TOGETHER WITH
Howdy Fam!
We’re releasing the interviews and conversations we recorded last week at Public Policy Day.
Check out the Auto Collabs on YouTube for the first two, and check back all week for more releases.
We also do video recaps on LinkedIn if that’s more your speed. Read more here.
Honestly, if we could just bring you with us to these things, we would, but getting you through TSA as a carry-on would be pretty hard.
Keep Pushing Back
-Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
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Employee Retention Is a Plan, Not a Reaction
Replacing a top performer costs far more than checking in monthly. Yet most dealerships stop investing once someone is hired. Engagement slips quietly, long before a resignation ever hits a manager's desk.
ESi-Q’s Pulse Survey helps leading dealerships turn retention into a competitive advantage. By spotting employee disengagement, dissatisfaction, and burnout early, leaders can act while there’s still time.
Continuous employee insights shift teams from reactive backfills to proactive retention - protecting performance, culture, and revenue.
See how retention becomes your advantage with ESi-Q.
THE NEWS
Tariffs are reshaping 2026 planning: GM’s math, Korea’s scramble, and VW’s pause
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The auto tariff story moved from theory to operational reality this week, with manufacturers and governments reacting in real time.
First, GM raised its 2026 outlook even after posting a larger Q4 net loss, driven by more than $7 billion in charges tied largely to scaling back EV production.
The more dealer-relevant detail is GM’s tariff line item: the company said it absorbed a $3.1 billion impact in 2025 and expects $3 billion to $4 billion in 2026, with management assuming a 15% tariff rate on South Korea.
GM has already been shifting exposure, including plans to move a future Buick compact crossover program to Kansas rather than China, reinforcing a theme for 2026: profitable ICE and hybrid demand plus supply-chain rebalancing as trade policy churns.
More on this with Paul and Kyle here.
That churn intensified as President Trump said tariffs on South Korean autos (plus pharma and lumber) would rise to 25% from 15%, citing delays in Korea’s legislature approving a trade agreement.
Korea’s ruling party then signaled it would push an investment-related bill through by late February, underscoring how quickly tariff assumptions can swing based on politics and process, not just economics.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen is reportedly shelving plans for a U.S. Audi plant until tariffs on European automakers ease, after a major 2025 tariff hit.
For VW and Audi dealers, a slower path to U.S. localization likely means prolonged dependence on imported allocation, with pricing and incentive flexibility more exposed to tariff moves and currency shifts.
How to use this information: assume tariff volatility will show up first in mix, incentives, and availability, so align your next stand-up around flexibility, fast pricing updates, and merchandising the trims you can actually get.
More Industry News for Dealers to Know.
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1) Reputation and CX, by the numbers.
Widewail’s 2026 report says U.S. franchise dealers generated 5.5M Google reviews in 2025, up 25% year over year, with average monthly volume rising to about 13 reviews per rooftop by Q4.
The headline customer complaint is communication: it showed up in roughly 48% of negative reviews for both Service (48.7%) and Sales (48.4%) in Q4. Widewail’s Q4 benchmark snapshot also shows higher engagement among its clients versus the industry (about 39 vs. 13 reviews/month, 4.75 vs. 4.65 stars, and 100% vs. 88% response rate).
2) Europe hits an EV milestone.
Reuters reports that battery-electric registrations surpassed petrol in the EU for the first time in December, citing ACEA data, even as policymakers discuss loosening emissions rules.
Electrified vehicles are taking more of the mix: in December, battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid registrations were up 51%, 36.7%, and 5.8%, and together made up 67% of EU registrations. The competitive pressure is also shifting, with BYD registrations up 229.7% in the month while Tesla fell 20.2%.
3) Washington’s policy day is about the cars you will retail.
Public Policy Day at the Washington, DC Auto Show framed affordability and regulation as the two issues dominating the room. The lineup includes senior federal and congressional voices tied directly to safety and fuel economy direction, with the point being simple: rules set in DC shape what OEMs build, certify, and prioritize.
The event also reinforced that auto shows still drive real buying behavior, with the claim that 97% of vehicle purchases still happen in physical showrooms, and the DC show leaning into live drive experiences.
4) Toyota’s Koji Sato flags trade risk and supply chain resilience
Toyota CEO Koji Sato became JAMA chairman on Jan. 1, 2026, and warned Japan’s automakers face “unprecedented upheaval” across trade, tech, and environmental policy. Automotive News highlights trade uncertainty and critical resource procurement as top challenges, alongside software, autonomous driving, and supply-chain competitiveness.
AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE
Dealer Conferences and Industry Events (2026)
February 3-6: NADA Show 2026, Las Vegas, NV (Looking for a party?)
February 4, 12-1 pm: More Than Cars community meet-up at Booth 3635W.
May 12-15: ASOTU CON 2026, Hanover, MD
Quick Hits
🤖 AI: Agentic commerce rewards dealers with unique inventory, clear value, and machine-readable listings; generic cars and marketing spend matter less than real differentiation and availability.
🛒 Retail: UPS is cutting 30K jobs in a pivot away from Amazon.
💰 Economy: Gold is getting more valuable. This isn’t a sign of economic confidence.
Today in History
1813 – Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom. 📕
1896 – The first speeding ticket 👮
1956 – Elvis Presley’s National TV Debut and His Love Affair with Cadillacs 🎶
Thanks for responding in the poll, Friend. “More news” has been selected a good deal, so in addition to the longer news report, we’ve been including the shorter news digest as a follow-up. Let me know how you like it!
