Surprisingly, several automotive stocks are outperforming the S&P 500 in 2025, which has increased about 13.5% so far this year. However, General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) is up 14.5% and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is up 20.45%. Even Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is up over 37% in the last three months.
The reason is twofold. In the second quarter (April through June), many consumers accelerated their new vehicle purchases of all types ahead of tariff concerns on imported parts. In the most recent quarter (July through September), consumers of electric vehicles (EVs) were looking to buy before the EV tax incentives ended on Oct. 1.
