Automotive State of The Union

Winter Slows Sales, Ford’s Battery Pullback Costs Jobs, Amazon In-House AI Agents

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Episode #1271: January sales slid as winter storms and shrinking EV credits cooled demand. Ford’s battery pullback shows how policy whiplash hits jobs fast. Amazon is going all-in on its own AI shopping agent.


  • According to the latest NADA Market Beat: January sales came in at a 14.85M SAAR, down 4.1% year-over-year and the lowest January pace since 2024
    • Severe winter storms affected store traffic late in the month, while EV share dipped and hybrids continued to shine.
    • Incentives averaged $3,335 per unit (+5.6% YoY, -5.5% vs. December), landing at 6.6% of MSRP—still well below the pre-pandemic ~10% norm.
    • Translation: OEMs and dealers still have discounting headroom if demand needs a boost.
    • BEV share fell to 6.6% (-1.9 pts YoY) amid the absence of federal EV tax credits.
    • Hybrids are humming right along as they climbed to a 12.6% share (+0.5 pts YoY), continuing their steady momentum.
    • Inventory at 2.53M units, down 9.2% YoY; expected to hover there through the first half before building later in the year.
    • NADA is forecasting a 16m SAAR


  • Ford’s abrupt exit from its battery JV with SK On has left 1,600 Kentucky workers jobless just months after production began. While locals are pointing fingers at Ford, the unraveling of EV tax credits and shifting policy winds added serious pressure to an already cooling EV market.
    • Ford scrapped its multibillion-dollar SK On partnership just four months after batteries started rolling off the line in Kentucky, cutting 1,600 jobs.
    • The elimination of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit and relaxed CAFE standards cooled demand, with Ford admitting “the operating reality has changed.”
    • Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear blamed federal policy, saying 1,600 workers lost jobs “solely because” EV credits were eliminated.
    • Workers like Joe Morgan say Ford misread the market, with one employee adding, “At the end of the day, whatever the government policy would be, the company made the decision.”
    • The plant will remain open under full Ford control, pivoting to battery storage production with about 2,100 jobs—well short of the 5,000 originally promised.


  • As AI shopping agents multiply, Amazon is betting customers will skip the middleman and stick with the retailer they already trust. CEO Andy Jassy says in-house AI will win on experience, accuracy, and loyalty—even as AI-driven retail traffic surges nearly 700% year over year.
    • Amazon argues shoppers want four things: broad selection, low prices, fast delivery, and trust—and Jassy says retailers outperform “horizontal agents” on delivering all four.
    • AI-driven referral traffic to retailers jumped 693% year over year during the 2025 holiday season, signaling rapid adoption of third-party tools.
    • Jassy criticized horizontal agents, saying they lack shopping history and

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast  as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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Contributor

Kyle Mountsier

Host
Contributor

Paul J Daly

Host