Automakers’ Exposure to Tariffs Compared

Some automakers will be more affected by U.S. tariffs on vehicle imports than others due to the greater volume of their output they sell in the states.

Of the 16 million new light vehicles sold here last year, about six million, or 39%, were imported, largely from Mexico, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea, auto data provider Jato Dynamics estimates. 

President Donald Trump has cited increased domestic auto production, along with national security, as the reasons for the tariffs, but at least in the short term, the duties would increase U.S. automakers’ costs along with their international competitors’.

The Jato report ranks Japanese automaker Mazda as the most exposed to the new 25% tariff, as 27% of its 2024 sales came in the U.S., followed closely by in-country competitor Subaru, with 26% of sales in the states. 

But General Motors ranked third due to 18% of its 2024 sales imported to the U.S. Jeep maker Stellantis was less, but still significantly, exposed at 10% of U.S. sales imported, and Ford at 9%, the same as Japanese automaker Toyota.

The exposure doesn’t include U.S. tariffs on auto parts not made here. Those duties are scheduled to take effect on May 3 and will likely also have big impacts on U.S. carmakers’ operating costs.

When considering what are known as the “big three” Detroit-area automakers, about 13% of their U.S. sales were imported last year, Jato calculated. That compares to the “big three” Japanese competitors – Toyota, Honda and Nissan – at about 9% of collective sales made in the U.S., and the leading three German automakers – Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes, which made 7% of their sales here.

“The rollout of these tariffs is yet another problem for the industry to navigate,” said Jato Global Analyst Felipe Munoz. “The US is the world’s second-largest vehicle market, and it will now be more difficult than ever for the vast majority of non-Chinese automakers around the world to trade.”