Break in factories, price increases or stops of certain models. Automobile manufacturers have begun to position themselves in the face of customs tariffs imposed by Donald Trump in imported cars in the United States.
Supervisors worth 25% entered into force on Thursday, April 3 in all cars that are not held in the United States.
These customs tariffs should concern 7.3 million imported vehicles, or 8% of world sales according to Bank of America, exhibiting manufacturers with “many costs and chaos”, according to the formula of the Ford Jim Farley head.
Customs tasks of the same magnitude in the spare parts must also gradually enter into force.
Prices increase
These customs tasks ask two main questions for the US market: how will car prices and consumers increase will buy less?
Volkswagen already warned its US distributors that planned to add costs to the price of imported vehicles in the United States from Mexico or Europe.
According to Bank of America, manufacturers could decide to increase their prices by $ 10,000 (for cars sold on average to $ 48,000) if they want to protect their margins. But some manufacturers could cut these margins, while waiting to produce in the United States and limit increases to around $ 4,500.
Given these threats of price increases, US consumers launched concessions in March to order.
These price increases are likely to be painful for US and Japanese manufacturers that import medium vehicles by thousands of Mexico or Canada, from the Chevrolet Silverado truck to the Toyota Rav4 SUV.
But even German manufacturers, like Porsche, could find it difficult to absorb these surcharges for their less expensive models, such as Macan SUV, worshiped by Americans, Cigdem Cerit, analyst at the Ratings Fitch agency, underlines.
Ferrari was also the first manufacturer to announce an increase of up to 10% in some of its models made in Italy and sold in the United States, its first market.
Ford, one of the manufacturers who produced the most in the United States, took the opportunity to launch a promotion campaign “of America, so that the United States” push customers to enter the dealers.
Canado-Mexican chaos
The American manufacturers themselves (Stellantis, Ford, General Motors …) asked Donald Trump to lighten the rights to Mexico and Canada, where many factories are found and where half of the imported cars come from.
It is lost: the free trade agreement with the three countries (USMCA) remains in force only for parts made in the United States.
Stellantis announced Thursday to break his Canadian factory chrysler in Windsor (4,000 employees), a neighboring city with Detroit.
Nissan warned for its part that it was not going to market the models of its Premium Infiniti Qx5 and QX55 models in the United States, produced in its Mexican factory in Aguascalientes.
Audi is also looking to block all vehicles gathered in Mexico and in the other countries outside the United States and that would be delivered through US ports since April 2, according to a note aimed at the dealers consulted by Automotive News.
Produce in the United States
Donald Trump’s objective is to attract manufacturers to the United States, but the long -term effects of this policy remain unpredictable.
“Everyone will ask: Is it more competitive to produce in the United States, with a market that has become lower or pay customs tasks?” Explains Guillaume Crunelne of the Deloitte Cabinet.
Some manufacturers had already given salaries to the United States government: Hyundai as Stellantis has announced openings or factory reopening since their election.
The entry into the force of customs costs on Thursday accelerated the ads, especially the manufacturers that already have factories on the site.
Nissan, who, in full savings, intended to stop the production of his SNAPE SUV in his tennessee factory, will finally keep him to avoid customs tasks.
Volvo also confirmed that he would increase his production in his factory in southern Carolina, and perhaps transfer a new model.
However, these developments have been opening a production line in an existing factory for some time. And suppliers, whose economy is already fragile, will have to follow.
About one million additional cars in the United States (of 10.6 million produced in 2024) could occur, according to Bank of America, but the recruitment of workers could be problematic.
Source: BFM TV
