Big Take14 Feb 2023

Why Car Prices Are Still Crazy High

Buying a new car today is more painful than ever. Auto prices have risen a shocking 30% in just the past few years. Many used cars aren’t much cheaper. The pandemic crunch is partly to blame – high demand and scarce supply caused prices to spike along with everything else. But car prices remain astronomical even though those shortages have largely eased. For a lot of middle class Americans, a new car is now out of reach.

And that’s just fine with some major automakers. Bloomberg reporters David Welch and Keith Naughton join this episode to explain why General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., among other companies, are embracing scarcity and high prices as the new normal.

At the same time, China is ramping up production and rising as a leading carmaker. Reporter Tom Hancock describes how the country is churning out millions of electric and gasoline-powered vehicles for customers around the world, with one notable exception: the US.

https://bloom.bg/3E48mQY

Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK

Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.

This podcast is produced by the Big Take Podcast team: Supervising Producer: Vicki Vergolina, Senior Producer: Kathryn Fink, Producers: Mo Barrow, Rebecca Chaisson, Michael Falero and Federica Romaniello, Associate Producers: Sam Gebauer and Zaynab Siddiqui. Sound Design/Engineers: Raphael Amsili and Gilda Garcia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(968)

Weekend Listen: Why Private Credit Got Entangled With Insurance

Insurers have quietly become a major driver of the private credit boom, with numerous private equity shops striking deals with insurance companies or buying them outright. But the entanglement with pr...

2 Aug 51min

The Future of the Democratic Party Runs Through Michigan

The path to the future of the Democratic Party — and to the White House in 2028 — may well run through Michigan. The state’s upcoming Democratic primary election is a highly anticipated showdown betwe...

31 Jul 18min

‘Skimpflation’ Could Be the Sneakiest Consumer Grift

From margarine to chocolate treats, some brands are swapping in cheaper ingredients to save money on their most beloved products. It’s a trend known as “skimpflation.” But what happens when consumers ...

30 Jul 16min

Can We Trust Election Prediction Markets?

With the US midterms fast approaching, voters and the media are increasingly looking to a new forecasting tool: prediction markets. The leading platforms, Kalshi and Polymarket, have been touted as a ...

29 Jul 18min

How India’s Cockroach Party Became a Political Force

Weeks of student-led protests forced the resignation of India’s education minister, in a rare public setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, guest host Rebecca Choo...

28 Jul 18min

Trump Rebuilds His Tariff Wall, Brick by Brick

As President Trump paused strikes on Iran over the weekend, he ratcheted up pressure on another front: his renewed trade war. On Friday, the US president imposed levies of 10 or 12.5% on 60 economies,...

27 Jul 16min

Weekend Listen: Can the US Actually Tax Billionaires?

As wealth becomes increasingly concentrated — and artificial intelligence threatens to shift even more income from workers to investors — has the US tax system become outdated? On this Weekend Listen,...

26 Jul 23min

One Weird Trick to Get Your Credit Card Charge Reversed? Fraud.

American consumers disputed nearly 30% more credit card transactions in 2025 than they did just four years earlier. Some of those “chargebacks” are legitimate issues or outright scams. But increasingl...

24 Jul 15min