🚗 FTC Warns 97 Dealer Groups

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The Federal Trade Commission recently sent warning letters to 97 dealership groups regarding advertising practices the agency believes could violate federal law. The letters are not accusations or enforcement actions, but they do signal that regulators want stronger alignment between the price customers see advertised and the price they actually pay.

The FTC’s message is straightforward: advertised prices should include all mandatory fees, excluding only government charges such as taxes.

The agency highlighted six practices it considers illegal in vehicle advertising, including advertising prices without required fees, using rebates not available to all customers, conditioning pricing on dealer financing, excluding required down payments, requiring undisclosed add-ons, or advertising vehicles that are not actually available.

For most dealerships, these principles are not new. They are long-standing expectations tied to the FTC Act’s prohibition on deceptive practices. In practice, the guidance reinforces a simple idea: the number that brings a customer in should match the real buying experience.

The warning letters also fit into a broader pattern of FTC scrutiny around pricing transparency and undisclosed charges across multiple industries. Regulators are increasingly focused on ensuring consumers can accurately compare prices.

For most dealers, that focus supports a healthier marketplace. When misleading advertising disappears, the stores that win are the ones that build trust through clear communication, strong processes, and consistent customer experiences.

In other words, this moment is less about changing how good dealers operate and more about reinforcing what the best stores already do well: clear pricing, clear expectations, and a buying process customers understand.

More on this and additional actions to take today in our full article here.

Five major auto trade groups, including NADA, sent a letter urging the Trump administration to keep Chinese automakers out of the U.S. market. The concern: China’s government-backed EV push could undercut domestic manufacturing and supply chains. Translation: Detroit is fine with competition, just not the kind backed by a geopolitical industrial policy.

Trump has previously said he’d welcome Chinese factories if they hire American workers. Stay tuned.

Lucid held its first investor day in five years and laid out an ambitious roadmap: midsize EVs, robotaxis, software subscriptions, and positive cash flow “later this decade.”

Wall Street’s reaction? A collective shrug.

The company still lost $2.7B last year and burned $3.8B in cash.

Lucid says autonomy and new models will expand its market dramatically. Investors seem to be waiting for something simpler: proof.

Toyota’s EV strategy in China increasingly depends on Chinese parts and technology. Some analysts estimate nearly 90% of the components in Toyota’s bZ3X EV are sourced locally. The upside: the car is selling well. The downside: long-time Japanese suppliers are losing contracts as Chinese tech and pricing dominate the EV supply chain.

In the global EV race, even industry giants are discovering the fastest way to compete in China is…with China.