Trump's Tariffs Are Costing Automakers Billions
The cost of President Trump's tariffs on the automotive industry has become clear now that automakers have filed their year-end financial statements. Brands like Toyota paid a staggering amount of money in tariffs over the last year. Automotive News analyzed automakers' financial reports and reported that tariffs have cost automakers at least $35.4 billion since last year.
The outlet's accounting was based on those same year-end financial reports from automakers and took into account tariff costs incurred in 2025, as well as projections for costs through March 2026, in some cases. Of course, overseas brands were hit the hardest. Toyota imports a great deal of its vast supply chain network into the US, be it before fully-built cars are delivered to ports around the US, or for parts that are brought in for vehicles that will be assembled Stateside and sold. As a result, the brand reported it paid more than any other, totaling a projected $9.1 billion in tariff-related costs through the end of March.
Toyota
Other foreign brands, including BMW, Honda, Hyundai-Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Subaru, and Volkswagen, have predicted tariff costs in excess of $1 billion. American automakers weren't spared, though they suffered less than Toyota. General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis paid $6.5 billion in tariff-related costs in 2025.
Tariffs have been inconsistent, however. Currently, there is a 15 percent tax on imported vehicles from the EU, Japan, and South Korea. Meanwhile, those made in Canada or Mexico are subject to a 25% tariff on the value of their parts that are not from the United States. Another 50% tariff targets steel and aluminum. Those tariffs are all new measures implemented by the Trump Administration, while the Biden Administration's 100% tariff on Chinese-built EVs still stands.
These were all intended to do one thing: push automotive production into the US. This has, however, been dampened by a lack of consistency. President Trump's on-and-off tariffs have left automakers in the dark as to how much their next bill will be, whether it will materialize at all, and when it will stop.