• The tariffs are expected to increase car prices across the board, including new and used vehicles.
• Most major automakers are impacted by the tariffs, including Ford, General Motors, and Toyota.
• The tariffs will affect cars assembled in the U.S. as well, as they often contain imported parts.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday imposing 25% tariffs on imported automobiles and their parts, impacting the country’s main trading partners.

“This is the beginning of Liberation Day in America,” Trump said while signing the order. “We’re going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking jobs, taking our wealth, taking so much out of our country.”

The United States imported $474 billion worth of automotive products in 2024, including passenger cars worth $220 billion. Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Germany, all close U.S. allies, were the biggest suppliers.

The tariffs will take effect Wednesday, April 2.

Trump explained they will start at 2.5% and rise to 25% on all imported passenger cars and light trucks. As for imported cars protected by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, USA TODAY reports only the foreign parts that make up the vehicle will be subject to the tariff.

How are tariffs going to affect car prices?

Ivan Drury, director of insights at automotive research site Edmunds, told USA TODAY prices will definitely increase but will likely vary. Some companies may pass price hikes from the 25% tariff directly to consumers, while others may bear some of the costs to remain competitive and ease cost pressures in other ways, such as reducing incentives.

Drury said consumers can expect price hikes “across the board.” That includes new cars, used cars, maintenance costs and even insurance premiums, since accidents involving new parts would be more costly.

Cars assembled in the U.S. wouldn’t be safe from tariffs either, Drury said, as they import parts from other countries.

“There is no vehicle that is 100% American in that regard,” Drury said. Used vehicles will see “a bit more lag time, but there will be an effect.”

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Which car brands will be affected by tariffs?

According to Reuters, these are the automakers that are affected by the tariffs:

• BMW: BMW’s plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, produces the 3 Series, 2 Series Coupe and M2, with nearly all output going to the U.S. and other markets worldwide.
• Ford Motor Co.: Ford has three plants in Mexico. It exported just under 196,000 cars to North America in the first half of 2024, with 90% going to the U.S., according to Mexico’s AMIA.
• General Motors: GM imported roughly 750,000 vehicles from Canada or Mexico in 2024 to the U.S., with most made in Mexico, GlobalData says.
• Honda: Honda Motor sends 80% of its Mexican output to the U.S. market. It warned on Nov. 6 that it would have to consider shifting production if the U.S. imposed permanent tariffs on Mexican imports.
• Kia: South Korea’s Kia Corp. has a factory in Mexico that makes its vehicles and some Santa Fe SUVs for its affiliate Hyundai Motor for export to the United States.
• Mazda: Mazda exported around 120,000 vehicles from Mexico to the United States in 2023, but said it may reconsider further investments if tariffs are imposed.
• Nissan: Nissan Motor has two plants in Mexico where it makes the Sentra, Versa and Kicks models for the U.S. market. It produced nearly 505,000 vehicles in Mexico in the first nine months of 2024.
• Stellantis: Stellantis operates assembly plants in Mexico making Ram pickups and vans, as well as the Jeep Compass midsize SUV. The group owns two assembly plants in Canada, one where it makes Chrysler models and another scheduled to resume output of a new Jeep model this year.
• Toyota: Toyota Motor builds its Tacoma pickup truck at two plants in Mexico, and sold more than 230,000 of them in the U.S. in 2023, or 10% of total sales in that market.
• Volkswagen: Volkswagen’s factory in Puebla, Mexico, made nearly 350,000 cars in 2023, including the Jetta, Tiguan and Taos, all for export to the U.S. In Canada, Volkswagen is building a battery gigafactory in Ontario, with output to begin by 2027. Volkswagen’s Audi plant in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico, makes the Q5, employing more than 5,000 people. In the first half of 2024, nearly 40,000 vehicles were exported to the U.S., according to Mexico’s AMIA.

What are the most ‘American-made’ cars?

According to the latest Made In America 2024 Index released in January of this year, the most “American-made” vehicle on the market today is a Tesla, specifically the Model 3 Performance, followed by the other models in Tesla’s lineup.

Here is the 2024 ranking, grouped by score, of vehicles that had the most domestic content: