Latest news with #Wards
Time of India
01-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Hybrid vehicle sales continue to rise in US as electric, plug-in vehicle shares remain flat
Washington: About 22 per cent of light-duty vehicles sold in the first quarter of the year in the United States were hybrid, battery electric, or plug-in hybrid vehicles , up from about 18 per cent in the first quarter of 2024. Among those categories, hybrid electric vehicles have continued to gain market share while battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles have remained relatively flat, according to estimates from Wards Intelligence. The estimates, published by the US Energy Information Administration, indicated that battery electric vehicle sales in particular are more common in the luxury vehicle market. US luxury vehicles accounted for 14 per cent of the total light-duty vehicle market in the first quarter of the year, the lowest share since mid-2020. Electric vehicles accounted for 23 per cent of total luxury sales in the first quarter of 2025. Electric vehicles had accounted for more than one-third of luxury sales in 2023 and 2024 before Wards reclassified the Tesla Model 3 as non-luxury in late 2024. (ANI/ WAM)
Irish Examiner
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Cliona's detention in US 'scary, messy, and exhausting', says sister
The sister of an Irish woman detained by American immigration services has described the situation as 'scary, messy, and exhausting' as the Government works behind the scenes to set her free. Cliona Ward, the 54-year-old California resident who was arrested by US immigration and customs enforcement officers on April 21 after returning from a trip to Ireland to see her ill father, is currently being held in a detention centre in Tacoma, Washington. Her case will not be heard by a court before May 7 at the earliest. Cliona, a Christian charity worker who was born in Dublin, has been living in the US for more than 40 years and has a full valid green card. 'It is scary and it is messy, we are all just exhausted by it — with the time difference — trying to all stay in communication," Tracey Ward, Cliona's elder sister, told the Irish Examiner from her home in Midleton, Cork. Ms Ward said that, since being detained, her sister had been denied access to a phone and informed that 'as a green card holder, she has no rights'. 'Basic human needs' 'We're just trying to sort her basic human needs, that's where we're at. She has a court date coming, so we're trying to find a lawyer in Seattle — but it's a totally different State, she is away from all that she knows,' Ms Ward, who is 56 and who herself returned to live in Ireland in 1999, said. She said that Cliona had taken her recent trip to Ireland as a chaperone to her stepmother to see her father, 81-year-old Owen Ward, who is living with dementia in a retirement home in Youghal. While Cliona struggled with addiction more than 20 years ago, her sister said she has been 'clean and sober for more than 20 years'. Tracy added that Cliona's convictions had been expunged, though at a state rather than federal level. Cliona Ward was informed that 'as a green card holder, she has no rights', her sister Tracey told the 'Irish Examiner'. Picture: GoFundMe 'It was gone from her state record, but federally it was still there. People think it's no big deal but, unless you go through the process of vacating it, you're in jeopardy with how the US system is working at the moment,' Tracey said of the 25-year-old conviction which led directly to her sister's detention. Consular assistance On Monday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that consular assistance is being provided to the Wards. He added that the Government would be supporting the family 'to get this issue resolved'. 'Our advice is consistent in terms of, where people have green cards for example or citizenship rights or so on, there shouldn't be an issue,' he said, adding that the Government will be pursuing the matter 'on a bilateral basis' with the American administration. Cliona's family, meanwhile, has launched a GoFundMe campaign page to help pay for a defence. Tracey said that she believes her sister's 'white privilege' will help her to navigate the system in a way not always accessible to minorities. The world has a lot of eyes on her, so there is less likelihood of Cliona disappearing She said the family 'all just feel so lost and far away'. 'I'm devastated for her. It is very scary. She is such a quiet empathetic person,' she said. Read More Irish woman living legally in the US detained after returning to America from Cork
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Car Buyers Flocked to Dealerships To Beat Auto Tariffs
Auto sales surged 11.2% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.8 million. The jump likely represented buyers rushing to purchase vehicles before President Donald Trump's 25% tariff on imported cars goes into effect. Economists expect auto sales to drop off after the tariffs take hold, as they could add thousands of dollars to the cost of new sales surged in March as car buyers raced to beat President Donald Trump's 25% tariff on imported cars and trucks. Wards Intelligence said Tuesday that U.S. dealers sold 17.8 million vehicles at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in March, more than January and February combined. The more-than-10% jump in sales led to the fastest monthly pace in nearly four years. The increase was likely due to shoppers buying before Trump's tariffs on imported vehicles goes into effect Thursday, analysts said. The tariffs, announced last week, could add thousands of dollars to the cost of new vehicles, economists have estimated."March sales were proof that U.S. consumers are very much paying attention to tariffs," Haig Stoddard, senior industry analyst at Wards, surge in purchases highlights the impact of tariffs on consumers' decision-making. Economists at Cox Automotive predicted sales would drop off sharply after the tariffs were imposed, reversing the initial surge."We expect vehicle sales to fall, new and used prices to increase, and some models to be eliminated if tariffs persist," Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive, wrote in a commentary last said consumers can also expect higher prices for domestically made cars, used cars, car repairs, and insurance as the tariffs ripple through the auto auto tariff is just one of the import taxes in President Donald Trump's tariff-heavy trade policy, which he has rolled out over the past month, with a fresh round of tariffs set to be announced Wednesday afternoon. Trump has said the main goal of the import taxes is to restore American manufacturing by encouraging companies to produce goods in the U.S. to avoid the economists have predicted the tariffs, depending on how high they are and how long they stay in place, will instead push up the cost of living and slow the economy, potentially leading to a painful combination of slow economic growth and high inflation called "stagflation." Read the original article on Investopedia
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Retail sales 'bounced back' in February
February retail sales data rose less than expected. But Bank of America Securities senior US economist Stephen Juneau blames motor vehicle sales for the miss, saying that, overall, the report shows sales "bounced back from that low January and we're right back where we were in December." To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here. Consumer spending rose at a slower than expected pace during the month of February as worries stir over the strength of the US economy and consumer. Retail sales increased two tenths of a percent month over month basis there, below the six tenths of a percent that economists were anticipating. Stephen Juneau, who is the BFA Securities senior US economist joining us here this morning. Okay, so just take us into how you're kind of pulling out some of the the pieces of this retail report with the larger kind of read on the consumer, as we've seen through a few data points over the past week and change, just on the CPI and PCE front. Yeah, well, thanks for having me on this morning. And I think, you know, for us, this was actually a strong report. We were looking at core control to be up a couple tenths. We got up 1%. That's really the number that matters a lot to us because it what's it's the number that flows into GDP, uh, mechanically. You know, the headline number was dragged down by motor vehicle sales, but when we looked at the actual car sales data from Wards, that was up on the month. So really what we've seen in the data is that retail sales, we kind of bounced back from that low January and we're right back where we were in December. So you had this weather affected January and now the consumer's back and really when you think about the fundamentals there, it makes a whole lot of sense. You know, we we're still seeing strong job growth, we're still seeing real income growth, and that's really what's driving the consumer. Until you see kind of cracks on the labor market side, you're just not really going to see a big slowdown on a consumer overall. Are you seeing any signs of those cracks deepening in the labor market, Stephen? I think it's hard to say. I mean, not really. I mean, when you look at Challenger job layoffs, you're not seeing much of an uptick in the private sector. Of course, there's that worry, uh, with the administration actions, what will happen in DC, what will happen in the Beltway. That is happening, of course. We haven't seen it hit the data yet. Now we'll see how that happens. We haven't seen any knock-on effects, but claims are low, job cut announcements in the private sector are low, uh, and you saw a lot of support there from just general hiring and I think a a generally strong fundamental US economy. Sign in to access your portfolio
