By Zachary Hansen, Tribune News Service

Electric vehicle startup Rivian plans to hold two ceremonial events to christen the forthcoming construction of its long-delayed $5 billion factory an hour east of Atlanta.

The company will play host to a community event Sept. 14 and a formal groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 16 with stakeholders, media and government officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp. The events at the roughly 2,000-acre project site along I-20 bolster promises by Rivian leaders to begin vertical construction of the factory next year, following multiple delays and setbacks.

“The governor remains excited about the generational opportunity Rivian’s commitment will bring to hardworking Georgians,” a Kemp spokesperson said in a statement. “He, along with the first lady, look forward to joining Rivian and state and local leaders to break ground on this next chapter in Georgia’s ongoing economic success story.”

A Rivian spokesperson added the company is “excited to welcome our future neighbors” at the Sept. 14 community event, which will feature vendors, food, live music and off-road course rides in its vehicles.

“We look forward to continuing our work with our partners and surrounding communities as we strive to provide thousands of new, good paying jobs in this fast-moving industry,” the spokesperson said.

Since its announcement in late 2021, Rivian’s factory plans in Georgia have resembled a roller coaster ride.

Rivian first announced plans to open the factory in southern Walton and Morgan counties in 2024. But the project was pushed back and ultimately paused indefinitely as the company sought to cut costs. But Rivian said it would fulfill its promises to open the plant and meet its commitment to employ 7,500 workers. Rivian has said a $6.6 billion federal loan approved days before President Joe Biden left office would help accelerate the Georgia plant’s launch.

At the time of its announcement, the factory was the state’s largest-ever economic development project. Since Rivian’s announcement, Hyundai has announced and opened an even larger EV factory near Savannah, Georgia.

To recruit the Rivian factory, state and local officials offered the company a $1.5 billion incentive package, which requires the automaker to build its promised plant and meet hiring requirements to see the bulk of those financial benefits and tax savings.

Similarly, Rivian has to break ground on its factory to tap into the federal loan.

The loan’s approval by the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office has been criticized by some Georgia Republicans and allies of President Donald Trump, including members of his campaign’s transition team. Georgia’s senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, lobbied for many of those clean energy incentives, including Rivian’s loan.

“The loan is set up as more of a project finance instrument,” Claire McDonough, Rivian’s chief financial officer, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month. “So it does require Rivian to have broken ground and continue to invest in the site before we’ll have a timeline for an initial (loan) draw out of the facility, which is really by design.”

The site has been graded and is undergoing utility installation. Vertical construction is planned to begin at an unspecified date in 2026, with vehicle production starting by 2028.

Rivian has said the Georgia factory will be the site of expanded production of its upcoming R2 crossover.

“The work that we’ve been doing over the course of the last handful of years is to ensure that we can reduce the timeline between start of construction (of the Georgia factory) and start of production for future vehicles out of the site,” McDonough said.

Jerry Silvio, chairman of the local development authority that helped manage the Rivian project, congratulated the company.

“There is no question about the project’s future — it is secure,” Silvio said in a statement. “And we are charging ahead to deliver jobs, growth and opportunity for our communities.”

By Luke Ramseth, MediaNews Group

Under President Donald Trump, Dodge is turning back the clock on its muscle car lineup.

Instead of phasing out the final gas-guzzling Hemi V-8 engines still available on Durango SUVs this year, it’ll make them standard for 2026 — even on the entry-level GT trim. It’s soon launching potent six-cylinder Charger coupes and sedans amid rumors of a V-8 also under development for that model, which currently is available only with an electric powertrain.

The Stellantis NV brand, as it pivots hard back toward its big-engine, muscle-car roots, can thank the Trump administration and a GOP Congress: they have rushed to end automaker fuel economy fines and gut emissions rules that were meant to combat climate change and improve air quality.

Everything changed fairly suddenly for Dodge after the Republican president took office, CEO Matt McAlear said in an interview last week, and “that allowed us to go back to the drawing board and figure out, what is the next step? How do we give performance back to our customers?”

Yet Dodge, like other brands, has simultaneously been stung by Trump and his aggressive trade policies. Due to higher tariffs, the company has indefinitely postponed production of the Italian-made Hornet — a small crossover that the brand had hoped would finally start gaining sales traction with a reduced starting price after its debut in 2023.

“If the tariffs don’t change,” McAlear said, “then there won’t be a ‘26 model year.”

End of Hornet?

The brand pushed to import remaining 2025 Hornets before 27.5% auto tariffs on European imports kicked in this spring, he said, and 2026 production at the plant in Naples is on hold. There are fewer than 3,000 Hornets remaining on U.S. dealer lots, and he expects they will be sold down before the end of the year.

The CEO said Dodge had been plotting to grow sales of the Hornet just before tariffs kicked in, including by repositioning its starting price to roughly $30,000.

Now, dealers and analysts say they expect it’s probably the end of the line for the sporty crossover, which comes in both gas and plug-in hybrid iterations and is a cousin of the Alfa Romeo Tonale. Hornet had initially been pitched as a performance-oriented alternative that would find its niche in the popular compact SUV market.

Dodge spokesperson Kristin Starnes said a recent U.S. deal with the European Union to lower tariffs to 15%, including on cars, hasn’t changed Dodge’s calculation on postponing Hornet production.

“It’s a beautiful vehicle, but I don’t know how the constraints with tariffs will ever make it viable for the American market,” said Mike Bettenhausen, a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram retailer in suburban Chicago who heads the automaker’s national dealer council.

Losing the Hornet would take away one-third of Dodge’s current model lineup. Last year, Dodge sold more than 20,500 of them, but sales fell sharply in the first half of this year.

Dealers said they won’t be overly disappointed if the crossover does come to an end, despite its place in the highly popular compact SUV segment. It’s faced frequent quality issues that have led to customer frustrations, recalls for issues with brake pedals and the rearview camera display, and a price point that retailers said was far too high. Some were forced to deeply discount their Hornets to drum up customer interest, ultimately losing money on a number of transactions.

“The Italians trying to sell Italian vehicles in the United States has just been a big miss, man,” said Jim Walen, who sells Dodge, Jeep and other Stellantis brands in Seattle. “The market doesn’t want those.”

Dodge also faces elevated tariffs on its Charger Daytona EV and the forthcoming gas-powered Sixpack, produced at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Canada, but McAlear indicated no coming production changes there. The brand did earlier this year discontinue the entry-level Charger Daytona R/T, which is made at the plant, amid tariffs and slow sales that had led to significant discounting.

“They’ve been terrific in bringing the battery-electric technology (for Charger) and now they’re shifting over to the Sixpack technology, and we’re ramping that up quick,” McAlear said of the plant, adding that all the variants of the Charger will be in production in Windsor by the second quarter of 2026.

Hemis galore

Dodge is pushing more Hemi V-8s into its Detroit-made Durango lineup, which is less impacted by tariffs than its other offerings, except on imported parts.

A 5.7-liter V-8 will even be available on the base GT trim, starting at under $45,000, including destination charge. The R/T trim will now come with a more powerful 392 Hemi V-8, meanwhile, which delivers 475 horsepower.

And after its expected demise in recent years due to tightening federal emissions regulations, the top-end SRT Hellcat will live on, offering a 6.2-liter Hemi V-8 with 710 horsepower, a 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds — and an estimated combined fuel economy of just 13 miles per gallon.

The last time the Durango got a full overhaul was 15 years ago; McAlear wouldn’t say when the next generation is coming. But the three-row SUV remains a fairly popular and profitable offering for the company in recent years. Sales of more than 34,000 in the first half of 2025 were up 4% from last year.

Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at auto communications firm Telemetry, said it’s “only a matter of time” before Dodge announces a Hemi V-8 is also coming for the redesigned Charger. (When asked about the possibility, McAlear said there is “nothing that we’ve announced yet.”)

Dodge released the battery-powered version of the Charger at the start of the year, but it hasn’t resonated with the Dodge muscle car faithful, the analyst said, even with a system that pumps out sounds similar to a real V-8 engine. The company sold just 4,299 of them in the first half.

“A lot of that core audience doesn’t even care if the EV is any good, what kind of sounds it makes,” Abuelsamid said. “They’re just not even interested in looking at it.”

Dodge’s plan now to push out more high-powered gas engines should help win back some of its core customers turned off by the Charger EV, he said.

Kevin Farrish, a Stellantis dealer from Virginia, said it’s exciting for him and other retailers that the “muscle is coming back” after the last generation of the popular Charger and Challenger gas-powered models ended production in 2023. He’s confident four-door versions of the new gas-powered Charger will sell especially well. And Durango’s new Hemi offerings are a key selling point for Dodge customers who often come into the showroom looking for high performance.

“Putting a Hemi in it raises the price,” Farrish said. “But the enthusiast who wants that is willing to pay for it.”

A Detroit man has admitted to being part of a criminal enterprise in connection with a southeastern Michigan auto theft ring that targeted storage lots, car dealerships and residences.

Jordan Tyler Gray, 23, entered a guilty plea Wednesday in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens for his actions from April 2024 to April 2025 in Warren, according to court records.

Judge Anthony Servitto is scheduled to sentence him Sept. 24.

The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Gray’s attorney, Randy Rodnick, reached a sentencing agreement with Servitto for him to be sentenced to five years in prison, when Gray first will be eligible for parole, which is under the sentencing guideline range of six to 10 years.

Under the agreement, the sentence will be served simultaneously with any other sentence he might receive in other jurisdictions, records say.

Investigators from the Troy police Special Investigations Unit said they acted in partnership with the Macomb Auto Theft Squad in connecting Gray and two co-defendants to dozens of motor vehicle thefts, with larcenies occurring from the west side of Michigan east, extending as far as Massachusetts. Investigators said they utilized social media evidence, phone tracking and mapping, and surveillance of Gray to establish his involvement.

A search warrant executed at Gray’s residence on the day of his April 15 arrest yielded evidence such as numerous key fobs, a “significant amount” of cash, and a stolen Glock switch, officials said.

He is being held in the Macomb County Jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.

The criminal-enterprise charge against one of his co-defendants, a 22-year-old man, was dismissed last May by Judge Michael Chupa of 37th District Court in Warren, according to court records.

The case of a third defendant in the case could not be located in district and circuit court records.

MATS is composed of investigators from the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office and officers from Center Line, Clinton Township, Roseville and Sterling Heights. The Troy Special Investigations Unit is composed of officers from the Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Royal and Troy police departments. Both units work with officers from other agencies.

Assistant Macomb Prosecutor Jeff Hall is chief of the Auto Theft Unit at the county Prosecutor’s Office.

By Grant Schwab, Summer Ballentine, Breana Noble, The Detroit News

President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs and tariff threats could intensify challenges for Michigan’s trade-reliant economy, though analysts noted the potential for both benefits and risks from the GOP leader’s newest proposal.

Trump floated the idea last week of a 100% import tax on semiconductors — crucial components of electronic devices, cars and trucks, and other machines omnipresent in modern life — unless foreign producers make commitments to invest and build manufacturing facilities in the United States.

“If that indeed is put in place, I think that opens the door to Michigan again for the simple fact that we design, engineer and make things here,” said Glenn Stevens, executive director of MichAuto, the automotive arm of the Detroit Regional Chamber. “The state, including the governor and bipartisan politicians and economic development, have all focused on that growth industry. We’re as poised as anybody to capitalize on that.”

Others, however, noted that there would be significant downsides to the president slapping taxes on semiconductors. They said manufacturers across Michigan are already being squeezed by Trump’s oft-changing import taxes, including new levies that took effect Thursday on dozens of countries, and warned that a semiconductor levy could add another layer of cost and complexity at a time of rising economic concerns.

Michigan’s unemployment rate of 5.3% in June ranked second-to-last among all U.S. states, and a massive economic development project that might have brought thousands of jobs to Genesee County fell through last month. The project, notably, was centered on a semiconductor fabrication facility on 1,400 acres for computer chip maker Sandisk Inc.

Several Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet of Bay City, suggested that the project was scrapped due to chaotic economic conditions caused by Trump’s trade policies.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer met privately with Trump on Tuesday to discuss, among other things, the impact of tariffs on the state and the future of the vacant “megasite” in Mundy Township. Her office, asked to respond Thursday to Trump’s 100% semiconductor tariff threat, declined to comment. Instead, the governor’s team emphasized that Whitmer has been “incredibly vocal” about bringing investment to Genesee County.

While Trump’s stated goal of issuing a semiconductor tariff is boosting domestic production of the essential components, experts warned that there could be negative spillover effects for other areas of domestic manufacturing — like Michigan’s signature auto industry.

“Semiconductors are such an increasingly large percentage of the value of a vehicle. So (a 100% tariff) is going to raise prices for consumers, and there’s just no way around that,” said Sam Abuelsamid, an auto industry veteran and vice president at communications firm Telemetry.

There are between 1,000 and 3,000 semiconductors in modern vehicles, according to several industry estimates. The COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted supply chains around the world, demonstrated how damaging shocks in the availability of semiconductors are for the industry.

Because of a global shortage of microchips coming mostly from China and other Asian countries, automakers shut down plants, limited features on some vehicles or built them and held them until a semiconductor could be added. Abuelsamid noted that the effect of a tariff would be different than the COVID-era shocks, but still impactful.

“The availability is not going to be the issue. The cost is going to be the issue,” the analyst said. “And even if, manufacturers say, ‘OK, we’re going to move all of our chip manufacturing into the U.S.,’ it still takes a long time to build chip fabs. These are not something you can build in three or six months, or even a year. It takes several years to get a chip fab up and running from scratch.”

Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions LLC, also noted the long lag time for building semiconductor factories in the United States. He pointed to the CHIPS and Science Act, a key legislative accomplishment of former Democratic President Joe Biden.

“The old CHIPS Act was developed to encourage local production of chips,” Fiorani said. “And if it’s difficult and expensive to build an automotive plant, it’s even more difficult and more expensive to build a chip plant.”

The package directed about $280 billion in new funds to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors. It yielded several major projects, though all but one remain under construction or otherwise in development.

“A chip plant needs a lot of water and typically $10 billion to open, so it’s much more difficult to make that move,” Fiorani said. “But they were encouraged years ago to build locally, and it just takes a while for that to move to the next level.”

Stevens of MichAuto, who on one hand was optimistic about potential semiconductor manufacturing in Michigan, also acknowledged the potential for a COVID-like disruption for the auto sector.

“That definitely would be a concern,” he said.

New tariffs, new data

Beyond the semiconductor threat, Thursday marked the effective date of new import tax rates on dozens of countries, including several major U.S. trade partners.

Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from the EU, Japan and South Korea are taxed at 15%, while imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh are taxed at 20%.

“President Trump is seeking to strengthen our supply chains, create economic growth and power our future,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, in a statement. “We’ve already witnessed companies begin to make significant investments in the United States, and we must continue to protect the future of American industry.”

The new rates apply to vehicles and auto parts imported from Japan, South Korea and the EU, which were previously subject to 27.5% tariffs. The change has prompted backlash from Ford Motor Co. and some Michigan lawmakers.

“Just because you get a deal, doesn’t mean it is a good deal for America. Right now, a Japanese car is subject to a lower tariff than a car made in Canada, with American parts and some American labor,” U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, said in a social media post.

She echoed Ford’s argument that the company, which has a highly integrated supply chain between the United States, Canada and Mexico, now has a competitive disadvantage against rivals that import more of their vehicles from overseas.

Current tariff rates on vehicles from Canada and Mexico max out at 27.5%, but the actual duties paid are complicated because of partial exemptions granted to vehicles and parts that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.

Auto imports from Mexico and Canada have so far been subject to a lower duty rate than products other major automotive countries, according to a Detroit News analysis of federal data released on Tuesday. The analysis calculated rates by comparing assessed duties on auto imports to the total value of imports for June, which is the latest month with available data.

But Mexico, thanks to a high volume of auto exports to the United States, still ranked as a close second behind Japan in total duties paid in June.

Importers brought in $4.2 billion worth of automotive goods from Japan and paid about $1.15 billion in duties, good for a rate of 27.5%. By contrast, $14.2 billion in goods came from Mexico and were subject to $1.14 billion in duties, which came out to an 8% duty rate.

Industry experts said Ford and other automakers with heavily North American manufacturing bases — including foreign companies like Toyota Motor Corp. — have a legitimate argument that the new lower rates on Japan, South Korea and the EU could undermine any advantages that previous tariff structures conferred on American operations.

“The reason why the supply chain (in North America) is set up the way it is, it’s because of NAFTA and USMCA. We’ve developed a trade policy with our neighbors based on low or no tariffs,” Abuelsamid said. “And now, Trump is turning that up and expecting people to pivot on a dime. And it just doesn’t work that way.”

Patrick Anderson, CEO of the Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group, also noted the auto industry upheaval.

“It’s a completely different world than we have been operating in for most of the past quarter-century,” Anderson said in a phone interview. “This is a very fraught time for the American auto industry, as well as the Canadian and Mexican auto industries that are deeply connected to the American auto industry.”

Anderson also suggested that Trump — who often changes his tariff policies even after they take effect — could make adjustments in light of backlash from a domestic auto industry he has sought to boost.

“This is a shift from which there is no easy turning back,” the economist said. “I expect that some of the tariff rates that are imposed as of August 7 will have changed by September 7.”

More lawmakers weigh in

Members of the Michigan congressional delegation were split along party lines over Trump’s latest tariffs.

“I’m constantly hearing from Michiganders and our business leaders about how Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs are hurting our state — from causing costs to skyrocket for our families, to cutting manufacturing jobs, to threatening pensions for our auto workers, and costing our auto industry billions of dollars,” U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, said in a statement.

She continued: “Michigan doesn’t need Donald Trump’s chaotic, shoot-from-the-hip tariffs, and I’m going to keep working to lower costs for Michiganders, protect our jobs, and make sure we are protecting investments in our manufacturing economy.”

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who Stevens is running to replace when he retires from the chamber at the end of his term, had a similar message.

“If President Trump was serious about strengthening our domestic semiconductor supply chain we would have seen an actual plan by now. Instead, he has been attacking the CHIPS and Science Act that took historic steps to bring home semiconductor manufacturing and American jobs,” he said in a statement. “He is also continuing his chaotic tariff strategy that, instead of targeting trade cheaters, has only caused instability and uncertainty for Michigan businesses.”

U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain of Bruce Township, a fierce Trump supporter and the No. 4 Republican in the U.S. House, defended the president’s tariff agenda.

“American manufacturers are ready to Make in America again thanks to President Trump leveling the playing field and his One Big Beautiful Bill,” she said, referencing the massive tax cut and spending bill Trump signed into law in July.

McClain continued: “This transformational legislation delivered historic tax relief for manufacturers and small businesses, which empowers manufacturers to invest in workers and produce here in America. Hundreds of billions of dollars are pouring into U.S. manufacturing — from semiconductors to AI — just look at Apple’s recent announcement to increase their initial $500 billion investment by $100 billion to design and (manufacture) in America.

“These historic investments are creating real jobs. And it’s just getting started,” she added.

The Woodward Dream Cruise has been a celebration the past 30 years of America’s car culture. And its excesses.

More size, more chrome, more horsepower, more luxury and speed, more artistic and avant garde designs with no thought to gas consumption or efficiency. The louder the paint job and engine the better.

But the future of automobiles isn’t limited to the internal combustion engine. Which begs the question: Do electric vehicles have a place at the Woodward Dream Cruise?

That depends upon who you ask, and there’s certainly no agreement even within the growing community of EV owners and advocates on whether the Dream Cruise is the right place to showcase the technology and energy efficiency of electric vehicles.

Last week, electric vehicle and hybrid car owners gathered at Royal Oak’s Memorial Park for the Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance’s Clean Cruise EV Festival.

Robert Miller, an automotive journalist, leased his first EV this year, a 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona and sees a place for these types of vehicles in the cruise going forward.

“For some EV’s to be in the cruise like a (Tesla) Model S or the Hummer, they would do it, but a guy with a (Chevy) Volt EV, maybe not as much because it is an ‘appliance’ EV,” said Miller. “Everybody in Detroit and the automotive industry has their own little niche and it doesn’t matter what you drive, you can be a part of it (the cruise).”

John Richter, a renewable energy consultant, bought an all-electric Toyota Prius in 2005, has put 164,000 miles on it and still drives it.

“The Prius absolutely did not fit into the Dream Cruise when I bought it,” said Richter. “But as a comparison, if you went back to 1910, you would not have an automobile and a horse and carriage shown together. That is almost what EV’s and muscle cars going down Woodward would be like in this day and age.”

With the upcoming Dream Cruise coming up next week, one of the organizers of the Clean Cruise organizer said that far from competing with one another, the two worlds can co-exist.

“The dream cruise celebrates the history and the nostalgia of the industry,” said Amy Rogghe, executive director and founder of MEVA. “We don’t knock that, we celebrate that right along with them.,”

“They are very supportive of this event and we are supportive of theirs and they are very supportive about bridging the gap between the two areas,” she said.

Richter, who is also on the board of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association, listed his reasons why he bought his Prius 20 years ago.

“With an electric (car), I have no oil changes, I have no coolant changes, I don’t have an exhaust system that is going to rust out because they always do and I don’t get gasoline on my hands when I have to refuel it,” said Richter. “When we have power outages, I clip a converter on my Prius global battery, run an extension cord into my house and run my essential things off of it. For me it was about user convenience, I wasn’t trying to save the Earth.”

Miller said a speaker system and an exhaust chamber in the back of his EV Charger Daytona give the car the sound and feel of a gas powered model.

He says it has a 0-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds, has 670 horsepower from dual electric motors and is all-wheel drive with a base price of $80,000. The car weighs over 6,000 pounds, with the battery packs accounting for 1,200 pounds of that. The Charger has a power regenerative braking system that recharges the battery in stop and go traffic with a range of 241 miles fully charged.

But convincing people there is a muscle car market among the EV options has been a hard sell.

“There are very few of these cars out on the road right now because it is a hard market,” said Miller. “You have EV people that don’t like muscle cars and you have muscle car people that are stuck on hemi-cars, but I am starting to see more and more of them.”

“There are a lot of positives about this car, but Chrysler has not done a good job of marketing this car properly,” Miller said. “If they showed what this car could do against their old muscle cars it would be a lot different.”

He said the key to expanding the EV market as a whole is better access to charging stations throughout the state.

“The cost will come down, as with any other sort of new technology, but we need to have a better (charger) infrastructure here in Michigan,” said Miller. “Once things like that become more available, then it will generate future sales.”

There are over 1,900 charging stations throughout the state with Troy (53), Auburn Hills (26) and Ferndale (22) the top three locations in Oakland County.

“The technology is advancing year over year,” said Rogghe. “Ten years ago a battery range of 300 miles, which is the average now, would have been unheard of.”

According to the State of Michigan Community EV website:

– Currently, electric vehicles account for less than 1% of vehicle registrations in Michigan.  A snapshot of Michigan Secretary of State registration data in 2023 shows electric vehicles made up 0.57% of vehicle registration in Michigan.

– According to the Council on Future Mobility and Electrification’s 2020 report, by 2030 the sales of hybrid or electrified vehicles will represent 51% of all vehicle sales in Michigan.

– In Michigan, electric vehicle registration was up by more than 300% at the end of 2021 compared to 2018, and up more than 64% at the end of 2021 compared to 2020.

Even with his state of the art EV muscle car, Miller said there is acceptance of what lies ahead for that portion of the market.

“This morning I was cruising with a 1968 (Plymouth) Roadrunner and a 1969 (Dodge) Coronet and they gave me a thumbs up and we were running next to each other,” said Miller. “It will take time, but this incarnation of the muscle car will take hold in the U.S.”

By Breana Noble, The Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. is delaying the launch of its next-generation electric commercial van and electric full-size pickup truck to 2028, the Dearborn automaker confirmed Thursday.

They are the latest postponements in a wave of EV product cancellations and delays as the automotive industry realizes demand for expensive EVs with high-cost, large batteries needed to address range anxiety — and the charging network to support them — just isn’t there in the eyes of many U.S. consumers. That trend likely is set to accelerate with the Trump administration’s work to dismantle regulations around greenhouse gas emissions and incentives for EV transactions in what he has characterized as an effective “EV mandate.”

Ford nearly a year ago had said it would launch the commercial van in 2026 at its Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake outside Cleveland. At the time, it also had delayed the start of production by 18 months of the full-size pickup truck to the second half of 2027 at the new BlueOval City assembly plant in Stanton, Tennessee, outside Memphis. Pickup prototype production still is set to launch in 2027, Ford spokesperson Jessica Enoch said.

The company communicated about the timing adjustments to suppliers and employees in June, spokesperson Emma Bergg said in a statement.

“F-150 Lightning, America’s best-selling electric truck, and E-Transit continue to meet today’s customer needs,” Bergg said in a statement. “We remain focused on delivering our Ford+ plan and will be nimble in adjusting our product launch timing to meet market needs and customer demand while targeting improved profitability.”

Ford CEO Jim Farley has said the company won’t launch an EV until it can be profitable within a year. The Model e EV division of the company has lost $2.178 billion so far this year. The annual guidance it suspended in May, because of tariffs, for the unit had forecasted a loss of between $5 billion and $5.5 billion.

The Blue Oval has touted work by a California-based small “skunkworks” team for a new EV platform able to support a few smaller models, including low-cost offerings. The first is expected to be a midsize pickup truck in 2027, five years after the group’s creation.

The automaker is expected to share more details on platform and the changes in manufacturing it will usher in during an event on Monday at Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky, where it builds the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair SUVs. Farley has touted it as a “Model T moment” for the automaker.

“Seems they are not optimistic about notable acceleration in EV demand even a couple years from now,” David Whiston, analyst at investment services firm Morningstar Inc., said in an email. “I was hoping they’d tease the pickup truck but this news makes that less likely they’d show something.”

The truck program was known internally as “Project T3” for “trust the truck,” a rallying cry for the development team. Farley said it would “revolutionize America’s truck” to be simplified and more cost efficient. BlueOval City was expected to have capacity for 500,000 pickups annually.

Ford has sold under 16,000 F-150 Lightning trucks so far this year. It’s sold less than 5,000 E-Transit vans.

A year ago, Ford canceled plans to produce an all-electric, three-row SUV at Oakville Assembly Complex outside Toronto, Ontario, saying it didn’t expect the vehicle to be profitable because of the cost associated with the size of its battery, the most expensive part of an EV. Instead, it plans to launch Super Duty trucks there next year.

Farley on an earnings call last week emphasized a multi-energy strategy offering gas-powered, plug-in hybrid, extend-range electric and all-electric vehicles.

“We think that’s a much better move than a $60,000 to $70,000 all-electric crossover,” he said. “We think that that’s really what customers are going to want long-term. And we’re investing a lot in more durable ICE powertrains. The good news is that we’ve always built our business around flexibility of the powertrain, so our manufacturing operations can adjust to these.”

The company, he added, has reallocated some EV spending to its commercial Ford Pro division.

BlueOval City also is home to a battery plant that is a part of Ford’s joint venture with Korean battery maker SK On Ltd. Production there also has been delayed. The companies have said they’re investing $5.6 billion into the campus and creating approximately 6,000 jobs.

The JV has two other battery plant at the SK BlueOval complex in Glendale, Kentucky, outside Louisville. One is slated to start production this year, and the other’s opening has been delayed.

Automotive News first reported about the delay of the electric commercial van and pickup truck. Shares closed up 0.6% to $11.28, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 fell.

It’s not just Ford that has delayed EV launches. General Motors Co. has delayed launching additional production of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra electric trucks at Orion Assembly to mid-2026. Chrysler parent Stellantis NV also has postponed the launch of its Ram 1500 REV truck. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. also has scaled back EV investment plans from slower-than-expect U.S. demand growth.

By Aya Fayad, The Detroit News

Dozens of EV owners, supporters and advocates gathered Saturday at Royal Oak’s Memorial Park for the Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance’s Clean Cruise EV Festival, celebrating advancements in electric vehicle technology and green approaches to the future of the motor industry.

The first-of-its-kind celebration brought together Michigan elected officials, EV industry leaders and climate advocates from across the state to promote sustainable transportation, joined by sponsors Moms Clean Air Force, Environmental Defense Fund Action, Sierra Club and Tesla Owners Club.

“The overarching theme is that EVs are here to stay, and we want to educate the public that they are not going by the wayside,” said Amy Rogghe, executive director and founder of the Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance. “The transportation sector in Michigan is the largest contributor of greenhouse gasses out of every sector. So in our state, it’s ultimately important that we decrease the greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.”

The event featured a wide range of activities centered around the environmental and health benefits of electric transportation and highlighting electric vehicles from various manufacturers. A Ride ‘n’ Drive experience allowed those interested to test out the vehicles and drive them up and down Woodward Avenue.

As EV technology improves year over year and sales increase, Rogghe said, Detroit needs to stay one step ahead.

“If we don’t buy in, we’re going to be left in the dust,” Rogghe said. “So we really need to buy in, not only for our state’s economy, but just to be in the global economy, to be a big piece of that market. … I mean, in Michigan, we have the Detroit Motor City, right? We need to stay at the cutting edge of auto technology, and that is what an EV is.”

“This is going to be the evolution,” said Terry Richards, who displayed his Chevy Bolt EV at the event. Richards, 67, called himself the “oldest EV owner around” and said he hopes the event reaches younger generations.

“It’s not about us, it’s about the kids,” Richards said.

Erin DeMoss, who was sitting beside Richards and owned a Tesla Model S, agreed with him. Her Tesla has been to the Grand Canyon, Pikes Peak, Mount Washington and “all around Michigan,” she said.

“When we first bought our Tesla, wherever we would go, the kids are so amazed. They’d be like, ‘Oh my God, it’s a Tesla,’” DeMoss said. “So we have all these boomers who will say, ‘No, no, it’s gas all the way.’ But you know, they’re not going to be around forever, and when you look to the kids, they’re just so excited.”

“I’ve had a lot of discussions with people that are like ‘Gasoline forever,’” Richards said. “You can’t change everyone. All you can do is change enough people to switch over to get to what you call critical mass.”

Rie Yamakawa of Novi brought along her 4-year-old son to test out several mini battery-powered children’s motorcycles and cars. His stamp of approval, she said, made all the difference.

“I just think it’s awesome that they brought all these vendors, that they’re showing all these alternatives here,” Yamakawa said. “It’s great that they’re making people aware of these new models, there are so many for someone to choose from.”

When asked if she’ll be buying one for her son, Yamakawa laughed: “I think I need to now, he won’t get off. He finished the battery on the last one, the car, and now he’s riding the motorcycle.”

Also at the event, attendees could listen in on presentations and discussions on the benefits of transitioning to electric transportation, which experts said help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving overall air quality.

Nora Naughton, communications director of the Sierra Club’s Michigan chapter, said EVs are going to be “super key” in fighting the climate crisis.

“As soon as someone interacts with an electric vehicle, they’re so much more likely to actually consider them,” Naughton said. “There’s so many different things that we can do for climate action, and this is just one leg of the stool for us. This is an individual action that you can take today. You can turn in your gas powered car for an electric one, and I would argue that it would improve your life.”

Manufacturers demonstrated advancements in EV technology, giving attendees the opportunity to explore the vehicles up close through a showcase featuring over 60 different cars. The display even included an electric school bus and a solar vehicle designed by University of Michigan students.

Junior Julia Glasco and sophomore Evan Winters, both part of the university’s student-run UM Solar Car Team, presented their student-made and designed solar vehicle called Astrum. The car finished fourth in the 2023 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, an 1,800-mile race across the Australian Outback, and first in the 2024 American Solar Challenge.

“I always watch the green cruise growing up and it’s the best way to display what our car does for sustainability, because it kind of gets overlooked when people think it’s just a racing team,” Winters said. “But I mean, what we’re doing is moving the future of renewability forward in a way no one else really is.”

Glasco added that the group wanted younger generations to get involved in “the future of sustainability,” saying, “it gives the younger kids a chance to be a part of something that’s for the future of sustainability, a better future for all.”

The festival was closed out with an EV cruise down Woodward Avenue, with over 60 EV owners who represented more than a dozen brands driving their cars and honking for passerby.

“I’m an EV and environment advocate, I’ve always been an advocate, and I’m still an advocate,” Richards said before taking his car out for the cruise. “This is the future, it really is. It’s the evolution of the Motor City.”

By Josh Boak and Alexa St. John, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. automakers are concerned about President Donald Trump’s agreement to tariff Japanese vehicles at 15%, saying they will face steeper import taxes on steel, aluminum and parts than their competitors.

“We need to review all the details of the agreement, but this is a deal that will charge lower tariffs on Japanese autos with no U.S. content,” said Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents American automakers General Motors, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis.

Blunt said in an interview the U.S. companies and workers “definitely are at a disadvantage” because they face a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on parts and finished vehicles, with some exceptions for products covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that went into effect in 2020.

The domestic automaker reaction reveals the challenge of enforcing policies across the world economy, showing that for all of Trump’s promises there can be genuine tradeoffs from policy choices that risk serious blowback in politically important states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, where automaking is both a source of income and of identity.

Trump portrayed the trade framework as a major win after announcing it on Tuesday, saying it would add hundreds of thousands of jobs to the U.S. economy and open the Japanese economy in ways that could close a persistent trade imbalance. The agreement includes a 15% tariff that replaces the 25% import tax the Republican president had threatened to charge starting on Aug. 1. Japan would also put together $550 billion to invest in U.S. projects, the White House said.

The framework with Japan will remove regulations that prevent American vehicles from being sold in that country, the White House has said, adding that it would be possible for vehicles built in Detroit to be shipped directly to Japan and ready to be sold.

But Blunt said that foreign auto producers, including the U.S., Europe and South Korea, have just a 6% share in Japan, raising skepticism that simply having the open market that the Trump administration says will exist in that country will be sufficient.

“Tough nut to crack, and I’d be very surprised if we see any meaningful market penetration in Japan,” Blunt said.

Asked at Wednesday’s briefing about whether Trump’s sectoral tariffs such as those on autos were now subject to possible change, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the issue had been going through the Commerce Department.

The framework with Japan was also an indication that some nations simply saw it as preferential to have a set tariff rate rather than be whipsawed by Trump’s changes on import taxes since April. But for the moment, both Japan and the United Kingdom with its quotas on auto exports might enjoy a competitive edge in the U.S.

“With this agreement in place it provides Japan with a near-term operating cost advantage compared to other foreign automakers, and even some domestic U.S. product that uses a high degree of both foreign production and parts content,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. “It will be interesting to see if this is the first domino to fall in a series of foreign countries that decide long-term stability is more important that short term disputes over specific tariff rates.”

Major Japanese automakers Toyota, Honda and Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the trade framework, nor did Autos Drive America or the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, organizations that also represent the industry.

There is the possibility that the Japanese framework would give automakers and other countries grounds for pushing for changes in the Trump administration’s tariffs regime. The president has previously said that flexibility in import tax negotiations is something he values. The USMCA is up for review next year.

Ford, GM and Stellantis do “have every right to be upset,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president at consultancy AutoForecast Solutions.

But “Honda, Toyota, and Nissan still import vehicles from Mexico and Canada, where the current levels of tariffs can be higher than those applied to Japanese imports. Most of the high-volume models from Japanese brands are already produced in North America.”

Fiorani noted that among the few exceptions are the Toyota 4Runner, the Mazda CX-5 and the Subaru Forester, but most of the other imports fill niches that are too small to warrant production in the U.S.

“There will be negotiations between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico, and it will probably result in tariffs no higher than 15%,” Fiorani added, “but nobody seems to be in a hurry to negotiate around the last Trump administration’s free trade agreement.”

By Breana Noble and Owen McCarthy, The Detroit News

Consumers’ hunger for new vehicles persisted in May, but affordability concerns could cool sales in June as dealerships start running short on cars and SUVs delivered ahead of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs.

In May, Ford’s U.S. sales increased 16% year-over-year while Hyundai’s grew 8% and Kia’s rose 5%. Subaru and Mazda Motor Corp., however, reported declines of 10% and 19%, respectively. General Motors and Stellantis will report second-quarter sales next month.

Spring typically marks a surge in vehicle sales, as tax returns hit bank accounts and the weather warms up. But consumer sentiment has plunged to some of its lowest levels in decades amid frequently changing rules on tariffs, and concerns that new vehicle prices could climb later this year. It has led some consumers to purchase vehicles sooner than they had planned.

S&P Global Mobility forecasted May sales up 2% compared to a year ago, but predicted sales were slowing to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.7 million vehicles, down from 17.6 million from March to April.

“Consumer confidence is down, but the sales are not,” said Stephanie Brinley, associate director of research and analysis at S&P’s AutoIntelligence. “It doesn’t usually work that way.”

With inventories down and non-tariffed models moving off lots, the “affordability bullet has not come through yet. There’s a little bit of wait-and-see for what automakers really do,” Brinley added, noting June could start revealing the direction companies choose to take.

Some have given consumers confidence that they can wait a bit. Ford, through the July 4 weekend, is offering its customers thousands of dollars per vehicle in discounts typically reserved for its employees. In early May, however, it did increase prices by up to $2,000 forf its Mexico-built vehicles because of tariffs.

Stellantis — the parent of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and other brands — is offering a similar employee discount program, which it has been extended through June. Volkswagen has said it will hold to its current manufacturer’s suggested retail prices through June. GM CEO Mary Barra has said the automaker doesn’t expect major price increases.

But vehicle imports are expected to slow, which will mean less availability and price increases, said Charlie Chesbrough, a senior economist at Cox Automotive Inc.

“As more tariffed products replace existing inventory over the summer,” he said, in a May forecast, “prices are expected to be pushed higher, leading to slower sales in the coming months.”

Some dealers are already noticing wariness. “I haven’t seen people this cautious since before, or during, the early stages of COVID,” said Jim Walen, the owner of Stellantis and Hyundai showrooms in Seattle.

The ports in Seattle look “empty,” he said. Layoffs by Microsoft in the state of Washington haven’t helped business either. Stellantis’ employee discount program, however, is a boon: “Anytime you can affect the transaction price, it’s a good thing.”

Meanwhile, some dealers are planning to pull back over revenue concerns, Walen said, but he’s taking a different approach: “We’re very aggressive. We stock a lot, we’re part of the community, we advertise a lot.”

While some May sales are occurring over tariff concerns, other shoppers are dropping out of the market altogether, said Ivan Drury, director of insights at auto information website Edmunds.com. It may still be too early to determine if the circumstances will affect vehicle segments as some customers hold off rather than get a vehicle without certain features.

There are also differing views on tariffs, how they work and the impact they will have, Drury added: “Not everybody’s on the same page.”

But there are trends. More consumers bought out their leases in May than in April, rather than leasing again. That could be a sign customers are seeking to limit increases to their monthly payments, but it also means they’re stepping out of the market, Drury said.

He added that while inventory is declining there’s still too much stock — more than 2.5 million vehicles are on dealer lots — to see substantial price increases.

“The last time when we had people really get hit with price increases, where it took them back, was when we were down to 1 million units,” Drury said. “And that’s where you start to see that crossover between consumers getting a deal versus consumers just dealing and saying, ‘OK, fine, I’ll pay MSRP. I’ll pay above.’”

The share of electric vehicles in the market was forecasted to continue slipping. EV’s accounted for about 7% of sales in March and April, and S&P Global Mobility predicts it would be 6.8% in May. Ford EV sales in May were down by a quarter, driven by decreases in the F-150 Lightning pickup and Transit commercial van.

Trump has pulled federal funding for EV charging infrastructure and directed his administration to reevaluate greenhouse gas tailpipe emission regulations and incentives that could be construed as an “EV mandate.” The U.S. Senate last month also removed a waiver that enabled California and a contingent of states to enforce stricter zero-emission requirements on passenger vehicle sales. The result is an uncertain policy environment around EVs.

“They’ve been trending a little bit down the whole year,” Brinley said. “It may be some people looking for an EV in January bought, expecting the incentives to go away, but they’re not afraid of that anymore.”

Rhett Ricart, who has eight new-vehicle stores for Ford and Chevrolet to Nissan and Mitsubishi in and near Columbus, Ohio, said tariffs and policy changes are on the minds of EV buyers, but he otherwise describes sales as normal.

“A possible tariff scare … doesn’t seem to exist,” Ricart said, adding about expectations that Trump or the judicial system will offer some clarity on import taxes. “For any jitteriness, we will hopefully find out if the tariffs stick soon.”