🚗 The UK Trade Truce

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Friend!

It is Monday, and this week we will finally converge in Hanover, MD, for ASOTU CON 2025.

Check out the Agenda, Speaker List, and Collaborators. And, if you’re ready to get in on the biggest conversations and innovations in retail auto, get a ticket and join us.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

_{Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here!
Reading time: 3 min}

THE NEWS

The UK, Georgia, Slate, and Lucid

🇬🇧 U.K. Trade Truce Saves JLR Jobs

Jaguar Land Rover is breathing easier after a new U.S.-U.K. trade deal slashed tariffs on British-built cars from 27.5% down to 10% for up to 100,000 vehicles annually. The deal helped JLR avoid layoffs and restart U.S. exports, which had been paused due to the steep duties. With the U.S. now representing a third of JLR’s global sales, this agreement is a lifeline—though dealers should note that once the quota is hit, tariffs spike back up to 25%. If you're moving metal from across the pond, now’s the time to get smart on sourcing and allocation.

⚡ Georgia’s EV Boom Faces Political Turbulence

Senator Warnock is sounding the alarm: Georgia’s $28 billion clean energy and EV investment surge could stall if federal tax credits tied to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) get repealed. The state is riding high on megaprojects from Rivian and Hyundai, but those projects—and the 42,000 jobs tied to them—depend on continued support for key incentives like the $7,500 EV tax credit. If D.C. pulls the plug, dealers in the Southeast could face fewer products, higher prices, and slower EV adoption.

🧾 Slate Auto’s Bold Play and Big Backers

Startup Slate Auto has raised a whopping $700 million from big-name investors like Bezos Expeditions and General Catalyst. Their bet? A minimalist, sub-$30K electric pickup that buyers can customize over time with modular add-ons. It’s different, it’s affordable—and it’s completely dependent on the survival of federal EV tax credits. If the credits vanish, so might the value prop. But if they stay, Slate could stir up serious disruption in the entry-level EV market.

🔌 Lucid Finds a Tariff Workaround

Lucid’s Q1 was a mixed bag—deliveries soared 58% year-over-year, but revenue came in below expectations. Still, Lucid may have stumbled into a power play: several automakers are now exploring partnerships to use Lucid’s Arizona plant as a workaround to the new 25% import tariffs. That could turn Lucid into a behind-the-scenes player in broader EV production. For dealers, this means more EV brands could soon carry a “Made in the USA” label—and maybe hit your lot faster and cheaper.

➕ More

Check out more news in our daily digest.

🥊 Quick Hits

• Era of U.S. dollar may be winding down 💵 

• USPS names new postmaster general 📫️ 

• Peacemaker season 2 has a trailer now. 🦸 

TOGETHER WITH VAUTO

Dealer Group Confidential: Driving Efficiency, Scaling Success Across Rooftops

Join us at ASOTU CON for a no-fluff dealer panel on how top groups are unlocking performance gains through data science-driven tech. Real-world tactics. Real results.

• Centralized inventory acquisition, pricing & appraising = scalable power moves

• Fixing rooftop-level gaps before they become profit drains

• Routing the right car to the right rooftop—every single time

• Group-level wins that drive real-deal financial outcomes

Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Time: 1:45 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Location: Studio Two, ASOTU Con

See how vAuto can help your group.

MORE THAN CARS MOMENTS

Rohrman Drives Hope

When we say this industry is more than cars, we mean it.

Rohrman Automotive Group just proved it with a $92,950 donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, raised through their April fundraiser. That’s not just a number—it’s a lifeline for families battling blood cancers.

This kind of impact doesn’t happen by accident. It takes a dealership committed to community, a team willing to go the extra mile, and customers who care enough to show up. Rohrman brought all three together.

To everyone at Rohrman: you didn’t just sell cars—you helped fuel hope. And that’s what it’s all about.

🔁 Today in History

• 1846 – The Donner Party of pioneers departs Independence, Missouri for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship and cannibalism. 🗺️ 

• 1988 – The new Ford Mustang – er, Probe, debuts 🐎 

• 2002 – Former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro, becoming the first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since the Cuban Revolution. 🇺🇸