Here Comes the Pain From Trump's Tariffs

As Donald Trump has given the automotive industry whiplash with his tariffs, which have, at different periods, applied to cars and car parts or haven’t applied at all. While it was hard to tell how the import tax would hit auto manufacturers, the impact is starting to look more concrete, and it ain’t pretty. As CNBC notes, Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Chrysler, and Peugeot, warned on Monday that it’s expecting to lose about $2.6 billion this quarter due to Trump’s tariffs, according to As CNBC notes

The loss was revealed by Stellantis in its preliminary estimates for the first six months of the year, which showed the company’s profits dropped by nearly $10 billion year-over-year, in part due to Trump’s tariff regime. The company indicated that it expected to take a nearly $350 million hit from net tariffs that occurred in the first quarter alone, and warned that figure could grow to around $1.75 billion for the full fiscal year. Then there are the hits to production that the tariffs have done, making it harder to source parts and produce cars with a consumer-accessible price point. The company has been shipping fewer cars due to the tariffs making it more expensive to import them, and thus selling fewer cars.

Stellantis isn’t the only automaker saying they are feeling the pain of the Trump tax. Earlier this month, Mercedes-Benz reported that it is slowing shipments and cutting back on stock available at dealerships due to tariffs. It is doing so despite claiming to also have a growing demand globally for its vehicles—a demand it can’t meet because the cost of shipping and importing vehicles has become untenable in some markets.

The whole auto industry has been hit by Trump’s penalizing tariffs. According to CNBC, the United Kingdom reported vehicle production in the United Kingdom is down 32% so far this year, following five straight months of declines in manufacturing. Production levels are now the lowest they have been in the country since 1949, excluding the Covid-era stoppages. Despite this, manufacturing has not really shifted back to America’s shores, either. Companies have been reluctant to commit to building up their domestic infrastructure, in part because Trump is an unpredictable actor who can and will change the industry landscape on a whim.

Carmakers are at least somewhat equipped to mitigate and adapt to Trump’s tariffs. Consumers, meanwhile, are getting hammered. According to research from Cars.com, cars under $30,000 have had incredibly slow inventory growth this year, and the vast majority of cars in that more affordable price point are imports, meaning they are subject to tariffs. Making that pain point even worse, Trump’s budget will gut public transit funding, making the alternative to owning a car less accessible.