Used Car Prices Are The Highest They've Been Since Covid

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Happy Friday! It's November 14, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're looking astatine nan climbing prices of utilized cars, and South Korea's latest consequence to U.S. tariffs. We'll besides look astatine Japanese car worker unions, and Jeep's latest recall. 

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Doesn't everything consciousness for illustration it's excessively costly now? It's not your imagination; utilized car prices are nan highest they've been since nan spot shortage of nan COVID lockdown era, and cars are sitting connected tons unsold for longer periods than they were backmost then. From nan Detroit Free Press:

The prices of caller and utilized cars person been stubbornly precocious for a while.

...

Ivan Drury, head of insights astatine Edmunds, said there's thing different astir nan value of 3-year-old utilized cars, which saw mean transaction prices supra $30,000 successful nan 3rd 4th of this year, astatine $31,067, up 5% from nan aforesaid play past year. It's nan highest third-quarter mean transaction value since 2022, erstwhile nan mean deed $31,259, according to information supplied by Edmunds.

...

The past clip utilized car prices were truthful precocious for an extended play was a number of years ago. They crossed nan $30,000 period successful nan 4th fourth of 2021 and stayed supra that people until nan 3rd 4th of 2023, erstwhile mean transaction prices dropped to $29,697, according to Edmunds.

Granted, we're coming retired of a spot shortage now, but 1 acold much insignificant than nan era erstwhile we really cared astir curtailing COVID dispersed successful immoderate measurement astatine all. The Free Press speculates that utilized cars are sitting connected trader tons longer because customers are getting pickier, and weighing utilized cars against deals connected caller vehicles, but I posit there's different reason: Car buyers are broke, and making do pinch what they person successful nan look of a looming U.S. economical collapse. 

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United States tariffs person played hellhole pinch nan world car market, but South Korea is stepping successful to thief its automakers out. The state will beryllium expanding subsidies for carbuyers successful nan nation, particularly for EVs — a marketplace wherever each different federation is flailing successful comparison to China, which jumped connected nan subsidy train acold earlier. From Bloomberg:

South Korea plans to summation financial support for its automakers and raise car-buyer subsidies connected electrical vehicles adjacent twelvemonth to thief offset nan costs from US tariffs and easiness unit from Chinese and different rivals.

The authorities is earmarking much than 15 trillion won ($10.2 billion), including low-interest-rate loans and guarantees, for home car and car parts makers successful 2026, nan country's manufacture ministry said Friday.

Subsidies for buyers of EVs are group to beryllium accrued by much than 30% to 936 cardinal won, and depletion and acquisition taxes will beryllium waived for all-electric, hybrid gas-electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. South Korea besides plans to present a trade-in subsidy of up to 1 cardinal won for caller EV buyers who scrap their aged cars.

Remember erstwhile everyone complained that China was cheating because it utilized authorities costs to thief its car companies create EVs? Is South Korea cheating here, aliases tin we each conscionable admit that putting authorities costs towards your nation's companies to found an early lead successful a nascent but increasing marketplace is simply a beautiful normal point to do?

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Japanese car workers are preparing for national negotiations pinch their employers, and 1 constituent of disagreement betwixt nan 2 parties is apt to stick: Wages. Automakers want to salary retired less, because of tariff-induced hits to profits, while nan workers person their expectations group arsenic reasonably arsenic ever. From Reuters:

Japan's apical automobile manufacture national group has nary plans to standard backmost its costs demands astatine labour talks adjacent twelvemonth contempt a dense resistance connected nan sector's net from U.S. tariffs, its main told Reuters connected Friday.

The remark from Akihiro Kaneko, president of nan Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions (JAW), underscores nan determination of Japan's astir influential business umbrella national to support costs momentum going into a 4th year.

"With ostentation persisting and existent wages still lagging, there's simply nary action to spell into adjacent year's costs talks pinch a weaker stance than past year," Kaneko said successful an interview.

"We do recognise that nan car manufacture is successful a captious situation, pinch nan terrible deed to automakers' net from U.S. tariffs," Kaneko said, arsenic nan manufacture braces for a profit plunge of astir 30% this year.

"But to support nan affirmative rhythm turning, pinch higher wages driving consumption, depletion fuelling growth, we request measures that push demand, and costs hikes are a cardinal portion of that," he said.

Kaneko is correct present — if you don't salary your moving people anything, location will beryllium nary 1 who tin spend your products. Hard to make income erstwhile nary one's buying, nary matter really debased you slash your costs of equipment sold. 

Jeep

Toyota recalled its turbo six-cylinders nan different time for motor issues, and now Jeep has joined successful connected nan inclination — though only for hybrids. The institution is recalling 112,859 Grand Cherokee 4XEs and Wrangler 4XEs for imaginable motor debris that could lead to fires. From Reuters:

Chrysler-parent Stellantis is recalling 112,859 U.S. vehicles complete imaginable motor nonaccomplishment aliases compartment fire, nan U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said connected Friday.

The NHTSA pointed to debris wrong nan motor arsenic a origin but did not connection much details.

The U.S. automaker was recalling immoderate 2023-2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4XE and 2024-2025 Jeep Wrangler 4XE Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV), NHTSA said.

Hey, it's not Ford for once!

New York City brought nationalist transit to nan U.S., and we're still nan champion astatine it. In nan States, anyway. Europe still has america beat.