And now there’s the war in Ukraine that’s already disrupting supply chain issues to major European-based automakers, including Volkswagen and BMW. Prices of raw materials, such as aluminum and nickel, have also gone up in recent weeks. Taveres’ bottom line is this: automakers must find ways to cut costs so that buyers aren’t suffocated. If that were to happen, “the middle classes would not be able to buy new cars.”
Anyone shopping for a new vehicle right now, whether it’s an entry-level Jeep Renegade or something more premium like a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, will discover they’ll be paying MSRP, at the very least. The CEOs of Ford and Subaru, for example, have publicly gone on record to warn dealerships, which are privately owned, not to engage in excessive price gauging.