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.

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