Tariffs Dominate NY Auto Show, US-Made RAV4s?, Police E-Motorcycles

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Episode #1023:  From tariff talk taking over the New York Auto Show to Toyota rethinking RAV4 production, and LiveWire’s electric leap into law enforcement—we've got you covered.

Show Notes with links:

• Automakers came to New York looking to celebrate new vehicles, but found themselves answering the same old questions—about tariffs. Despite flashy debuts and high-octane reveals, the weight of trade policy loomed over every conversation.
  • Subaru U.S. chief Jeff Walters debuted the all-new Outback, only to field immediate questions about tariffs instead of the vehicle.
  • Nissan embraced the tension with a tongue-in-cheek window decal reading “FREE from new tariffs” on its U.S.-built models.
  • They also revealed plans to build 80% of U.S. inventory domestically, up from 50%, citing flexibility amid tariff volatility.
  • Tariffs dominated nearly every conference panel, with one moderator finally pausing and saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, the bar is open.” It was 10 a.m.
  • Our friend John Bozzella of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation called for more time and flexibility, warning that rushed tariff policy could mean “increased prices and a slowing of sales.” “The key is time for adjustment,” Bozzella said. “This is a massive industry.”

• Toyota is reevaluating its production strategy for the next-gen RAV4, exploring a shift to U.S. manufacturing as a hedge against 25% import tariffs and currency swings.
  • Toyota sold over 475,000 RAV4s in the U.S. last year—its most popular model, making up 20% of its U.S. volume.
  • Originally planned for export from Japan and Canada, U.S. production in Kentucky is now under serious consideration.
  • The shift would help meet expected demand and mitigate tariff-related costs, with potential U.S. output beginning in 2027.
  • While plans aren’t final, Toyota noted it “continually studied ways to improve its manufacturing” but declined to confirm speculation.

• LiveWire, the electric spin-off from Harley-Davidson, is getting into the public service game with a new line of police-spec electric motorcycles.
  • The new fleet includes emergency lighting, sirens, and reinforced mounts, tailored for urban patrol, motorcades, and event security.
  • Benefits include low maintenance, silent operation, and instant torque—ideal for quick maneuvering through tight city traffic.
  • Custom ride modes, regenerative braking, and one-handed operation aim to reduce officer fatigue and improve shift efficiency.
  • Police departments can choose from a suite of configurations, reinforcing the model’s flexibility in law enforcement roles.
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Episode Transcript

Paul J Daly (00:00):
Music, good morning. It is Friday, April 18,

(00:04):
2025 this is the automotiveState of the Union. I'm Paul Jay
Daly. This is Kyle Mountsier.
Today we're talking about theauto show us, maid, rap force
and electric police motors

Unknown (00:15):
go. The people really want to know who I is and who I
be. They stop and stay when theysee me.

Kyle Mountsier (00:20):
Electric police motorcycles. That's a weird one.

Paul J Daly (00:26):
That sounds like an amazing one. Are you kidding me?
I mean, talk

Kyle Mountsier (00:29):
about, how is that weird? It's just like, I
don't know. I've seen

Paul J Daly (00:33):
a science fiction movie, the police are always on
electric motorcycles.

Kyle Mountsier (00:38):
Also, you think about, like, how many
motorcycles are rolling aroundparades in the US, right? Like
little electric motorcycles,just pit pattern, you know?
Yeah,

Paul J Daly (00:47):
I guess the electric motorcycles, the
parades, kind of is a littlelacklut. We'll talk about them
because you kind of want to

Kyle Mountsier (00:53):
hear the sound, yeah, right, big old speakers on
them. Next

Paul J Daly (00:58):
day, we got a couple awesome things to talk
about today. Number one, theagenda is live on ASOTU con.com
we're still adding to it, butthere is so much on there. So
here's we want to do. Go toASOTU, ASOTU con.com click on
the agenda. Look at detailedagenda, and you can start
scrolling through, day by day,the list of detailed session
information for all the topicsthat you're trying to work

(01:22):
through, trying to figure outwhat you want to do. And you can
also go to the speakers tab, Ithink is really effective, and
look at all the speakers thatare

Kyle Mountsier (01:30):
there. That's exactly right. And the speakers
and what sessions they're goingto be doing a little bit about
them. Get to know the speakersbefore you actually come one of
my one of the ones that I'm mostexcited about is I've got we've
got Steve Greenfield hanging outwith Chase Frazier, Bill Karis
and Brian Donnelly, all fourinvesting significant dollars

(01:51):
into the mobility techecosystem, in auto and like, the
reason for bringing net newsoftware and technology into the
industry right now, likelistening to the way those guys
see the industry headed, the waytech is headed, talking probably
AI and integration tech and allof that type of stuff, that's

(02:14):
going to be a 45 minuteconversation on day two. You're
not going to want to miss. Ithink

Paul J Daly (02:18):
one of the biggest values are just asking other
people, like other dealers,other operators, or the people
that that are in the same seatthat you're in, or, you know,
like CO CMOS, uh, salesmanagers, general managers, the
very powerful question, what areyou doing with this right now?
Yeah, right. Like, that's,that's where you get the real
unlock. So we hope you can joinus. Go to ASOTU CON com, get

(02:40):
your tickets and join us. I lovewatching all the ticket sales
coming in every day and like Ilike searching the name. I don't
know it's a combination of bothof those. All right, I think
it's time for some news, right?
Let's get into it before we getsome news. We do need to thank
our friends at Reynolds andReynolds and Google for being
our presenting sponsor thisyear. Talk about a company who
has been around for a long time,however, is still on the hunt,

(03:02):
still developing new tech, newtools, doing everything they can
to bring solutions to dealers.
And I don't know if they'rebringing their robot, but they
had a really awesome like drinkserving robot. It was like a
parts delivery robot that theyretrofitted to serve drinks. So
I wonder if we're gonna havethat there, but either way,
thank you to them, and I can'twait to be with the Reynolds
team at ASOTU CON as well talksome news. So we were at the

(03:25):
Auto Show. We were in New YorkCity earlier this week, and all
the auto makers came to New Yorklooking to celebrate new
vehicles, but found themselvesanswering the same questions
about tariffs, despite flashydebuts and reveals, the weight
of trade policy loomed on everyconversation. Subaru's us chief
Jeff Walters debuted the all newoutlook only to field immediate

(03:46):
questions about tariffs insteadof the vehicle. Yeah, that's got
to be so frustrating. You gotthis new car, and you come out,
and then everyone wants to talkabout

Kyle Mountsier (03:54):
tariffs. It's unbelievable. It is it is sad.
Like, come on, people, we'vebeen talking about it for too
long, like let's get into let'sget into the real thing. Nissan
embraced the tension with alittle tongue in cheek window
decal that read quote free fromnew tariffs all over its US

(04:15):
built models super smart, supersmart. They also revealed plans
to build 80% of their USinventory domestically, up from
50% citing flexibility amidtariff volatility, tariffs Donna
may dominated so many conferencepanels with one moderator
finally pausing and saying,ladies And gentlemen, the bar is

(04:40):
and it was 10am

Paul J Daly (04:43):
Oh, yeah, bar open, yeah.

Kyle Mountsier (04:46):
Like, I mean, it was tongue in cheek. Like, guys,
are we gonna talk about this allday? Let's just go to the bar
and have a drink and get on withit. Yeah, the you know, this is
we experienced it. We tried. Tomove the conversation away from
it as much as possible. But theentirety of the day on Tuesday
at the NADA JD Power auto forumwas filled with it, right and,

(05:12):
and it's just like, it's astruggle. So,

Paul J Daly (05:16):
yeah, I mean, they're not the only ones with a
struggle right now. So that'skind of going all around. But
you know, consumers, the pressis relentless. The press is
like, yeah, yes, yeah, off roadcapabilities. Tell me about the
tariffs. I don't know some greatproduct coming out, though. You
know one of the things thatthat's coming from this right
into our next story at Toyotareevaluating its production

(05:38):
strategy as a result of thetariffs for the next gen rav4
looking at shifting productionto US manufacturing the hedge
against the 25% import tariffand also currency swings. Toyota
sold over 475,000 Rav fours inthe last in the US last year,
the most popular model in thewhole lineup is this vehicle,
making up 20% of its entire USvolume from this one vehicle,

(06:00):
originally, they were planningto export it from Japan and
Canada. US production inKentucky is now under serious
consideration. The shift wouldhelp meet expected demand,
mitigate tariff costs, withpotential us output beginning as
soon as 2027 still takes a longtime to refit, refit a factory.
While plans aren't final, Toyotanoted that it, quote,

(06:22):
continually studied ways toimprove its manufacturing, but
declined to confirm thespeculation.

Kyle Mountsier (06:28):
Yeah. I mean, the Toyota already has a ton of
US manufacturing, so it's notlike this is a completely
massive move that brings onlyone line into the US. They do a
lot in the US, obviously, youknow, you got to produce a lot
when it comes to the rev forjust because of the volume that
they're able to put out everysingle year. But it's not going

(06:51):
to surprise anybody that moreand more manufacturers,
especially over this four yearlifestyle four year political
cycle, bring productionstateside, and whether that's
because of tariffs or other taxincentives that they may be
getting to bring thingsstateside, you'll see a lot of
this. I mean, I know thatthere's like an engine plant for
Toyota out in Jackson,Tennessee, and all the employees

(07:14):
love working for them. The cityloves Toyota, you know. So it's,
it's, not out of the norm tohave a lot of production there,
and they've done a great job atnot, you know, having unions
enter in so they don't have someof the cost prohibitive stuff
happening across theirproduction.

Paul J Daly (07:37):
I think it's time where we talk about electric
motorcycles. Yeah, I know that'skind of waiting for this. That's
the only reason I showed up thismorning. Live Wire, the electric

Kyle Mountsier (07:45):
spin off from Harley Davidson. We've talked
about them a few times, isgetting into the public service
game with a new line of policespec electric motorcycles. You
can see them at the link in inour bio. The new fleet includes
emergency lighting, sirens andreinforced mounts tailored for
urban patrol motorcades andevent security. Benefits include
low maintenance, silentoperation and instant torque.

(08:07):
That's the real one. I thinkideal for ideal for quick
maneuvering through tight citytraffic, custom ride modes,
regenerative braking and onehanded operation aimed to reduce
officer fatigue and improveshift efficiency. They can
choose from a suite ofconfigurations reinforcing the
models flexibility and lawenforcement rides.

Paul J Daly (08:28):
So there's so many things about this bike that are
awesome. I remember talking toRick Reichert about these live
wire bikes, because they'rehard, that's right, yeah, and so
they also sell these live wirebikes. And he was just saying
how amazing they are to writebecause he's a serious rider.
He's like, it's somethingdifferent altogether. Um, you
can totally, I guess, just useyour rational brain and realize
the electrification of policefleets in general, aside from

(08:49):
like charging, if charging likerange is not an issue
electrification now, havingdriven an EV a lot, I mean,
like, let's, let's face it,oftentimes, oftentimes, I pull
up next to a car, no matter whatit is, and be like, I could beat
you in a race, right? Yeah, Ialready think that. But
electrification of a motorcycle,you think of the maneuverability
we were just off the line. Ican't tell you how many times we

(09:11):
almost got smashed by, like,electric bikes that are now in
the bike lane, oh, yeah, right,because they're moving like,
fast and quiet, and you have apolice bike doing this. However,
the coolest thing about thiswhole article is when it says
one handed operation, becauseall I can think of is like, I
know this isn't the reality, andI'm sure we're not, like, firing
weapons from a moving motor

Kyle Mountsier (09:32):
circle, but, like, in the video game,

Paul J Daly (09:35):
but you could if you wanted to. It's
unbelievable.

Kyle Mountsier (09:38):
Yeah. I mean, even just like the pictures and
the launch here is, is just notsomething that you would
typically see from like, Hey,we're making police vehicles
now. Like, it's a cool thing. II'm I actually imagine that, you
know, there are, there arecities and states that have
trouble hiring into the policeforce, like, hey, come work for

(09:59):
the police force. Course, youget to drive an electric bike,
right? That's a, that's, that'sa work perk, right there. That
really, that really is a workperk. So

Paul J Daly (10:08):
I don't know, have you, I'm trying to think, I'm
like, do we know anyone that hasa live wire motorcycle that we
can get to a soda? Oh, hey,

Kyle Mountsier (10:15):
if you know someone that has a live wire
Mike, hey, we can bring it rightin. We'll throw that thing.

Paul J Daly (10:20):
It's easy. Yeah, the bike, the cars are a little
more complicated. The bikes,it's electric, no gas, no, no.
Like, safety issue, like, Okay,I think we need electric
motorcycles at a certain westill gotta get that SCU. God,
either there, we do. And wewere, we were talking about,
like, making the entrance fromopposite ends of the stage on
electric scooters one year, orjust,

Kyle Mountsier (10:39):
or just, or just flying in from the rafters, one
of the two, whichever you wantto do, I

Paul J Daly (10:43):
know wise will roll the outro music. Look, it's
Friday. Everyone's got a lot tobutton up. Heading into a busy
weekend. Whatever you do, makesure you take care of the people
and go to ASOTU CON com. Look atsome speakers and sessions. Buy
your ticket, and we're going tobe there with you just a little
over three weeks. You