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Episode #1002: Today's show dives into Trump’s game-changing 25% auto tariff and what it means for car prices, Hyundai’s massive new EV plant in Georgia and OpenAI’s latest AI breakthrough in image and text generation.

Show Notes with links:

• President Trump has officially imposed a 25% tariff on vehicles built outside the U.S., effective April 3. The move is set to rattle the global auto supply chain and could result in major price hikes for consumers.
  • The tariff increases from a 2.5% base to 25%, covering vehicles and some auto parts like engines and transmissions.
  • Parts meeting the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) rules will get a temporary reprieve until the Commerce Department sets new regulations.
  • Aaron Bragman of Cars.com said that 50% of all cars are imported from outside the US and encouraged potential buyers to act soon as prices could rise from $3K - $12K “If you need a new car, go get one as soon as you possibly can—lock in a price—because those prices might be going up very soon.”
  • Manufacturers may shift production and pass higher costs to consumers and dealers, while retaliatory tariffs loom from other nations.
  • UAW President Shawn Fain called it a victory for autoworkers, saying “Ending the race to the bottom in the auto industry starts with fixing our broken trade deals.”

• Hyundai has officially opened its state-of-the-art EV plant in Georgia, marking a historic $7.6 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing. The facility will produce Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis electric vehicles, including the much-anticipated IONIQ 9.
  • Hyundai’s project is Georgia’s largest economic development investment ever, expected to create 8,500 direct jobs and over 58,000 total jobs.
  • The 2025 IONIQ 5 was the first model built at the plant, with the three-row IONIQ 9 set to debut this spring.
  • Hyundai recently announced a $21B investment in U.S. production, including $9B for EV expansion and $6B for a new steel plant in Louisiana.
  • Hyundai Motor Group executive chair Euisun Chung said, “Together with the talented workforce at HMGMA, we are building the future of mobility with America, in America.”

• OpenAI is rolling out built-in image generation within ChatGPT, marking a big leap in AI-powered creativity. Dubbed “Images in ChatGPT”, this feature is available starting today across multiple user tiers.
  • Users can now generate images directly within ChatGPT using GPT-4o’s “omnimodal” technology.
  • New enhancements improve “binding”, meaning the AI better understands object relationships and attributes—avoiding mix-ups like miscolored shapes.
  • Unlike past models that produced garbled, misspelled words, GPT-4o can now render clean, legible text in images.
  • The AI now accurately follows detailed text-based prompts, even replicating whiteboard notes and comic strip text.
  • Research lead Gabriel Goh call

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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