British Columbia is bracing for U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on global auto imports and sales.
Prices for new and used vehicles are widely expected to increase over the coming months as the president attempts to revive American manufacturing jobs.
The New Car Dealers Association of BC, representing over 400 new car dealers throughout the province, told CTV News on Thursday that it had been expecting the tariffs and challenges are ahead.
“Most of the manufacturers right now have an army of people trying to calculate, based on the rules, both directions of what this will mean for their businesses and the production of vehicles and the cost of vehicles,” said Blair Qualey, the association’s president and CEO.
“I guess in due time, we’ll see what those results are.”
Bank of America estimates that a 25 per cent tariff on all imported auto parts would increase the cost of U.S.-assembled vehicles by about US$26 billion — or around $3,285 per vehicle on average.
Goldman Sachs estimates that tariffs will increase the cost of foreign-made cars by between $5,000 and $15,000 per vehicle.
British Columbians fear price spike
Autozen conducted an online survey of 800 British Columbians last month and found that 73 per cent are worried about finding reasonable new car options amidst the current economic uncertainty due to tariffs, and 82 per cent believe the price of used cars will increase over the next 12 months.
The data also shows that nearly two-in-10 people are holding off on selling or trading their cars because of tariffs and the trade war.
“As clearly shown in the data, like the majority of Canadians, British Columbians are seriously concerned about the ongoing impact of tariffs on finding reasonable prices and options in the used car sector,” said Sean Mactavish, CEO of Autozen.
Desrosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. found that in March, vehicle sales increased 11 per cent year over year, coinciding with tariffs and threats to the auto industry.
Overall, in the first quarter of the year, the data shows a bump of 2.8 per cent from last year.
Many industry experts believe that if you’re in the market for a vehicle, now is the best time to make that decision, as prices will likely increase.
Autozen’s survey was conducted from March 17 through 19 among a representative sample of B.C. residents who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. A probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 3.46 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
