Americans won’t pay more to buy a car as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the White House said on Thursday.
“No, not on cars they won’t,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said in response to a question of whether consumers might have to pay more to buy a vehicle as automakers adjust their production to account for Trump’s tariffs.
“Because again, there is now a massive economic incentive for automobile producers to expand production in the United States, and whatever they make here, there will be no tariff,” he added.
Consumers appear skeptical. Dealers are reporting a surge in demand as customers try to lock in a deal before potential changes.
Economists aren’t as convinced either.
Anderson Economic Group, a Michigan-based consultant firm, estimates that even the least impacted vehicles could still see a tariff burden above $2,000. Some vehicles, according to their estimates, could have a tariff burden of up to $12,000. The exact estimate varies on whether the vehicle is assembled in the US and the percentage of American-made parts that go into it.
“If you are in the market for a new car and you find one you like, my advice is to buy it right away. If you have a used car you rely upon, my advice is to make sure it is well maintained as you are likely to use it for a while longer than you had earlier planned,” said Patrick L. Anderson, the group’s principle and CEO, said in a news release.
Here’s what the nation’s largest automakers have said about tariffs and whether they’ll raise prices.
GM
CEO Mary Bara said that tariffs could cost General Motors up to $5 billion. As for consumers, she said that the leader in U.S. auto sales will “stay competitive.”
“We have been able to maintain strong pricing and low incentives because customers want our vehicles,” Bara told CNN. “What we’ve said and what we have provided in our guidance is that pricing is going to stay about at the same levels of what it is.”
Bara also did not outline any plans for GM to offer incentives along the lines of Ford’s employee pricing promotion. She said that pricing in the auto industry changes “at least monthly and sometimes more frequently” and that GM would “respond to the market” to remain competitive.
As for tariffs overall, Bara said one of the best ways GM can respond is to continue to boost the portion of each vehicle that is made in the US.
Toyota
Toyota, the US’s second-best-selling automaker, is significantly exposed to tariffs.
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A UBS Securities report published at the outset of Trump’s trade war said that tariffs could cost Japan’s five biggest automakers $25 billion a year, mostly borne by Toyota, the world’s largest automaker.
Toyota is expected to benefit from Trump’s decision on April 29 to rein in some of his auto tariffs. One of those orders allows automakers to claim an offset on auto parts tariffs if they produce and sell completed vehicles in the US. Toyota, like many of its competitors, imports parts that are then assembled into completed vehicles at its US-based plants.
In late March, Reuters cited Japanese domestic media reports that Toyota did not plan on raising prices in response to tariffs.
A Toyota spokesperson declined further comment to Business Insider.
Ford
On Wednesday, Ford CEO Jim Farley said he couldn’t promise that US consumers wouldn’t pay more to buy his company’s vehicles.
“No, I’m not saying that,” Farley told CNN’s Erin Burnett when she asked if he would commit to saying there would be no price increases from Ford this summer.
Instead, Farley announced that Ford, the nation’s third-best-selling automaker, will extend its current sale, which offers employee pricing to consumers through July 4.
Hyundai
Hyundai CEO Jose Muñoz recently said that he expected prices to remain steady.
“I don’t expect to see a huge increase overnight,” Muñoz told Bloomberg News on April 15. “The market will decide.”
Muñoz said that if price increases were to occur, they would likely not be imposed on lower-cost entry-model vehicles.
“Those customers are very sensitive to price,” he said. “If you do that then maybe they won’t buy the cars.”
Hyundai and its sibling Kia were the fourth best-selling automaker in the US in 2024.
Honda
Honda said early on that Trump’s tariffs could have a significant effect on its bottom line.
Global executive vice president Shinji Aoyama told analysts in February that a 25% tariff could cost the company $132.7 billion.
The fifth-best-selling automaker in the US has since shifted production of its Civic Hybrid from Japan to the US.
Stellantis
A historic member of Detroit’s Big 3, Stellantis, formerly known as Chrysler, has also not said much about its tariff response.
At a high level, Jeep and Dodge’s parent company withdrew its 2025 financial guidance due to uncertainty around tariff policy.
Like Ford, Stellantis has extended its employee pricing offering. According to The Detroit News, the program will now run through early June.
