- Automakers are in damage control mode after President Trump finalized his sweeping tariffs on car imports and vehicle parts this week.
- Ford and Stellantis will open up employee pricing for regular customers. Employees are usually eligible for discounted rates.
- Toyota, Honda and Hyundai will hold their U.S. car prices steady, at least in the short term, barring a few high-end models.
President Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on all imports have sent stock markets into a tailspin and sparked fears that cars across powertrain types could see steep price hikes. But not all automakers are slamming the panic button. On Friday, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai announced they’re holding steady on prices. At least for now.
Hyundai said that it was keeping U.S. prices steady across its model range for the next two months. The Customer Assurance Program will run until June 2, giving car shoppers some respite.
“We know consumers are uncertain about the potential for rising prices and we want to provide them with some stability in the coming months,” José Muñoz, CEO of Hyundai said on Friday in a press release.
Hyundai’s EVs and hybrids have been setting quarterly sales charts on fire, thanks to attractive lease and financing offers. Models like the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 SUVs are made in the U.S., but much of their parts content is sourced from overseas. The automaker’s sister brand Kia did not make a similar announcement as of the time of publication.
Toyota is following a similar approach. “We’ll keep our operations running as they are for now,” a Toyota spokesperson told Nikkei. The news comes shortly after Toyota pledged to cover the higher parts costs its suppliers will incur due to the tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada.
Even with a sprawling U.S. manufacturing footprint, Toyota’s supply chain network is heavily globalized like every other brand. Local news reports from Japan suggest tariffs could cost the country’s six biggest automakers as much as $24 billion and Toyota would account for the biggest share of that, about $12 billion.
Honda, meanwhile, has taken a “wait and watch” approach and will not make any immediate price adjustments to its U.S. portfolio. Smaller players like Mazda could feel the sting more acutely. Besides the CX-50 crossover, everything else Mazda sells is either imported from Japan or Mexico. The CX-50 is made at a joint venture plant with Toyota in Huntsville, Alabama.
Ford, in a surprise move, is going the other way on prices. Rather than raising prices, it’s offering employee pricing to everyone under a new promotion dubbed “From America For America.” That includes discounts on models made in Mexico like the Mustang Mach-E and Maverick. But some vehicles—including special edition Mustangs, Raptor trucks and Super Duty trucks—won’t be eligible.
Stellantis also tried to do some damage control on Friday by offering similar employee pricing to its customers. That followed the automaker’s Thursday announcement that it would temporary lay off 900 U.S. workers and halt production at two plants, one in Canada and one in Mexico.
As we’ve previously reported, there’s no car, regardless of its powertrain, that uses 100% American-made parts. Even if they’re made in the U.S., they use components that originate from across the world. Localizing manufacturing of the parts made overseas could take years and cost automakers billions of dollars.
For now, automakers are trying to soften the blow, buying time as they negotiate with the White House and carve out longer-term plans to shore up U.S. manufacturing. If you were on the fence about buying a new car, you’ve still got some time.
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