PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on imported automobiles goes into effect Thursday, a move experts say could raise prices on some cars as much as $10,000. That dire news appears to have created a dash for consumers to buy now.
Automakers sold nearly 1.6 million vehicles in the U.S. in March, up 13.6%. That brought total sales for the first quarter to more than 3.9 million vehicles, Motorintelligence.com said. Car dealerships in the Philadelphia region and beyond are seeing the spike as well.
One dealer said he sold 15 cars during the weekend of March 22, and that more than doubled the following weekend as the tariff deadline inched closer.
Cox Automotive, which runs several online auto sales sites, said users logged a 54% increase in queries on Dealer.com on March 28. Auto Trader similarly notched an uptick of 16% in used car leads.
“We did see at the end of March a pretty dramatic uptick in business from people that were basically pulling the decision forward,” said Ross Choate, dealer principal at Norristown Chrysler Dodge Jeep. “They were thinking about getting a new car, and decided to maybe move the decision up based on the fact that they were concerned about tariffs. We did 50% of the business we did in March in the last seven days of the month.”
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Choate said internet traffic often translates to foot traffic and potential sales.
“If the internet traffic’s up 35%, what happens is people look at our inventory, look at our website, find a car they might be interested in, make an inquiry over the internet. We’ll send them information, and that usually turns into foot traffic,” he said.
Some analysts predict new car prices could rise $5,000 to $10,000 right out of the gate due to the tariff, according to a March 31 estimate from Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. Both Cox and Auto Trader estimated new cars priced under $40,000 could rise in cost by as much as $6,000.
The tariffs are set to expand to applicable auto parts in the following weeks, through May 3. The tax hike means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales, though Trump argues that the tariffs will lead to more factories opening in the United States.
Choate said if there’s a specific vehicle a customer wants, they may want to act now while inventory is on the lot.
“If you can find something in stock that you like that’s been on the ground prior to the tariffs — so vehicles built after [April 3] will experience the price increase, but if there’s something in stock that you can find that has the equipment you like, that’s pre-tariff priced, probably a good time to do it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.