Auto market volatility could explain surprising trend among car enthusiasts
New data from MOTORMIA, a platform helping auto enthusiasts plan and complete car modifications with AI, has highlighted searches for German vehicles as declining 52% during April year-over-year. German cars represented one-third of MOTORMIA’s site searches last April. During this same year-over-year period, searches for U.S. cars increased by 89%. MOTORMIA users begin each search with a car model instead of a brand or country, and the site’s data was drawn from over 100,000 U.S. users. The AI-powered vehicle modding platform noted that its users’ searches for Japanese cars remained relatively consistent. According to Reuters, big three German automakers, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen, accounted for 73% of the European Union’s (EU) vehicle exports to the U.S. last year, so MOTORMIA’s decline in German car searches could indicate hesitation among American buyers as a market reaction.
MOTORMIA
Isaac Bunick, CEO at MOTORMIA, told Autoblog: “This new data from MOTORMIA shows a clear shift in sentiment from car enthusiasts towards German cars. Last year, over a third of the car models our users searched for were from German brands such as BMW, Porsche, or Mercedes. This April, under 18% of car searches on our platform began with a German model, a dramatic 52% decrease. Whether it’s the result of tariffs or American patriotism, within the same time frame, searches for U.S. car models from brands such as Ford and GM nearly doubled, and in April this year, they accounted for 38% of all car searches on MOTORMIA. Within the context of what is happening in the automotive industry, our data seems to be reflecting the current market behavior. This month, BMW reported that its first-quarter profits for 2025 have fallen by 25%, while in parallel, U.S. brands like Ford or GM reported double-digit growth.”
The latest on EU auto tariff negotiations
Searches on MOTORMIA could shift back toward German automakers if the EU strikes a U.S. tariff offsetting deal. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that he would pursue a deal where U.S. cars could be imported into Europe duty-free in exchange for tariff waivers on the same number of vehicles exported to the U.S., Reuters reports. The $44.25 billion in cars exported to the U.S. from Europe last year was more than four times the number of vehicles from the other direction. America is the European Union’s (EU) fifth-largest vehicle export destination after China, Japan, Britain, and Turkey, but the U.S. is the largest export destination for German cars. Oliver Blume, head of Volkswagen Group, which includes Porsche, confirmed he spoke directly to the U.S. commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, in Washington, according to The Guardian. Blume agreed to keep the conversation’s details confidential.
Final thoughts
MOTORMIA’s data may signal how national policy can significantly impact consumer sentiment, but Japanese car searches remaining fairly consistent on the platform adds a wildcard factor to this observation. As MOTORMIA’s U.S. vehicle searches increased, American automakers like Ford were experiencing significant domestic sales growth. Still, tariff negotiations between the U.S. and Germany could reignite consumers’ interest in German cars, especially if they happen sooner rather than later, while many countries struggle to strike deals.
