Audi has reportedly decided to pause U.S. imports, after it began holding cars at ports last week.
As a new slate of tariffs enacted April 2 take hold on virtually all aspects of the U.S. economy, and particularly the automotive sector, automakers are implementing strategies to assess how best to move forward in this new environment, and potentially soften the blow to consumers to keep sales volumes up. Volkswagen Group, parent company to Audi, said in response to inquiries about the tariffs that, “We are closely monitoring developments and will comprehensively assess internally the potential impact on supply chains and our production networks…”. To that end, it’s reportedly (per Automotive News) halting all U.S. imports from Mexico and overseas factories, while also holding vehicles that arrived at U.S. ports on or after April 3.
Effectively, Audi’s decision to hold imported vehicles back from actually reaching dealers — and prospective buyers — is one of the most significant early effects surrounding 25% tariffs on all imported vehicles. Those duties come in addition to “reciprocal tariffs” the Trump administration enacted last week against other countries’ goods. For now, consumers will only be able to choose from cars in Audi dealers’ inventories, of which they have about a 60-day supply. After that, the company will likely roll out vehicles currently sitting at ports to dealers, but with higher price tags to accommodate for the fees it will have to remit to the U.S. government as those vehicles clear the port.
As an importer, Audi has to pay assessments on products it brings into the country before those products clear customs — a cost that, at least to some extent, the end buyer will have to pay through “import fees”. In fact, AN also reported that Audi is identifying vehicles that aren’t subject to the 25% import levy with “No Added Import Fee” codes on invoices.
Some automakers are absorbing tariff costs, but that won’t last.
Update 4/14/25: Mitsubishi announced it has paused all deliveries to its 330 U.S. dealerships. The automaker has about 100 days of inventory, on which it will not change pricing (according to Automotive News). After that date, it will have to import the vehicles it’s currently holding at ports, and will almost certainly raise prices in the process.
The Volkswagen brand, according to German outlet Zeit Online, is also pausing all U.S. imports, while vehicles already here have an additional fee tacked onto their destination charge. That fee supposedly varies by model, while the mode of shipment may determine your ability to get the VW you want at all. Rail shipments from Mexico are reportedly on hold, while water shipments are still going on for the time being (likely for the same reason as Audi — the cars will sit at ports for some time).
While it is one of the heaviest-impacted automakers, Volkswagen Group and Audi aren’t the only ones trying to navigate these troubled waters. BMW, which imports the 3 Series sedan, 2 Series coupe and M2 models from Mexico, said it would cover the import fees — but only until May 1.
Stellantis, for its part, paused production at its Canadian plant in Windsor, Ontario for the next couple weeks, which impacts the Chrysler Pacifica and Dodge Charger. On the other side of the U.S., a month-long production halt at the Toluca plant Mexico impacts the Jeep Compass and Wagoneer S. Last week, the company also temporarily laid off 900 workers in response to the tariffs. In order to assuage its actual customers, Stellantis is offering an “employee pricing for everyone” deal to drive sales. Again, though, that promotion only lasts through the end of this month.
Ferrari made headlines as one of the first to respond to the higher import levies. How did it respond, you ask? By raising prices 10% on its most expensive cars like the Purosangue SUV and 12Cilindri grand tourer, amounting to about a $43,000 surcharge on average. In this case, its customers can probably afford to take the hit…though that sort of approach could spell trouble in more budget-conscious segments of the market, should other companies opt to raise their asking prices by a commensurate amount, or even the full 25% assessed tariff.
General Motors hasn’t yet announced any price changes, but it is reportedly boosting its full-size truck production in Fort Wayne, Indiana (per Reuters). That seems to be a calculated move to shift some truck production to offset tariffs on trucks imported from Canada and Mexico — plus, even though the automaker won’t comment to this effect, the optics look better against Stellantis’ decision to lay off American workers as it navigates its own reaction to these tariffs.
Ford, including its mainstream brand and Lincoln luxury marque, is also offering folks employee pricing. It’s called “From America, for America”, and the promotion will run through June 2 on most 2024-2025 models except certain ones built in the United States. The full list of vehicles excluded from the deal are all Raptor models, the Mustang Dark Horse and GTD, the Expedition (and Lincoln Navigator), and Chassis Cab truck models. Otherwise, the rest of Ford and Lincoln’s lineup is broadly eligible. If you opt for a Ford Explorer or Lincoln Aviator, the deal only applies to new 2025 models.
Korean automakers Hyundai and Genesis announced they would not raise prices due to tariffs for at least two months. However, to offset that impact, it will no longer offer two-year complimentary maintenance on new models. The company will not pass costs onto consumers until at least June 2, but expect to see higher price tags after that. It just doesn’t have immediate plans to raise prices. Kia, for its part, hasn’t made a formal announcement at time of writing, through several popular models it sells are produced in the U.S. As such, we may not see as significant an impact on the brand’s inventories as other automakers.
Honda did not announce any prices changes yet, nor has Mazda or Subaru.
Jaguar Land Rover, like Audi, halted imports to the U.S. In this case, that pause is expected to last at least a month, while the automaker formulates plans on how to address tariffs in the longer term.
Mercedes-Benz announced it would absorb tariff costs for now, but did not specify how long it’s actually going to do that. It may move some production to Alabama, where it currently manufactures the GLE and some versions of the GLS-Class SUVs. Supposedly, it couldmove the GLC here as well. In the meantime, reports are circulating that the company could drop less expensive, less profitable models from its U.S. portfolio, but that has not been confirmed, at time of writing.
Nissan preempted the 25% tariffs by dropping prices on its Rogue and Pathfinder SUVs. However, several of its most affordable models including the Sentra, the Kicks and the Versa are all manufactured in Mexico, so it’s unclear how that fact and these new tariffs will impact those cars in the long-term. Originally, these levies were not supposed to apply to vehicles produced in compliance with the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA), but that does not seem to be the case now, as that 25% figure is a blanket tariff on all vehicles imported to the U.S., regardless of origin.
Toyota, the world’s largest automaker and one with resources to absorb higher import costs, seems to be doing exactly that for the time being. It did not announce any price hikes, and is reportedly (per Nikkei Asia) offered to help its major parts suppliers out by covering the costs brought on by tariffs on imported components, starting on May 3.
