TOGETHER WITH

Good Morning, Friend!

Join us this morning on The Automotive State of the Union to celebrate our friend Ed Roberts’ promotion to GM and hear from him on his new role.

Of course, he will also bring along the amazing topics he always does, so it’s sure to be a great talk!

Catch it live on LinkedIn or YouTube.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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

THE NEWS

Today’s Rules, Brands, and Buyer Math

What do Trump’s fuel-economy rollback, Europe reopening the door to combustion engines, big moves inside GM, a surprising Scout Motors update, and rising car payments all mean for U.S. retail?

If you have been searching for things like “Will loosening fuel rules make gas cars cheaper?” “Is Europe canceling its engine ban?” “Why is GM restructuring?” or “What is the average car payment now?” This is the complete picture in one place.

Policy: Are U.S. and European regulators shifting away from strict EV mandates?

Short answer: yes, in different ways.

United States

The Trump administration has proposed reducing Biden-era fuel economy targets from above 50 mpg to about 34.5 mpg by 2031. It is being sold as the Freedom Means Affordable Cars plan, with claims of 109B dollars in consumer savings over five years and roughly $1K off new-vehicle prices.

European automaker stocks jumped immediately. Porsche gained more than 5%, Mercedes and Volvo nearly 4%, Renault 3.3%, and Stellantis 2.7%.

Europe

The EU is no longer treating 2035 as a hard stop for combustion engines. Officials have confirmed that ICE sales will continue after 2035 if cars run on low-emission fuels such as synthetic gasoline or HVO100 biofuels. These fuels can reduce emissions by up to 90%.

Current European powertrain mix:

• EVs: 18.3% of new sales

• Hybrids: 34.7%

• Plug-in hybrids: 9.4%

Some automakers want the ban gone entirely. Others, including Volvo and Polestar, still want the full phaseout in place.

The global conversation is shifting toward “lower emissions by any technology that works.” That supports a long tail for hybrids, cleaner ICE, and multi-path strategies from OEMs.

Automakers: What’s happening inside GM, and why is Scout Motors in the classroom?

GM

The company is reorganizing its entire product and technology pipeline under new Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson, a former Tesla and Aurora executive. Anderson now controls the full vehicle lifecycle, including software, batteries, manufacturing engineering, services, and autonomy. Several senior software and AI leaders have exited as GM consolidates.

GM continues to push toward personal highway autonomy around 2028 and is positioning software as core to future products.

Expect faster product cycles, clearer software roadmaps, and more unified decision-making inside GM. This could reduce the internal tug-of-war that has slowed execution in recent years.

Scout Motors

While building its new plant in South Carolina, Scout’s chief technical officer Burkhard Huhnke is now teaching a systems-engineering course at the University of South Carolina. Doctoral students are using EV and autonomous case studies aligned with Scout’s future products.

Scout plans preproduction builds next year and regular production by late 2027.

This is a talent-pipeline play. Scout is embedding itself in the local technical ecosystem while gearing up for product launches.

Data: What are payments, credit conditions, and market sentiment telling us?

Car payments continue to shape consumer behavior. According to NerdWallet and Experian, the current environment looks like this:

Current car-payment landscape:

• Average new-car payment: $749

• Average used-car payment: $529

• Typical new-car loan amount: $42,000

• Typical used-car loan amount: $26,800

• Average loan term: ~69 months

On the broader economy, strategist Warren Pies is forecasting an early-2026 “optimism shakeout.” He expects a sentiment reset, not a downturn, before AI-driven productivity broadens growth again.

Buyers are payment-focused, rate-sensitive, and stretching terms. Clear explanations of value, lifetime cost, and financing strategy will matter more than ever.

TOGETHER WITH VAUTO

How Much Time Do You Spend Merchandising Vehicles?

It’s probably much more time than you think, especially if you build descriptions, photos, carousels, videos and listing information for each vehicle, one at a time.

That’s why many dealers’ merchandising doesn’t connect with consumers the way it should. Today, consumers expect to explore a vehicle’s features, fit and value the way they do anywhere else online.

Enter vAuto’s Advanced Merchandising Suite. It helps you cut the time it takes to merchandise each vehicle and provide experiences that turn consumers toward your vehicles.

Visit here for more.

EVERYTHING ELSE

The One Acquisition Insight Dealers Can Act On Today

Not every acquisition channel delivers the same return, and treating them as equal is how stores quietly lose margin.

The high-value move is simple. Break your used inventory down by channel and measure each one by share of sales and share of gross. When dealers put those numbers on one page, the pattern becomes obvious. Trades, service drive, and street purchases usually outperform everything else, while auction often fills gaps but rarely lead the pack.

If you want steadier, more predictable used performance, start shifting attention toward the channels that actually make you money.

More from Derek Hansen of vAuto, in the full article here.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Coming Soon

• February 3-6: NADA Show 2026, Las Vegas, NV

• May 12-15: ASOTU CON 2026, Hanover, MD

Today in History

• 1933: The 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, repealing Prohibition in the United States. 🥂

• 1955: E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks led the Montgomery bus boycott. 🇺🇸 

• 1964: For his heroism during the Vietnam War, Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war. 🎖️ 

Thanks for reading!