this is all so unnecessary Employee pricing for all, tariffs on the sticker: OEMs react to tariffs New car prices were already 25% more expensive than before the pandemic. Now what? Jonathan M. Gitlin Apr 3, 2025 12:00 pm | 49 You won't believe how automakers reacted to business-crippling tariffs. Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images You won't believe how automakers reacted to business-crippling tariffs. Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreNew 25 percent tariffs on all foreign car imports into the United States went into effect this week as President Trump ignited his new trade war. It has caused something of a rush at dealerships around the country as customers descend on existing stock in an attempt to beat looming price increases of thousands of dollars. Now we're starting to see how the automakers are reacting.Employee pricing for allFord is in the rather enviable position of having the least exposure to the new vehicle tariff than all but Tesla; less than 20 percent of the cars, trucks, and SUVs that Ford sells in the US are imported from abroad. And it will lean into that with a new ad campaign with the slogan "From America, For America," which launches today. (Note that this does not take into account the separate parts tariff that goes into effect before May 2.)Nevermind the slogan, though. The campaign extends Ford's "A plan" pricing, which in plain English is its employee discount, to all its customers. The blue oval is offering A plan pricing on most 2024 and 2025 vehicles, including the all-electric F-150 Lightning and the Mustang Mach-E, as well as its various hybrids."You pay what we pay," Ford's director of US sales told the Detroit Free Press.Make it clear where the price increase comes fromAt the other end of the scale, Volkswagen is much more exposed to the new tariff. Almost half its US sales are imported from its plant in Mexico, with the ID. Buzz and Golfs GTI and R coming from Germany. Adding new production to its factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which currently builds the electric ID. 4 and the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs, is possible but would not be a quick process.So VW wants to make it clear to customers why some of its products are about to get more expensive, which it estimates will begin around April 22 or 23. It will do that by adding a new line to the Monroney sticker, with a line for the import fee added alongside the destination charge, according to a VW memo seen by Automotive News.Send employees homeAround three million people work in the automotive industry in the US, and it's hard to see how the sector will avoid job losses as it contracts, particularly once the parts tariff goes into effect. (Some parts can cross the US border more than once on their journey from raw material to finished component and will get much more expensive, especially as Canada and Mexico levy retaliatory tariffs of their own.)Stellantis is having a rough time of late in North America, where its sales have fallen for the past seven consecutive quarters. Now, some of its workers in Michigan and Indiana are among the first to be idled as a result of the tariffs.The company is laying off 900 workers temporarily at stamping, casting, and transmission plants as a result of idling production at factories in Windsor, Canada (where 4,500 employees are being sent home for two weeks), and Toluca, Mexico (where workers will still get paid but won't assemble cars this month), according to a letter sent by Stellantis to employees, seen by Reuters.We can expect more automakers to react in the coming days, but the full effects will be delayed as automakers and their dealerships run down existing inventory, which may take a couple of months. One thing is clear: It will be an even lousier time to buy a new vehicle, the prices of which have already been elevated by 25 percent since the pandemic of 2020.Jonathan M. GitlinAutomotive EditorJonathan M. GitlinAutomotive Editor Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC. 49 Comments