Photo: Alexander-93 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
In today's issue:
Toyota commits $3.6B to move its Baja California Tacoma line to San Antonio by 2030; a second Mexican plant in Guanajuato keeps building Tacomas
Nearly a quarter of new-car buyers are now signing 7-year loans as sticker prices near a record $52K, even though what buyers actually pay eased slightly in May
Polestar slashes up to $25,000 off models it can't legally sell after 2027
TARIFF MATH
Toyota's board approved a $3.6 billion expansion of its San Antonio plant, adding 2.5 million square feet and a second assembly line to build the Tacoma alongside the Tundra, per Carscoops and Road & Track.
The Texas plant will add capacity for 150,000 Tacomas annually and create 2,000 jobs when production begins in 2030, per The Truth About Cars.
Toyota's official statement makes no mention of tariff pressure, framing the move around workforce, demand, and long-term growth; Trump credited tariffs for the decision in a social media post ("That's what tariffs do"), per Business Insider.
Toyota builds Tacoma at two Mexican plants today; only the Baja California (Tijuana) line moves to Texas. A Toyota spokeswoman told CNBC the company is "maintaining its operations in Mexico" and will keep building Tacomas at its other plant in Guanajuato.
The US declined on July 1 to renew USMCA at its first joint review, leaving automakers with years of trade uncertainty even without a full collapse, per Automotive News.
Toyota is moving production before the trade rules are settled, not after: the $3.6B commitment lands while the USMCA framework itself sits in limbo. The Tacoma is the best-selling midsize truck in the US, and one of its two Mexican lines is staying put, so exactly how much of the model remains Mexican-built through 2030 will still matter to any buyer watching sticker prices.
Also worth knowing
$25K Off Polestar 3 and 4 Is a Going-Out-of-Business Sale: The Commerce Department banned Polestar from new US sales after 2027 over Chinese software concerns; the brand is now clearing 2026 inventory with discounts up to $25,000, slashing the Polestar 4's $57,800 sticker, per Kelley Blue Book and CBT News. Dealers are warning buyers that resale value and long-term service access are both at risk once the brand exits. #market
Mercedes Q2: China Down 30%, BEV Up 50%, Net Deliveries Down 6%: Mercedes-Benz delivered 511,900 vehicles globally in Q2, down 6% year over year, with China deliveries collapsing 30% while North America rose 13% and group-wide BEV sales climbed 50% to 63,000 units, per the Mercedes-Benz pressroom and CBT News. GM's China pain ran deeper: Q2 sales there fell 20% to 357,000 vehicles, per Automotive News. #analyst
Nearly 1 in 4 New-Car Buyers Is Signing an 84-Month Loan: Sticker prices sit near a record $51,595 average MSRP, but the average transaction price buyers actually pay eased to $49,220 in May, down slightly month over month, per Cox Automotive/Kelley Blue Book. A comprehensive Edmunds analysis found roughly 24% of buyers are now choosing 7-year loans to keep monthly payments manageable, per autoevolution; NADA flagged record financing highs alongside affordability concerns on the same day. New-vehicle CPI fell 0.3% in May too, so the squeeze is coming from financing terms and incentive cuts, not sticker inflation, which is why nearly a quarter of buyers are now stretching to 7-year loans. #market
Wholesale Used-Vehicle Prices Rose 2.1% in June, But EVs Are Pulling Away From the Rest of the Market: The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index closed June at 212.9, up 2.1% year over year and roughly flat month over month, while the EV wholesale index climbed 12% year over year versus 1.7% for non-EVs, per Cox Automotive. Wholesale days' supply rose to 26.9 days and sales conversion held at 57.5%, above the three-year norm for June even as it eased from May, a sign wholesale demand is cooling gradually rather than dropping off. #market
Washington Dealers Sue Scout Motors to Block Direct Sales: The Washington State Auto Dealers Association filed suit June 29 in US District Court to block Scout Motors, backed by Volkswagen Group, from selling direct to consumers in the state, per Automotive News and CBT News. A ruling in Scout's favor would give other direct-sales brands fresh legal cover in franchise-law states. #analyst
Reveals & culture
2027 Porsche 911 GT3 S/C First Drives: 502 HP, 9,000 RPM, Top Down: The GT3 gets a folding soft top for the first time in the model line's 27-year history, keeping the naturally aspirated flat-six, manual gearbox, and full go-fast hardware intact, per simultaneous first drives from The Drive, Car and Driver, Road & Track, and MotorTrend, with reviewers near-unanimous in their praise. #enthusiast
Land Rover Defender Facelift Quietly Strips 93 HP From the Octa: The updated Defender Octa drops from 626 hp to 533 hp under new emissions rules, while the new Vertex variant steals the Octa's angry-grille face for a cheaper price, and the Defender 110 gains a six-seat option, per Carscoops and Auto Express. JLR is billing this as a mid-life update; losing 15% of peak power in a flagship halo model is harder to spin. #enthusiast
Recalls & legal action
Ford Recalls 110,000+ Mustangs in Two Separate Actions: Wipers and Drivetrain: Two simultaneous recalls cover 67,553 units of the 2024-2026 Mustang (including 289 Mustang GTDs) for wiper motors that fail to slow from high speed in freezing temperatures, and 2021-2023 Mach-E vehicles for rear differential pinion shaft fractures, per CarComplaints and Carscoops; Autoblog notes Ford has now issued 56 safety defect recalls in 2026, and at least one repair won't be available until 2027. → If you own one: Check your VIN at NHTSA.gov; Mach-E owners should contact their dealer now given the drivetrain risk, as parts are not yet available. #news
GM Halts Cadillac Vistiq Shipments Over Third-Row Seat That Can Trap Passengers: GM recalled 14,540 units of the 2026-2027 Cadillac Vistiq and stopped new shipments because power-folding third-row seatbacks can keep moving after occupants are seated, posing an entrapment risk; dealers will disable the folding function until replacement parts arrive, per CBT News, Autoblog, and Road & Track. The same failure mode killed a 2-year-old in a Hyundai Palisade in March, per Hyundai's own NHTSA recall filing. → If you own one: Bring your Vistiq to a dealer to have the third-row folding function disabled until the fix is available. #news
Quick links
BMW iX3 Is First Car to Score Five Stars Under Tougher 2026 Euro NCAP Rules: The new protocol adds a full post-crash safety sequence to testing; the iX3 cleared it, per BMW Group's pressroom and CarExpert.
BYD Tried to Buy Into Renault Twice; Renault Said No Both Times: BYD sought a Renault Group stake on two separate occasions in recent years and was rebuffed both times, per Automotive News Europe citing Les Echos; both companies declined to comment.
Leapmotor's B10 EV Just Arrived in Mexico Through Stellantis Dealers: The Chinese startup used Stellantis' existing Mexican dealer network to launch its B10 electric crossover, framing Mexico as its first step toward broader North American sales, per Automotive News.
Fiat Topolino Goes on Sale in the US at $13,995, Tops Out at 19 MPH: The sub-100-inch, 8-hp neighborhood EV ships as a 19-mph low-speed vehicle; an optional dealer-installed kit arriving by end of summer unlocks 25 mph and street-legal status at no extra cost, with an all-in price of $14,985 with destination, per Car and Driver, Autoblog, and InsideEVs.
Mazda 3 Is Having Its Best Sales Year in Years Despite No Redesign: The aging Mazda 3 is outperforming newer rivals in 2026 US sales, a result Autoblog attributes to sustained brand equity and design rather than technology refresh.
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