- Last year, 2.19 million vehicles delivered in the US were imported from Mexico.
- Approximately 717,000 cars produced in Canada were sold in the Unites States.
- One analyst thinks it’s possible President Trump could also target EU-made cars.
The pro-tariff policies of the new Trump administration are expected to have far-reaching impacts on the local car industry, with new data revealing they could hit almost 20% of all new cars sold across the US. Some car manufacturers will be hit harder than others, including Volkswagen, Stellantis, and Nissan.
Of the 16.1 million light vehicles sold in the United States last year, 9.86 million of these, or 61%, were produced in the United States and will avoid the new 10% tariffs and the proposed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, which were recently paused for 30 days. Approximately 2.19 million light vehicles built in Mexico were exported to the US last year, accounting for 13.6% of the market.
Read: China, Canada And Mexico Get Hit By Trump Tariffs, Sparking New Trade War
Cars built south of the border are increasingly common. Volumes from Mexico have increased 13% year on year, compared to just a 1.7% growth in US-made cars. Then there’s Canada. Approximately 717,000 of the 16.1 million cars sold locally came from the Great White North, or 4.5%. Roughly 57,000 vehicles produced in China were sold in the US in 2024, or 0.4% of the total market.
The Volkswagen Group could be hit the hardest by tariffs levied against Mexico. Of the cars it sells in the US, 44% come from Mexico. According to JATO Dynamics Global Analyst Felipe Munoz, four of VW’s five best-selling models in the US are built in Mexico. If these vehicles are hit with 25% tariffs, the brand will inevitably have to increase prices, and shift production to the US, or to another market not hit with new tariffs.
The tariffs could also hit Stellantis hard. More than 40% of its cars sold in the US come from Mexico and Canada. Nissan also imports more than 30% of its cars from Mexico, while over 25% of Toyota models are built in Canada or Mexico.
JATO suspects that vehicles made in the European Union may be also hit with tariffs in the future. Last year, 821,000 vehicles sold domestically were imported from the EU, with most coming from the VW Group, BMW Group, and Mercedes-Benz.
“While difficult to predict what the Trump administration will do next from a trade perspective, the measures taken so far in the administration’s first month in office are a sign of things to come. Importing cars into the US will become more difficult across the board, and the European Union should be prepared for future restrictions on trade,” Munoz said.
