Big Oil Is Pumping A Ton Of Crude, But Isn't Seeing A Ton Of Profits

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It's Friday and I'm successful love...with nan news that is! it's August 1, 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 greeting edition, Big Oil does measurement amended than expected successful Q2, America's closest trading partners still connected nan hook for tariffs but find immoderate flimsy breathing room erstwhile it comes to cars, Hyundai grows successful nan U.S. but faces beardown headwinds, and Mercedes paused EV orders successful nan U.S. 

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Big lipid is producing a batch of nan stuff, but that doesn't mean it's making a ton of money. Energy markets are weird and complex. Exxon Mobil and Chevron saw shares emergence Friday greeting connected nan news that accrued accumulation took immoderate of nan sting retired of little power prices. Exxon produced much dino spell juice successful Q2 of 2025 than it has since it was acquired by Mobil successful 2000–around 4.6 cardinal barrels a day–while Chevron saw an almost 4 cardinal barrels a time precocious mark, according to Bloomberg. Producing each this lipid didn't thief overmuch pinch profits, but astatine slightest these numbers are amended than what Wall Street expected to happen. 

Exxon, for instance, made $9.24 cardinal successful nan 2nd 4th of 2024, while this twelvemonth it only hit $7.08 billion. Oh won't personification please deliberation of nan children of these lipid institution execs! How are they suppose to put nutrient connected nan array pinch lipid trading astatine aliases beneath $70 a barrel? Specifically, they tin astir apt blasted OPEC, which accrued its production, and President Trump, who has turned nan free marketplace world upside down pinch his wildly unpredictable tariff swings. While making much money than Wall Street predicted is simply a bully point for shareholder, nan companies are holding connected to those bully times by nan tegument of their teeth. From Bloomberg: 

Despite nan upbeat earnings, Chevron sees nan imaginable for little lipid prices later this twelvemonth arsenic proviso increases from OPEC and its friends saturate world crude markets.

"With those dynamics, we astir apt spot immoderate value unit successful nan 2nd half of nan year," Chief Financial Officer Eimear Bonner said successful an interview. "We're positioned for each value environments truthful if we spot nan softening, if it does successful truth play out, we're successful a bully spot."

Exxon has now trim $13.5 cardinal of yearly costs complete nan past six years, which it says is much than each its Big Oil rivals combined. The institution has sold assets, trim jobs and centralized soul functions for illustration engineering. It expects to trim yearly expenses by a further $4.5 cardinal by 2030.

While nan 2nd half of 2025 mightiness supply an moreover squishier situation for profits, Big Oil still has nan long, slow, sad diminution of EVs successful nan U.S. to look guardant to. Of course, different factors could boost nan costs of lipid arsenic well. We saw nan imaginable for a little spike erstwhile Trump threatened and past bombed Iran. There's ever room for hope, I guess.

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You'd presume America would want to activity intimately pinch its largest trading partners to nan northbound and southbound of us, but you cognize what assuming does! Canada sewage slammed pinch a 35% tariff starting August 1. However, equipment included successful the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump himself put into spot during his first term, won't beryllium deed pinch nan tax, leaving car parts assembled successful Canada comparatively untouched. But a 25% world levy connected each cars coming into nan U.S. is still causing turmoil successful Canada's car sector. 

Trump's White House says nan precocious tariff connected Canada is owed to nan country's unwillingness to stem a travel of fentanyl and different forbidden narcotics into nan U.S. Of course, Canada only makes up 0.2% of each fentanyl separator seizures coming successful nan U.S., but that number is wholly worthy destroying waste and acquisition relations pinch our largest trading partner, neighbor, and historical friend to nan U.S. From Automotive News: 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said nan move was disappointing, but that Ottawa remains committed to nan USMCA, arsenic good arsenic diversifying nan country's trading partners.

"The U.S. exertion of CUSMA intends that nan U.S. mean tariff complaint connected Canadian equipment remains 1 of nan lowest for each of its trading partners. Other sectors of our system — including lumber, steel, aluminum, and automobiles — are, however, heavy impacted," he said successful a statement.

Carney said nan Canadian authorities continues to fortify its separator pinch nan United States, but that fentanyl seizures relationship for only 1 per cent of illicit U.S. imports.

Mexico is faring a small better. Our friends connected nan confederate separator are getting a 90-day reprieve connected a tariff hike, sticking pinch nan 25% levied connected Mexican equipment alternatively of raising nan complaint to 30%, according to Bloomberg. Goods coved by nan USCMA are besides protected, but Mexico is besides suffering nether nan world 25% car tariff and immense tariffs connected earthy materials. This region people comes 1 time aft Trump declared location would beryllium nary region connected tariffs. 

All of this makes nan astir sense, of course. Free waste and acquisition made nan U.S. nan richest and astir powerful state connected nan planet, truthful it is decidedly clip for an abrupt about-face. 

Kia

We emotion a bully Korean car, don't we folks? Americans surely do, arsenic Hyundai saw income successful nan U.S. jump an astonishing 15% and Kia saw a 12% emergence successful sales. Genesis saw a much modest, but still highly patient 8% successful income growth. Automotive News theorizes this emergence successful income is owed to customers trying to get their car purchases made earlier tariffs deed nan automaker, which makes astir of its cars successful its mega works successful Ulsan, South Korea. That inclination won't hold, Cox Automotive Senior Economist Charlie Chesbrough told Automotive News:

"We are seeing much tariffed products replacing existing inventory, and costs are trending higher," Chesbrough said. "As those higher costs trickle done to retail, income will apt soften successful nan coming months unless nan economical guidance improves."

David Hult, CEO of Asbury Automotive Group Inc., said income were slow for astir of nan first 2 weeks of July, "but past it's progressively picked up nan 2nd half of nan month."

South Korea sewage a last-minute tariff woody of 15% connected equipment coming into nan U.S. positive a $350 cardinal finance from Korea which will beryllium parted retired by President Trump himself, according to a Truth Social station made by nan president. At slightest $150 cardinal will spell to shipbuilding practice and nan remainder will spell towards semiconductors, secondary batteries, and a fewer different investments, CNN reports. Hyundai is considering a price hike connected each of its products successful nan U.S. by astatine slightest 1%, much for parts coming from nan country. 

Are nan bully times complete for nan Korean automaker? I dream not. Some of nan astir absorbing cars successful nan world travel from nan peninsula, it would beryllium a shame to spot cars for illustration nan Genesis G90 aliases nan much-loved Hyundai Ioniq statement disappear. 

Mercedes-Benz

Were you reasoning of ordering yourself a caller Mercedes-Benz electrical vehicle? Maybe the EQS sedan and EQE SUV? Sorry sucker, you waited a small excessively long, arsenic Mercedes paused orders for nan EVs successful nan U.S. this week. The institution did show Automotive News it would reopen orders by August 1 (that's today, for you eagle-eyed almanac heads) but it gets worse; by September 1, Mercedes is pausing accumulation of nan EVs astatine its Vance, Alabama works aft dropping output 55% successful nan 2nd half of past year. Mercedes builds 60 EVs a time astatine nan works pinch 50 of those vehicles slated for overseas markets. These cars debar tariffs acknowledgment to a waste and acquisition woody betwixt nan EU and nan US, but it's still not capable to support nan works pumping retired cars, from Automotive News: 

Mercedes has struggled to find traction pinch EVs successful nan U.S. The brand's EQ models person been derided for their bulbous designs and premium sticker prices.

According to Automotive News Research & Data Center estimates, wholesale shipments of nan EQS SUV declined 32 percent successful nan first half of this twelvemonth to 2,318. Deliveries of nan EQE crossover tumbled 35 percent to 4,676.

Mercedes has resorted to steep discounts to move its electrical models.

Selling an SUV successful nan U.S. should beryllium easier than shooting food successful a barrel, but nan EQ models are not anyone's favorite. Now, pinch nan nonaccomplishment of nan $7,500 EV taxation credit, these pricy EVs are moreover little attractive. Luckily for folks successful Vance, nan works produces much than conscionable EVs, with nan better-selling GLE, GLS, and GLE Coupe making up its roster.

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