Trump’s 25% auto tariffs are in effect. What investors need to know

DETROIT — President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported vehicles to the U.S. have taken effect, but the impacts of the new levies on investors and the global automotive industry will play out over the months, if not years, to come.

The 25% tariffs are on any vehicle not assembled in the U.S., which S&P Global Mobility reports accounted for 46% of the roughly 16 million vehicles sold domestically last year. The White House has said it also plans to place tariffs on some auto parts such as engines and transmissions, but those are set to take effect no later than May 3.

Wall Street analysts and investors have been bearish on the tariffs, which some believe could decimate company earnings and drive the automotive industry into a recession.

“A 25% on automotive imports lasting beyond four to six weeks would likely have a chilling effect on the entire sector as [automakers] need to grapple with significant impact to the bottom line,” Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska said in a recent note to investors.

TD Cowen’s Itay Michaeli described the tariffs to investors as “close to the worst case outcome vs. recent expectations,” while Barclays’ Dan Levy said “there are no ‘winners’ in the absolute – only relative winners.”

Trump has admitted there may be some “pain” initially with the tariffs, but the president said he believes the actions will bolster American jobs in the long term and result in more than $100 billion of new annual revenue to the U.S.

Automakers were lobbying for vehicles and parts that are compliant with Trump’s United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement to be tariff-free, but so far there have been no exemptions for vehicles.

There might end up being caveats for auto parts that are still yet to be finalized, but auto stocks will likely remain volatile, Wall Street analysts warned.

As the impacts of the tariffs continue to unfold, investors should be aware of which companies are expected to be most at risk, what vehicles will be impacted and just how much the levies are expected to affect earnings.

Simply put, no vehicle is completely sourced and produced domestically.

Even if vehicles are produced in the U.S. — meaning the final assembly takes place in the country — the tens of thousands of parts for new cars and trucks come from a global supply chain.

“We stress that the concept of a U.S. car maker with parts all from the U.S. is a fictional tale that does not exist and would take years to make this concept a reality,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in an investor note Wednesday.

For example, Ford Motor’s F-150 is exclusively assembled in the U.S. but has roughly 2,700 main billable parts, which exclude many small pieces, according to Caresoft, an engineering benchmarking and consulting firm. Those parts come from at least 24 different countries, Caresoft said.

Ultimately, the rollout of the tariffs on auto parts will be key, and could potentially bring some relief for automakers, depending on their supply chain network.

Parts that are currently compliant with the USMCA trade deal will be tariff-free, but only until the secretary of commerce and Customs and Border Protection establish processes to impose levies on non-U.S. content.

Automakers under USMCA also are expected to have an opportunity to have U.S. content equate to a reduction in their tariff calculation, according to the White House.

S&P Global Mobility reports Volvo, Mazda, Volkswagen and Hyundai Motor (including Genesis and Kia brands) are the most at risk from a vehicle standpoint, as at least 60% of their respective U.S. sales were imported from outside the U.S. in 2024.

Ford, General Motors, Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis produced the most vehicles in the U.S., according to S&P Global Mobility. Those five automakers accounted for 67% of U.S. passenger light-vehicle production in 2024.

But Bernstein estimates 57% of the value content in U.S.-assembled vehicles is imported, which means companies such as Ford — the No. 1 U.S. producer of cars and trucks — are still set to be significantly impacted by the tariffs.

Among the Detroit automakers, Bernstein reports GM faces the highest exposure to tariffs, driven by its more than 80% North America revenue share, 48% vehicle import rate, and less than 40% U.S. parts content in domestic builds.

Bernstein estimated GM’s earnings before interest and taxes could drop 79% as a result of the tariffs, an 81% decline in earnings per share and a $4.1 billion hit to free cash flow.

That compares with Bernstein’s estimates for Ford of a 16.5% hit to EBIT, 23% decline in EPS and 36% drop to free cash flow.

Stellantis, Bernstein estimates, is least affected, with only 40% of global revenue from the U.S. and 56% local parts content, resulting in a roughly $1 billion EBIT impact, 8.75% lower net income and a roughly $540 million hit to free cash flow.

Excluding potential tariffs on parts, U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla as well as EV startups Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group are far better positioned. All of their vehicles sold in the U.S. have final assembly in the country.

“Tesla is the clear structural winner: localized, strong market share, better insulated from trade risk. For everyone else, this is a margin reset and real drag on near-term earnings power,” Bernstein’s Roeska said.

U.S. auto sales in the first quarter came in well above industry expectations, as consumers flocked to buy new vehicles ahead of the tariffs taking effect, which many expect to result in higher vehicle prices.

“Along with increasing costs for importing vehicles, costs will increase for auto manufacturing in the US, and consumer costs for vehicles will increase,” S&P Global Mobility said in a tariff report last week.

S&P expects U.S. light-vehicle sales could migrate to between 14.5 million and 15 million units annually in the coming years, if the tariffs remain in effect. That compares with roughly 16 million vehicles sold in 2024.

Entry-level, less expensive vehicles are most at risk of being cut or seeing price increases, according to Wall Street and industry analysts. That’s because automakers often have tried to produce such vehicles, which historically have small profit margins, in lower-cost countries to the U.S.

For example, GM imported more than 400,000 entry-level crossovers for its Buick and Chevrolet brands last year from South Korea, tariff-free. The company has touted the vehicles as being the pinnacle for the automaker’s profitable growth in lower-margin, entry-level vehicles.

Other entry-level or more affordable vehicles that are set to be tariffed include the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V from Canada as well as the Ford Maverick, Ford Bronco Sport and Chevrolet Equinox from Mexico.

Bank of America estimates new vehicle prices — which currently run an average of about $48,000 — could increase as much as $10,000 if automakers pass the tariffs on impacted vehicles in full on to consumers.

Automakers have largely been silent on how much they intend to increase vehicle prices due to the new auto tariffs, as well as additional levies on parts, aluminum and steel — if they raise prices at all.

“We continue to evaluate all of the scenarios,” Hyundai Motor North America CEO Randy Parker said Tuesday about potential price increases. “But what I would say to our customers is that, just like all things in life, tomorrow is never guaranteed. And if you’re interested in buying a car, right now is a great time to buy a car, because as of today, we haven’t [risen] prices.”