If you’ve been waiting to treat yourself to that new truck, SUV, or sedan, you may want to buy it sooner rather than later, as President Donald Trump’s new tariffs may result in new car prices rising.
WWJ Newsradio 950 auto analyst John McElroy shared on Thursday that thanks to Trump’s latest round of tariffs, which appear to be more permanent than his previous threats, consumers shopping for a new car may be in trouble.
“You’re going to see car prices go up,” McElroy said. “Now, one thing that the president did hint at is that maybe they’re going to allow you to deduct the interest on a car loan from your taxes. So that would help mitigate it somewhat, but there’s no question that cars and the parts that are used to service and repair them are going to go up in cost.”
While Trump has said that companies can avoid the tariffs by moving manufacturing to the U.S., McElroy says it’s not that simple, as several moving parts are at play.
“It takes a couple of years to be able to move all the production equipment into an existing plant, get all the supply chain now lined up, hire the workers, get everything in place, so yes, it can happen, but it’s going to take several years before it does if it does,” he said.
Some car companies took action early to get a head start, as South Korean automaker Hyundai announced late last month at a White House event that it will be building a $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana.
The move is seen as a direct response to the Trump administration’s tariffs.
However, the response from consumers is almost as important as how companies will shift manufacturing. McElroy shared that alongside high prices could be a steep drop in sales, which would throw a wrench into how the automotive industry produces vehicles and the number of jobs they need to be successful.
When it comes to how this may affect car companies years down the road, McElroy says it’s too difficult to tell right now.
“It’s going to take years to be able to see, let the dust settle, and see what’s going to happen. But in the short term, I don’t think it’s gonna look very good for the auto industry,” he said.
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While the automotive industry is set for a shakeup, other industries are also preparing for the storm. Top tech companies like Apple and Oracle have made similar announcements to Hyundai as they look to shift where they manufacture their products. The iPhone maker announced a plan to invest $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years.
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