How are Automakers Responding to the Tariffs?

Global automakers have been on a roller coaster ride in the past few weeks as President Donald Trump flexed his executive power by instituting tariffs that could dramatically impact corporations and consumers alike.

The president also mandated “reciprocal” tariffs of varying amounts on other goods produced in almost every country. But just days later, he put all except those for China on hold.

“We had a moment when we thought we’d get a reprieve,” said an import automaker executive who asked to remain unidentified, “but he didn’t pause the auto tariffs, so we’re back to trying to figure things out.”

Jump to:

Car tariff basics
Tariff rules based on the country of assembly
Will car prices go up due to tariffs?
Responses to tariffs by automaker

Car tariff basics

The tariffs are essentially taxes, usually paid by those who purchase the tariffed goods. They include 25% duties on imported vehicles and auto parts. There’s a separate 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum, some of which ends up in car and truck production.

Some previously announced tariffs have been reduced, but import taxes on autos, auto parts, aluminum and steel remain. If they aren't reduced or eliminated, car companies will see higher prices, fewer customer choices, fewer sales, supply chain disruptions, and potentially other impactful changes.

Many vehicles sold in the U.S. will take less of a tariff hit because they are made here or in Canada or Mexico.

Trump said the tariffs are intended to spur import automakers to build more cars in the U.S. But even if they do, it will not likely have an immediate impact. A Toyota spokesman told Edmunds that building a new auto factory anywhere in the U.S. would take four or five years, and even increasing an existing plant’s production can take a year or more.

Tariff rules based on the country of assembly

U.S.-built autos: Vehicles with final assembly in the U.S. don’t face import duties, but automakers will still pay higher prices for components from overseas suppliers and for whatever imported aluminum and steel they use.

The imported auto parts and metals tariffs will have a widespread impact as there’s hardly a vehicle sold in the U.S., made here or not, that doesn’t have at least a few parts and some steel and aluminum bits made in and imported from factories in other countries.

Vehicles from Canada and Mexico: Cars built in our neighboring countries to the north and south are subject to import tariffs but at lower rates under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) treaty in the first Trump administration. Like all domestic automakers, most major import brands have large manufacturing operations in North America.

Vehicles not assembled in North America: Affecting giant manufacturers like Toyota to tiny manufacturers like Ineos, the tariff will be 25% on any vehicle shipped to the U.S. For almost every make and model, there will be a hit based on imported parts content.

Many industry analysts, including Edmunds Director of Insights Ivan Drury, expect the result to be higher prices and turmoil in the retail market — for new and used cars — as shoppers and dealers alike struggle to cope with rapidly advancing sticker shock and a scarcer supply of new models.

Will car prices go up due to tariffs?

We're still in the early days of these rulings, but automakers are already taking various paths as they try to figure things out in these uncertain times. Some overseas car companies are temporarily halting shipments to the U.S. A few have already raised prices on some models. Others are reducing production and shuttering and consolidating plants.

To help make sense of the confusion, we’ve put our foot to the floor to put together an early look at the initial tariff responses of automakers selling cars in the U.S.

Many say they are taking a “wait-and-see” approach because of the president’s tendency to reverse course. Others have already taken initial steps such as raising prices, altering production, and cutting back on shipping their vehicles to the U.S. A few have announced layoffs. Several have responded with vows to continue absorbing tariff-related costs for a while to stabilize prices and encourage consumers to continue buying their cars.

Responses to tariffs by automaker

We’ve arranged the following companies alphabetically except for brands that are part of larger corporate groups since most groups apply the same responses to all their brands. Audi, for instance, isn’t first on the list because it is part of the Volkswagen Group. We aren’t listing brands not sold in the U.S. We're also including a link to the brand's homepage on Edmunds and their incentives pages if you'd like to see the latest deals they offer.

Aston Martin

The British luxury-performance brand hasn’t revealed its strategies for coping with the impact of the import tariffs. But at the end of March, it announced that it was selling its stake in its Formula One team to help raise money to offset growing losses and the financial hit it expects as the tariffs take hold.

See all Aston Martin Incentives

BMW Group (BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce)

The German automaker builds cars in Europe, China, Mexico, South America, South Africa, and the U.S. Its U.S. plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is the largest worldwide and assembles the BMW X3, X4, X5, X6, X7 and XM SUVs. Many are exported to other countries, making BMW one of the U.S.’ largest auto exporters. Vehicles shipped from BMW’s Georgia plant would be subject to retaliatory tariffs other countries might impose on U.S.-made goods.

In a statement sent to Edmunds, BMW Group said the U.S. and others “should be discussing reducing trade barriers rather than creating more” and that cutting or eliminating tariffs “would benefit customers.”

The statement added that the BMW Group is “currently evaluating the [tariff] announcements in detail.”

Here’s what else we know:

BMW: The company confirmed to Edmunds that it is raising the manufacturer’s suggested retail price by 4% on 2 Series coupe and M2 models imported from its plant in Mexico. The increase is effective May 1, 2025. Other BMW vehicle sticker prices, also called MSRPs, will remain unchanged through at least May 31.

See all BMW incentives

Mini: The company told Edmunds that U.S. pricing will remain unchanged through May and that it is uncertain about things after that date. However, it has a sufficient inventory of tariff-free vehicles in the U.S. to last “well into” the second quarter.

See all Mini incentives

Rolls-Royce: The British builder of ultra-luxe motor vehicles hasn’t announced any changes or said whether the import tax could affect the six-figure pricing of its U.S. lineup, which starts at $357,750 for the 2025 Ghost sedan. Rolls-Royce CEO Chris Brownridge said he believes the company is in “a great position” whatever happens with the U.S. tariffs.

See all Rolls-Royce incentives

Ferrari

All the Italian performance car maker’s vehicles are assembled in Italy and thus subject to tariffs. As soon as the tariffs were announced, Ferrari raised prices by up to 10% on most models sold in the U.S. but said it would absorb any tariff-related costs for the Roma, 296 and SF90, three of its most expensive models. The company said it expects a very slight negative impact on earnings for 2025 because of the import tariffs.

Ford Motor Co. (Ford, Lincoln)

Ford makes vehicles worldwide, with most U.S. models coming from plants in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Turkey. The company has the largest U.S. manufacturing base of any brand but uses many parts that would be subject to the imported auto parts tariff. In late March, it said it had more than two months’ stock of vehicles unaffected by the tariffs.

Ford’s initial response to the tariffs was to promote itself and its vehicles as “From America. For America” and offer employee discount pricing on many models.

CEO Jim Farley said in February 2025 that Trump’s tariffs would sow chaos but said in a television interview recently that Ford could withstand the impact of the taxes and might even gain some customers because of them.

Ford: Employee discount pricing for all customers on 2024 and 2025 models through June 2, 2025, but the offer excludes some U.S.-built models such as the F-150 Raptor, Super Duty pickups, and Expedition SUV, as well as Mustang and Bronco specialty trims.

See all Ford incentives

Lincoln: Lincoln is offering its employee discount to all customers through June 2, 2025, except for the U.S.-built Lincoln Navigator. Lincoln’s midsize Nautilus SUV is built in China.

See all Lincoln Incentives

General Motors (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)

General Motors (GM) makes cars and trucks all over the globe and has a large presence in China with its Buick division. Most of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. are made in North America, predominantly in the U.S.

In an email response to our inquiry, the company referred to a comment CEO Mary Barra made while announcing earnings recently: "With respect to possible tariffs, we are working across our supply chain, logistics network, and assembly plants so that we are prepared to mitigate near-term impacts. Many of these actions are no cost or low cost" to GM.

GM said it complies with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which calls for a minimum of 75% domestic parts content. The tariff on imports would apply — for GM and other automakers with North American production — only to the value of a vehicle's content that originated outside of the U.S., Canada or Mexico.

As for GM's individual brands:

Buick: Except for the Enclave SUV, Buick models are assembled in China and South Korea and are subject to the full 25% imported vehicle tax. GM hasn’t commented publicly, but some industry watchers speculate that the tariffs could spell the end of the 126-year-old brand, which sells more vehicles in China than in the U.S.

See all Buick incentives

Cadillac: GM hasn’t explicitly commented on the Cadillac brand, but although the CT4 and CT5 sedans are built in the U.S., they have substantial Chinese-made content subject to the 25% tariff on imported auto parts. The Optiq EV is built in Mexico.

See all Cadillac incentives

Chevrolet: There is no word yet on production or pricing changes. Some Silverado pickups are built in Mexico, and some Equinox SUVs are built in Canada. GM has said it is increasing Silverado 1500 production in the U.S., which could impact the Canadian operation.

See all Chevrolet incentives

GMC: No word on any tariff-driven changes. Some GMC Terrain SUVs are built in Canada.

See all GMC incentives

Honda Motors (Acura, Honda)

The company has a large U.S. manufacturing plant in Ohio but imports several vehicles from Japan for the U.S. market. So far, it has declined to discuss its plans for handling tariff-related issues and referred Edmunds to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association representing Honda and most other carmakers doing business in the U.S.

The Alliance said in a statement released the day after the tariffs were announced, "Automotive facilities and global supply chains create American jobs, provide Americans with vehicle choice, and the big one — support auto affordability in America. We are committed to building and investing in the U.S., but these facilities and supply chains are massive and complex and can’t be relocated or redirected overnight.

"Additional tariffs will increase costs on American consumers, lower the total number of vehicles sold inside the U.S. and reduce U.S. auto exports.”

See all Acura incentives

See all Honda incentives

Hyundai Motor Group (Genesis, Hyundai, Kia)

The South Korean company has been building vehicles in the U.S. at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama since 2005 and opened the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America near Savannah, Georgia, this year. The Metaplant includes an EV manufacturing hub. The Hyundai Group's total U.S. manufacturing capacity is about 1.2 million vehicles annually across all three of its brands, but it still imports many vehicles from South Korea.

Genesis: No MSRP increases until June 2. Dropped its three-year complimentary maintenance for new cars beginning with the 2026 model year.

See all Genesis incentives

Hyundai: No MSRP increases until June 2. Canceled its three-year complimentary maintenance for new cars starting with 2026 models.

See all Hyundai incentives

Kia: Has not yet announced any response to the tariffs.

In an emailed response to Edmunds’ query about its plans that, as part of the Hyundai Motor Group, it is “closely monitoring new policy developments” and continually reviews business strategies “to ensure success … and long-term profitability.”

See all Kia incentives

Ineos

The British company makes its high-end SUVs in France. It has raised the prices on its Grenadier 4X4 SUV by 5% and on its Quartermaster pickup—already subject to the longstanding 25% tax on imported trucks — by 10%. The company said U.S. orders for the Grenadier placed before April 3, 2025, will not be subject to the price hike.

Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR)

The company, a unit of India’s Tata Motors, has plants in the United Kingdom, China, Brazil, India and Slovakia. In an email, it said it is stopping the export of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles to the U.S. in April while it plans to deal with the tariffs.

See all Jaguar incentives

See all Land-Rover incentives

Lotus Cars

Lotus builds the Emira and other low-volume sports cars in England and said through a spokesperson that it is temporarily pausing all shipments of cars to the U.S. as it assesses the ongoing tariff situation. Lotus also cited volatile market conditions, including the U.S. tariffs, for the layoff of 270 employees at operations across the United Kingdom. Lotus is owned by Geely Holding Co., a Chinese conglomerate that also has a large stake in Volvo and Polestar.

Lucid

Lucid has not responded to our inquiry into tariff mitigation plans. The company builds its luxury electric cars in Arizona, but it will likely be impacted by the tariff on imported parts and the separate tariff on imported steel and aluminum.

See all Lucid incentives

Mazda

Mazda builds about 20% of the cars it sells in the U.S. at an Alabama plant it owns jointly with Toyota. The rest come from plants in Mexico and Japan. The U.S. is Mazda’s largest market.

Mazda hasn’t outlined any specific plans, saying that, like many other automakers, it is still assessing things. Its chief financial officer told one online news site that the financial burden of the Trump tariffs is “too big to swallow” and that the company will likely have to pass on some of the costs to customers by raising prices on some models.

See all Mazda incentives

McLaren

McLaren, the British supercar maker recently sold to an Abu Dhabi investment group, sells more than a third of its cars in the U.S. According to reports in British media, it has decided to suspend shipment of its Lotus Emira to the U.S., begun a “restructuring process” at its British manufacturing plant, and laid off its entire contract staff, which accounts for a large portion of its total workforce.

See all McLaren incentives

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz assembles some of its vehicles at plants in Alabama and South Carolina and imports others from plants in Europe. The Alabama plant builds and exports the Mercedes-Maybach GLS ultra-luxury sedan to other countries, where it will be subject to their retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-made products.

In an email, the company said it plans to maintain current 2025 model year pricing “until further notice” and is “evaluating all options and will adjust to changing market conditions and the competitive landscape if needed.”

See all Mercedes-Benz incentives

Mitsubishi Motors

A spokesman at Mitsubishi USA headquarters in Tennessee told Edmunds the company intends to hold pricing at present levels “for the moment” and that Mitsubishi is holding up shipments at the ports “until we have sufficient visibility on the tariffs and next steps.” The company already has a three-month supply of cars and trucks in the U.S. “to not impact customer choice,” he said.

But Mitsubishi isn’t ruling out future price increases in the U.S.

The tariffs, the spokesman said in an email exchange, “will negatively impact the company’s business, as well the business of its nearly 330 dealer partners across the nation and the purchasing power of more than 100,000 customers each year … (and) may result in increased and unnecessary costs for the end-user, the American customer.”

See all Mitsubishi incentives

Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti)

Nissan has plants in Japan, the U.S., and Mexico. A spokesman for the company said about half its U.S. sales are of models built at U.S. plants in Tennessee and Mississippi. The company told U.S. dealers in mid-April that the tariffs would have an impact on new car affordability but that it had an almost three months' supply of vehicles on hand and wouldn't need to raise prices on imported models to account for tariff impacts until June 2 or later. Nissan is also considering increasing production at its two U.S. plants as part of its "war-gaming" to mitigate the tariffs' impact on purchasers of its vehicles, its U.S. sales chief told dealers in a mid-April memo.

The automaker also has paused U.S. orders for new Infiniti SUVs built in Mexico and canceled plans to reduce production of the Rogue SUV at its Smyrna, Tennessee, factory, to maximize its tariff-free U.S.-built supply.

Nissan has also reduced the prices of the Rogue and the three-row Pathfinder SUV, most of which are built in Tennessee.

See all Nissan incentives

Infiniti: The QX50 and QX55 SUV orders have been temporarily halted, but production will continue for models shipped to other countries.

See all Infiniti incentives

Polestar

Polestar, the Swedish EV maker, shares a major investor — China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group — with Volvo and builds the Polestar 3 SUV at Volvo’s U.S. plant in South Carolina. The Polestar 4 tall coupe will be built in South Korea starting this summer. Polestar’s only other production model right now is the Polestar 2, which is built in China. In an email, a Polestar USA spokesman said it is no longer taking orders in the U.S. for that model.

The spokesperson added that some Polestar 2 models are still in stock at its U.S. retailers, but the 3 and 4 will be the priority in the U.S. moving forward. Polestar is also looking at boosting production in South Carolina and previously raised prices on the Polestar 2 by $15,000 to account for the impact of the 100% tariff on Chinese EVs imposed by the U.S. during the Biden administration.

See all Polestar incentives

Rivian

Rivian, the California-based high-end electric truck and SUV maker, builds its vehicles at a plant in Normal, Illinois, but it heavily depends on imported parts, including batteries. Rivian has not responded to Edmunds’ inquiry about its tariff plans.

See all Rivian incentives

Stellantis (Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Ram)

The global auto group makes cars and trucks worldwide and markets seven of its brands in the U.S. It is offering employee pricing discounts to all customers for eligible Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and Ram models through the end of April 2025. It is temporarily shutting down production plants in Canada and Mexico and laying off 900 workers in the U.S. There’s also speculation that Stellantis may be looking to sell Alfa Romeo, Maserati or both.

Alfa Romeo: Nothing announced.

See all Alfa-Romeo incentives

Chrysler: Production of the Pacifica and Voyager minivans — its only models — has been paused. Both are built in Canada.

See all Chrysler incentives

Dodge: Pausing production of its Canadian-made Charger Daytona EV models until April 21, 2025.
See all Dodge incentives

Fiat: Nothing announced but its only U.S. model, the 500e EV, is built in Italy.

See all Fiat incentives

Jeep: Production of the Jeep Compass and Jeep Wagoneer S has been halted in Toluca, Mexico, for all of April.

See all Jeep incentives

Maserati: Nothing announced.

See all Maserati incentives

Ram: The truck maker has not made any announcements, but the Ram brand faces many tariff-induced costs. While the popular Ram 1500 pickup is built in Michigan, the 2500, 3500, and other heavy-duty Ram pickup models and the ProMaster work van are built in Mexico, and the ProMaster City van is built in Turkey.

See all Ram incentives

Subaru

The company has an Indiana manufacturing plant that supplies about 45% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. The rest, along with numerous components, including engines and transmissions that go into the Indiana-built vehicles, come from Japan.

Subaru of America did not respond to Edmunds' inquiry about its tariff-mitigation plans. Despite rumors that it is not taking new orders, a report in Road & Track quotes a Subaru of America spokesman as saying that the company has stopped accepting new custom-build orders for the time being. However, new cars are still being sold and shipped to the U.S. from Japan. A promise to hold off on any tariff-related price increases has expired, but pricing seems stable at this point.

See all Subaru incentives

Tesla

Tesla disbanded its public relations team several years ago and, as such, did not respond to our request for comment. The EV company makes cars in the U.S., Europe and China. Its U.S. models are built at its plants in California and Texas. But it still imports components and uses some portion of imported steel in its manufacturing so will feel some impact from the tariffs, which CEO Elon Musk, who is a major adviser to President Trump, is reported to have opposed.

“Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here,” Musk posted on X when the auto tariffs were announced. “The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant.”

The company has not announced any plans to raise prices.

See all Tesla incentives

Toyota Motor (Lexus, Toyota)

Toyota has been mum about its plans for handling the impact of the U.S. automotive tariffs. It has a vast U.S. presence, building more than half of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. as plants in Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas and builds engines and transmissions in West Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama. Toyota also is completing an EV battery plant in North Carolina. But it still imports tens of thousands of vehicles from Japan, and a mountain of parts and components are used in the vehicles it builds here.

There’s been no official statement from the company about its plans for handling the U.S. tariffs.

“We are in a wait-and-see mode,” said a spokesman for Toyota Motor North America, adding that the company doesn’t plan on raising prices for either Toyota or Lexus vehicles “for now.”

See all Lexus incentives

See all Toyota incentives

VinFast

VinFast, the Vietnam-based EV maker, sends two all-electric SUVs to the U.S. but has scant sales. Its imported SUVs would be subject to the auto tariff. In a brief statement to Edmunds, the company’s U.S. spokesman said only that VinFast “is aware of the situation” and is “seriously studying the matter.”

See all VinFast incentives

Volkswagen Auto Group (Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Volkswagen)

Officially, the company is taking a wait-and-see position as it assesses the impacts of the imported auto, parts, and metals tariffs.

“No final decisions have been made,” a spokesman said in response to Edmunds’ inquiry. However, numerous press reports are indicating that various VW brands are taking some early steps.

Audi: Has no U.S. production but makes one model for the U.S. in Mexico. The rest come from its European plants. A recent German newspaper article — which we fed through a German-to-English translation program — reports that Audi has been holding back distribution of vehicles that arrived in U.S. ports after April 2, 2025, and has advised its U.S. dealers to focus on selling existing stock while it assesses things. Audi reportedly is also considering passing on some of the tariff-related cost increases to U.S. buyers and increasing its North American production, possibly by building a new plant.

See all Audi incentives

Bentley: With no U.S. production, the British luxury carmaker could be hit hard by the tariffs. According to British media reports, its chairman recently warned that it might have to pass on those costs to buyers in the U.S.

See all Bentley incentives

Bugatti: The French maker of multimillion-dollar hypercars hasn’t said anything yet about tariff-mitigation plans beyond parent Volkswagen Group’s “no final decisions” statement.

Lamborghini: Following its best sales year ever in 2024, Italian supercar maker Lamborghini says it is looking at lower volumes and increases to its already hefty prices to help it handle the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs. Lamborghini CEO Stephen Winkleman told a media group in Australia that a potential solution would be to find a price hike that enables the company to maintain profits from U.S. sales while not alienating customers, the website News.com.au quotes Winkleman as saying.

Porsche: The German sports car brand has no U.S. manufacturing. It increased exports to the U.S. in the first quarter to build up a tariff-free inventory here. On its corporate website, Porsche said the increase represented a 37% hike in exports to the U.S. in the initial quarter of 2024.

See all Porsche incentives

Volkswagen: It builds cars for the U.S. in Tennessee, Mexico and Europe. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Volkswagen plans to add import fees to the pricing of vehicles affected by the tariffs; hold those vehicles at U.S. ports for now, as Audi is doing; and suspend shipments to the U.S. of the Mexico-built Tiguan SUV.

See all Volkswagen incentives

Volvo Cars

Volvo: The Swedish company assembles vehicles in Sweden, Belgium, China and the U.S. Its CEO said in early April that it intended to increase production at its U.S. plant near Charleston, South Carolina, to “get around the import tariffs” but recently said it will take two years to complete the expansion. Volvo currently makes the S60 sedan and the all-electric EX90 SUV there, but most of the cars and SUVs it sells in the U.S. are made in Europe.

See all Volvo incentives

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