV owners paying more than gas drivers contribute through fuel taxes, with Texas charging $400 upfront plus $200 annually.

Automakers are unwinding EV bets at a combined cost approaching $50 billion, a stark reminder of how aggressively the industry moved, and how quickly the market shifted beneath them.

• Ford leads the charge with roughly $20.9 billion in EV-related write-downs through 2027, including the cancellation of the F-150 Lightning and a pair of three-row electric crossovers.
• Stellantis previewed €22 billion in charges — the largest single write-down — covering canceled vehicle programs, EV supply chain restructuring, and the end of a battery joint venture in Canada.
• GM and Honda round out the list, with GM topping $7 billion in 2025 EV charges and Honda projecting $1.9 billion by March — including winding down the Prologue and Acura ZDX programs.
• As iSeeCars analyst Karl Brauer put it, “There’s just been an overinvestment and, certainly, obviously too aggressive of a timeline”

Uber is betting $1.25 billion on Rivian to power its next robotaxi push, with plans to deploy up to 50,000 autonomous R2s across 25 cities by 2031.

• The deal includes an initial $300 million investment and commitments to purchase 10,000 autonomous R2s, with options for 40,000 more starting in 2030.
• Rivian's R2 robotaxis will launch exclusively on Uber's platform, starting in San Francisco and Miami in 2028, then expanding across the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
• The deal follows Rivian's $5.8 billion Volkswagen software partnership and adds to Uber's growing roster of AV deals with Lucid, Zoox, Stellantis, and Nvidia.
• Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi: "That vertical integration, combined with data from their growing consumer vehicle base and experience managing the complexities of commercial fleets, gives us conviction to set these ambitious but achievable targets."

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Episode #1296: GM and LG retool for energy storage as EV demand cools, VinFast restarts its North Carolina factory with a fraction of the jobs promised, and Nvidia adds four major automakers to its autonomous driving platform.

Show Notes with links:

• GM and LG are retooling their Tennessee Ultium Cells joint venture plant for energy storage batteries, and recalling 700 laid-off workers to make it happen. The facility was originally built to supply EV batteries, but slower-than-expected adoption changed the math.
  • The Ultium Cells joint venture will shift to lithium-iron phosphate battery production starting in Q2, targeting the booming energy storage market.
  • AI data centers are driving massive electricity demand, making grid storage one of the fastest-growing battery opportunities right now.
  • "Right now, the demand exceeds supply tremendously, and it's going to continue to exceed it for the next several years." — Kurt Kelty, GM VP of Battery, Propulsion and Sustainability

• VinFast is restarting construction on its North Carolina factory after a year-long pause, now targeting a 2028 launch. The original vision has shrunk considerably, and the company's finances aren't making the story any easier to tell.
  • The plant's projected workforce dropped from 7,500 to 1,400 jobs, putting $315M in state and local incentives at serious risk.
  • VinFast must either invest $500M or hit 1,750 jobs by end of 2026, or North Carolina can trigger a site repurchase option.
  • Q4 losses widened 15% year-over-year to $1.3B, even as deliveries more than doubled and full-year revenue doubled as well.
  • North American EV sales are forecast to drop 16% this year, adding headwinds to an already uphill U.S. market entry.
  • VinFast said it "remains focused on executing the project responsibly," but declined to comment on the incentive and job-count implications.

• At its GTC conference this week, Nvidia revealed that Hyundai, Nissan, BYD, and Geely are building Level 4-capable autonomous vehicles on its Drive Hyperion platform, joining Mercedes, Toyota, and GM.
  • Drive Hyperion is Nvidia's reference architecture for autonomous vehicles, combining its computing platform with cameras, radar, and lidar so automakers aren't starting from scratch.
  • Level 4 autonomy means the vehicle can drive itself in certain conditions with no human intervention required.
  • Nvidia's GPU dominance in gaming and data centers has quietly made it the backbone of the autonomous vehicle industry as well.

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Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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Episode #1295: Automotive trade associations nationwide are rallying dealers around FTC advertising compliance and we're joined by Ted Smith of FLADA.

Don Hall and the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association responded to Friday's FTC warning letters with a detailed compliance roadmap. Automotive trade associations across the country are stepping up to help dealers navigate what this means on the ground.

• • From VADA’s compliance roadmap: The core rule is simple: the advertised price must be the total price every consumer pays, processing fees and freight included. State law does not matter here; the FTC Act overrules it.
  • There is no such thing as an "Internet Price" or a "Geographic Price." If it's advertised, it must be available to every customer, every time, and no disclaimer can fix a non-compliant price.
  • Pre-installed add-ons that consumers cannot remove or decline, like paint protection or etching, must be included in the advertised price.
  • MSRP-only listings are a trap: post MSRP, and you'd better be prepared to sell at that price, or advertise the actual dealer total price instead.
  • VADA's bottom line: audit your ads now, update your addendum stickers, and train your sales staff on accurate out-the-door pricing, because a single screenshot of a non-compliant ad is all a regulator needs.

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Episode #1294: The FTC puts 97 dealership groups on notice over deceptive advertising, a former car salesman is making $200K a month helping car buyers negotiate deals, and BYD is quietly building a path into North America

The Federal Trade Commission is sending warning letters to 97 dealership groups over advertising practices the agency says may violate federal law. The FTC says transparent pricing is a priority and outlined six specific practices it considers illegal in vehicle advertising.

• The letter lists six examples of illegal dealership behaviors including:
  • Advertising a price that does not reflect all required fees
  • Advertising a price that reflects rebates or discounts not available to all consumers
  • Advertising a price that fails to take into account the amount of an additional required down payment
  • Conditioning the advertised price on consumers using dealer financing
  • Requiring consumers to buy additional items not reflected in the advertised price
  • Advertising unavailable or nonexistent vehicles.
• The FTC said it is “concerned” these dealer groups may be engaging in improper advertising practices, though it emphasized the letters do not represent conclusions of wrongdoing.

Meet the guy who spent a decade on your side of the desk — and now uses everything he learned to work against it. Tomi Mikula has built a thriving business negotiating car deals for buyers, and he's got 600,000 followers watching every move.

• • Tomi Mikula, a former car salesman and F&I pro, charges buyers a flat $1,000 fee to negotiate their next vehicle purchase on their behalf.
  • His company, Delivrd, has a team of five negotiators and generates about $200,000 in revenue per month — plus a social media following of 600,000 across TikTok and YouTube.
  • "You're hiring a middleman to deal with the middleman to make the middleman more efficient," Mikula said.

The world's largest EV maker isn't just knocking on North America's door anymore — it's looking for a key. BYD is studying Canada for a wholly owned manufacturing plant and signaling it's open to acquiring a struggling legacy automaker to fast-track its global expansion.

• BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li confirmed the company is studying Canada for a wholly owned factory — and made clear it has no interest in a joint venture, saying "I don't think a JV will work."
• Li said BYD is open to acquiring a legacy automaker
• BYD is already one of three finalists bidding for a 230,000-unit Nissan-Mercedes plant in Mexico, but is still avoiding the U.S. market, with Li calling it a "complicated environment."

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Today, Chris Reeves joins Paul and Kyle talk about how the Mitchell Automotive Group supported the Christian Mission Center ‘Stock the Pantry’ by offering free oil changes on Wednesday to anyone who brought in a bag of food donations.

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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