Tariffs Drive Sales And Dealer Questions, Amazon’s AI Flex

Automotive State of The Union

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Episode #1007: Consumers hit showrooms ahead of tariff hikes, juicing March sales and making record months and Q1s. Dealers like Rhett Ricart and Zac Kinch fielded a flood of buyers with questions and Amazon dropped Nova Act—an AI agent that shops, browses, and books like a pro.

• Spurred by tariff fear, consumers flooded showrooms in late March, giving the U.S. auto market a surge just in time for Q1 closings. The urgency sparked record performances for brands and sent retail sales soaring.
  • Ford was up 19%, with Hyundai (+15%) and Kia (+25%) posting their best ever March and Q1. GM posted a 17% Q1 jump, with Buick leading at +39%.
  • Inventory shortages, especially in hybrids, are expected in Q2 as a result of early Q1 pull-forwards.
  • The average March retail price hit $44,849, up $637 YoY.
  • Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai and Genesis North America: “It’s probably the best weekend that I’ve seen since Cash for Clunkers… Lots of people rushed in this weekend, especially, to try and beat the tariffs.”

• The looming reality of sweeping import tariffs sent ripple effects through the auto retail landscape over the weekend, as dealers fielded a surge of questions and customer visits. While many came to buy, others came simply to understand what’s coming.
  • Dealers are racing to educate consumers: inventory levels ticked up as brands rushed vehicles into the U.S. before the deadline.
  • The Trump administration’s 25% import tariff is set to hit over 7 million vehicles starting April 3.
  • Automakers are taking a mixed approach to pricing ahead of the tariffs—some, like BMW, are temporarily holding prices steady on imported models, while others are reducing incentives despite rising inventory, anticipating that tariffs will naturally drive prices higher.
  • Rhett Ricart, CEO, Ricart Automotive Group said “One out of four of the people who called in were talking about tariffs—‘Does this car have a tariff on it? A Hyundai? A Kia? A Nissan?’ That’s what they wanted to know about.”
  • Zac Kinch, GM, Bob Rohrman Toyota said “This is gonna be, ‘Learn and fly by the seat of our pants’... I think the auto industry is going to have to figure it out.”

• Amazon is diving deeper into AI with Nova Act, a semi-autonomous agent designed to operate both online and in the real world. With capabilities like browsing, shopping, and task execution, Nova Act is aiming to be your new digital helper.
  • Nova Act can complete tasks like finding rentals, placing orders, or filling out forms.
  • Nova Act SDK lets developers build bots for hotel bookings, food orders, and more.
  • It comes in text-generation tiers (Micro, Lite, Pro) and supports image (Canvas) and video (Reel) creation.
  • “Nova.amazon.com puts the power of Amazon’s frontier intelligence into the hands of every developer,” said Rohit Prasad, SVP of Amazon AGI.

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