Top findings from the latest DCG report, produced in partnership with Kaiser Associates, include:
- Affordability is the defining force in the U.S. auto market in 2025
- The U.S. consumer is ready to buy Chinese cars, a readiness rooted in price pressure
- EVs are here to stay, and the market is maturing
- Auto dealers see healthy profits this year even as automakers suffer from tariff costs
NEW YORK, Aug. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The new 2025 Market Outlook Report (MOR) midyear update from the Dave Cantin Group (DCG) and Kaiser Associates finds that affordability is not only the defining force in the U.S. auto market this year, but also the thread connecting the industry’s other most pressing trends.
The midyear 2025 report from DCG spotlights: consumers’ and dealers’ beliefs that Chinese automakers will inevitably enter the U.S. – and reports consumers are open to it; the maturing of the EV market as Tesla’s first-half fumble ceded ground to rivals; and a power shift favoring retailers as new U.S. tariffs hit automakers harder than their consumer outlets.
Dave Cantin Group, a leading advisor to retail automotive groups and their owners, publishes MOR semiannually, in partnership with Kaiser Associates, to deliver a comprehensive analysis and forecast of the automotive climate.
“Affordability is the dominant theme at the midpoint of 2025, and it has implications across nearly every other issue facing the automotive industry,” Dave Cantin Group President Brian Gordon said. “Affordability is reshaping purchase decisions, driving interest in cheaper Chinese vehicles, and making any manufacturer decision to pass on tariff costs to consumers virtually impossible without the risk of losing market share.”
While automakers grapple with tariffs, dealers have leveraged diversified revenue streams in parts, service, finance, insurance …