Tariffs hit car industry as GM, Stellantis report billion-dollar losses

(NewsNation) — The largest American car company is on the financial ropes. 

General Motors revealed its second quarter profits fell by a third, losing more than $1 billion dollars. The car company attributed the loss to tariffs. 

Its CEO is promising billions of dollars in United States investment, and that money will be used to reshape the customer experience at their local dealerships. 

Earlier this week, Stellantis, the maker of Jeep and Ram, also blame tariffs as the driving force of its $2.86 billion net loss so far this year. 

Joe Hill, general sales manager at Shea Buick, GMC and Chevrolet, told NewsNation’s “Morning in America with Hena Doba” that his local dealership’s business was “very good” through April, but he started to notice a decline in customer foot traffic by May. 

“The biggest concern we have is customer sentiment. Are they concerned about the tariffs or the discussion about tariffs? Is (that) preventing them from making these large dollar decisions that historically they’ve made?” he questioned.

Another concern is workforce. 

“Dealerships are certainly those conduits in small towns across America. We employ a lot of people, and we’re doing our very best to to counter the tariff discussions,” Hill said. “The truth of the matter is that we don’t know what will happen 60, 90 days from now, but what we do know is the cost of the vehicles today.” 

Some customers are turning to used vehicles. Hill’s used car sales have been steady, he said. Car parts are slower to arrive, however, since they’re shipped overseas. 

The car industry is also expecting electric vehicle mandate changes later this year. 

GM said it won’t raise its prices despite the tariff hit.