The tariffs on cars and auto parts that President Trump announced on Wednesday will have far-reaching effects on automakers in the United States and abroad.
But there will be important differences based on the circumstances of each company.
Tesla
The company run by Mr. Trump’s confidant, Elon Musk, makes the cars it sells in the United States in factories in California and Texas. As a result, it is perhaps the least exposed to tariffs.
But the company does buy parts from other countries — about a quarter of the components by value in its cars come from abroad, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In addition, Tesla is struggling with falling sales around the world, in part because Mr. Musk’s political activities and statements have turned off moderate and liberal car buyers. Some countries could seek to retaliate against Mr. Trump’s tariffs by targeting Tesla. A few Canadian provinces have already stopped offering incentives for purchases of Tesla’s electric vehicles.
General Motors
The largest U.S. automaker imports many of its best selling and most profitable cars and trucks, especially from Mexico where it has several large factories that churn out models like the Chevrolet Silverado. Roughly 40 percent of G.M.’s sales in the United States last year were vehicles assembled abroad. This could make the company vulnerable to the tariffs.
But unlike some other automakers, G.M. has posted strong profits in recent years and is considered by analysts to be on good financial footing. That could help it weather the tariffs better than other companies, especially if the levies are removed or diluted by Mr. Trump.
Ford Motor
Ford is much less reliant on imported cars than many of its rivals. It makes about 80 percent of the vehicles it sells in the United States in the country. As a result, it would be relatively insulated from the 25 percent tariffs on imported vehicles.
But the company is still dependent on foreign factories for major parts like engines. A Ford factory in Ontario, for example, makes engines for some of its pickup trucks. Ford has been losing billions of dollars on electric vehicles. One of its three battery-powered models, the Mustang Mach-E, is produced at a factory near Mexico City.
Stellantis, which was created by the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot, has also been struggling with sluggish sales and is searching for a new chief executive. Those challenges put the company, along with some others like Nissan, at greater risk, especially if the tariffs stay in place for months or years.
Toyota
Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota is very dependent on the United States and sold 2.3 million cars in the country last year. About 1 million of those vehicles were made in other countries, many of them in Canada, Mexico and Japan. That could be a big problem for the company and automakers like Subaru and Mazda, with which Toyota works closely.
But Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, is in a better position than other automakers. It is profitable and considered by analysts to be one of the best-run companies in the global auto industry.
Volkswagen
Europe’s largest automaker could be really hurt by tariffs because it has just one factory in the United States, in Chattanooga, Tenn., where it makes the Atlas and ID.4 sport utility vehicles. It imports many of its cars, including Audis and Volkswagens from Mexico and Porsches from Germany.
The company has struggled financially in recent years because its sales have fallen sharply in China, where domestic automakers have grown quickly by introducing lots of affordable electric and hybrid vehicles. Volkswagen had hoped to make inroads in the United States but Mr. Trump’s latest tariffs could make that difficult task even harder.
Hyundai and Kia
The South Korean stablemates have made impressive sales gains in the United States in recent years. The companies have also invested in a new electric vehicle factory in Georgia that is starting to increase production, which could help them avoid tariffs on some models.
On Monday, Hyundai’s executive chair, Euisun Chung, announced at the White House with Mr. Trump that his company would invest another $21 billion in the United States, including in a new steel factory in Louisiana. Even though Hyundai and Kia now has three factories in Georgia and Alabama, they will not be able to avoid tariffs on the hundreds of thousands of cars they import into the United States. Many of those vehicles came from South Korea, which negotiated a trade agreement with the United States in 2007 that was updated during Mr. Trump’s first term.
