Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 3 weeks ago on
April 1, 2025

Vehicles are passed through final inspection at the end of the assembly line at the General Motors facility in Spring Hill, Tenn., Oct. 7, 2024. Sales of cars picked up recently partly as buyers rushed to lock in deals before President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on cars and auto parts go into effect. (Brett Carlsen/The New York Times)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The auto industry witnessed a different kind of March madness last month as buyers flocked to dealerships to lock in deals before President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs lift prices by thousands of dollars, several carmakers said.

“This past weekend was by far the best weekend I’ve seen in a very long time,” Randy Parker, CEP of Hyundai Motor North America, told reporters Tuesday. The company reported a 13% increase in March sales on Monday compared with a year earlier.

Sales Rise for Auto Dealers

Ford Motor said Monday its March sales at dealerships rose 19%. However, Ford’s sales during the overall quarter slipped 1%, to about 500,000 vehicles, because of a decline in sales to fleet customers, the company said.

General Motors did not provide a separate figure for March, but reported that sales in the first quarter rose 17% from a year earlier, to 693,000 vehicles.

Trump said last week that he would impose 25% tariffs on imported vehicles, effective Thursday. The tariffs will be extended to imported auto parts on May 3. Many cars made in U.S. factories contain parts made abroad, frequently exceeding 50% of the vehicle’s value. Analysts estimate that carmakers will have to increase prices of some models by more than $10,000 to compensate for the new levies.

GM, Ford and Hyundai reported increases in sales of electric vehicles and hybrids. GM said its sales of vehicles powered solely by batteries almost doubled, to 32,000 cars, as the electric version of the Equinox sport utility vehicle became widely available. With a starting price of about $35,000, the Equinox is one of the most affordable electric vehicles available in the United States.

Ford Saw Hybrid Sales Rise 33%

Ford said that sales of hybrid vehicles rose 33% and that sales of electric vehicles such as the Mustang Mach-E rose 12%. Sales of cars with internal combustion engines during the quarter fell 5%.

Hyundai said that sales of hybrids soared 68% while sales of pure electric vehicles rose 3%.

Parker said he could not estimate what impact tariffs would have on the company’s prices. Hyundai and its sister company, Kia, have factories in Georgia and Alabama but they import substantial numbers of vehicles from South Korea.

“We haven’t made any firm decisions yet,” Parker said. But he added, “Don’t wait to buy tomorrow what you can buy today.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Jack Ewing/Brett Carlsen
c. 2025 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

DON'T MISS

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

DON'T MISS

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

DON'T MISS

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

DON'T MISS

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

DON'T MISS

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

DON'T MISS

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

UP NEXT

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

UP NEXT

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

UP NEXT

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

UP NEXT

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

UP NEXT

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

UP NEXT

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

12 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

13 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

13 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

13 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

14 hours ago

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

14 hours ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

15 hours ago

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

15 hours ago

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

16 hours ago

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

16 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Yastrzemski and Matt Chapman homered as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Thursday ...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

10 hours ago

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

11 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Unleashing American Energy' event at the Department of Energy in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2017. (REUTERS File)
12 hours ago

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

13 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

Chickens sit at a poultry farm. March 12, 2025. (REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo)
13 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

13 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

Candi, GV Wire's Adoptable Cat of the Week
14 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend