Here’s what Trump’s tariffs have cost car companies so far

U.S. tariffs have cost automakers at least $35.4 billion since 2025, according to an Automotive News analysis of company financial reports available through mid-March.

Toyota $TM +1.13% faces the steepest bill of any single automaker, projecting ¥1.45 trillion — roughly $9.1 billion — in tariff costs for its fiscal year ending March 31. The Detroit Three — GM +0.77%, Ford $F +0.34%, and Stellantis $STLA +1.08% — collectively absorbed $6.5 billion in tariff costs in 2025. BMW, Honda $HMC -0.31%, Hyundai-Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Subaru, and Volkswagen each reported or projected bills exceeding $1 billion.

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The tariff exposure differs significantly across companies, driven by the share of each automaker’s U.S. sales that come from foreign plants and which countries supply components for vehicles assembled domestically. E.U., Japanese, and South Korean vehicles are subject to a 15% import duty. Canadian and Mexican vehicles that meet North American free trade requirements face a 25% tariff calculated on the portion of their value not originating in the U.S. Steel and aluminum imports are taxed at 50%.

Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, said most automakers held back from passing costs to buyers, wagering that the tariffs were short-lived. “Raising prices based on what was believed to be a temporary situation didn’t make a lot of sense in this competitive market, so a lot of companies absorbed those costs initially,” Fiorani told Automotive News.

Despite that posture, price increases have begun filtering through. A VIN-level pricing study by data firm Catalyst IQ, cited by Automotive News, found that between the third quarter of 2025 and February 2026, sticker prices climbed more steeply for foreign-built vehicles — those made in Canada, Japan, Germany, and Mexico — than for models produced domestically.

Several production and lineup decisions reflect the tariff pressure. GM plans to relocate assembly of its next-generation Buick crossover from China to Kansas by 2028. Dodge pulled the Hornet from its lineup this past January, attributing the move to changes in the policy landscape. Volkswagen opted not to bring its ID Buzz minivan to the U.S. market for the 2026 model year, with tariffs among the reasons cited.

A year into the new tariff regime, automakers still lack clarity on which duties are permanent, said Dan Hearsch, global co-leader of the automotive and industrial practice at AlixPartners. “That’s still pretty hard to do because the administration has just not been very clear or consistent in application and what stays and what goes up and what goes down and what gets added,” Hearsch told Automotive News.

The tariff burden compounds the industry’s separate struggles with EV profitability.

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