Here’s Every Car That Could Get More Expensive If Tariffs Hit Canada And Mexico

Another year, another tricky landscape for automakers to navigate. The new U.S. federal administration has threatened widespread tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1, and they could impact a whole roster of new vehicles assembled in those countries. Considering the proposed tariffs may top out at 25 percent, they could make some seriously popular cars a lot more expensive, so we figured now’s a good time to run through the list of vehicles built in Canada and Mexico for the U.S. market to see what might be directly affected as whole products.

First, a little primer on what a tariff is and how it works. A tariff is a form of taxation on imported goods paid to the government by companies bringing said goods into America. This added expense makes the landed cost of imported goods that fall under tariffs more expensive, eating into profits. To maintain profit margins, companies importing products generally respond to tariffs by raising prices on affected imported goods, which means that American consumers would ultimately pay for tariffs implemented by the federal government.

Historically, tariffs have been used for purposes like propping up industry, combating potential dumping (selling products in another country for less than they cost to make), as tools in trade wars, or as part of economic sanctions. A long-standing example of this is the chicken tax on imported light trucks, which came about as retaliation for France and Germany placing tariffs on American chickens in 1964. A more recent example of this is the 100 percent tariff placed on Chinese-built EVs as a response to allegations of dumping.

Let’s start up north in Canada, where a bunch of automakers build cars destined for America. Cars like the Dodge Charger, Chrysler Pacifica, and Chrysler Voyager, three (although really only two) Stellantis products built across the Detroit river from America in Windsor, Ontario. In fact, the Windsor Assembly Plant is the only facility in which these cars are made, meaning Stellantis wouldn’t be able to pivot quickly if proposed tariffs hit Canada. Compared to Stellantis, General Motors is in a better spot. While the BrightDrop family of electric step vans is made in Ingersoll, Ontario, these aren’t high-volume products. The only other vehicles GM assembles in Canada are full-sized pickup trucks, but the General also builds Silverados and Sierras in Michigan and Indiana, so a pivot is theoretically possible. As for Ford, since Oakville Assembly isn’t building anything, the only blue oval vehicle rolling out of Canada soon is the Mustang GTD, hand-assembled in Multimatic’s facility in Markham, Ontario.

However, domestic automakers aren’t the only ones with risk of exposure to potential tariffs on imported goods from Canada. Almost all Lexus RX and NX crossovers sold in America are built in Cambridge, Ontario. Just down the highway in Woodstock, Ontario, Toyota builds non-hybrid RAV4 crossovers for the U.S. and Canadian markets. Considering America bought 475,193 RAV4s last year, 235,744 of which weren’t electrified, the impact tariffs could have on this model would be significant.

Speaking of Japanese automakers, Honda has a sizeable assembly complex in Alliston, Ontario that makes two models. Every single Civic sedan destined for the U.S. market is built there, and while hatchback models should avoid potential tariffs, the majority of Civic sales may be affected. As for the Honda CR-V, it may or may not grow more expensive if tariffs hit Canada, chiefly due to the fact that Honda builds CR-Vs for the North American market in both Canada and Indiana. It’s possible that Honda could spread the cost of potential tariffs across all CR-Vs sold in America, but it’s also possible that production mix could also be altered to minimize exposure.

However, Canada is small potatoes compared to automakers’ manufacturing presence in Mexico. Another nation threatened with tariffs, car companies have flocked to Mexico under the NAFTA and USMCA era, which means a ton of different cars built in Mexico could get significantly more expensive if blanket tariffs are introduced. Let’s start once again with Stellantis, which has two different assembly complexes south of the border. Every single heavy duty Ram pickup truck is built in Saltillo, and the U.S.-market Ram Promaster van rolls out of a separate plant in the same complex. Roughly a ten-hour drive south in Toluca, every Jeep Compass sold in North America and every Wagoneer S sold globally gets built.

As for General Motors, buckle up, because this is about to be a long list. The firm’s Ramos Arizpe assembly plant builds the gasoline-powered Chevrolet Blazer, the Chevrolet Blazer EV, the Chevrolet Equinox EV, and the Honda Prologue. It’s the only North American assembly plant for the combustion-powered Blazer and the only plant globally for those three aforementioned Ultium EVs, which means it plays a critical role in GM’s big EV push. While we’re on the subject of GM, the gasoline-powered Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain are exclusively built in San Luis Potosi, and given that the Equinox is Chevy’s most popular non-truck in America, potential tariffs could have significant impacts on sales. Lastly, GM also makes full-sized trucks in Silao, although given that Silao is one of four plants in North America building these trucks, potential cost impacts to consumers may be lower than on models exclusively produced in Mexico, should tariffs come into effect.

Ford also makes some popular models in Mexico, albeit not as many by volume as GM. The Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly plant is the only facility building the Bronco Sport compact crossover and the red-hot Maverick compact pickup truck, and the Cuautitlán Assembly plant is the only factory outside of China building the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover. Tariffs on the Maverick would hit especially hard because it’s Ford’s most affordable model in the U.S., and effectively a replacement for the Focus compact car.

Mazda is another brand building affordable cars in Mexico, with the Mazda 3 compact sedan and hatchback, along with the CX-30 subcompact crossover being assembled in Salamanca for the North American market. While these models are also built in Hofu and Hiroshima, Mexican production makes up a significant portion of U.S. product mix.

However, when it comes to impact on affordable cars, tariffs might hit Nissan products the hardest. The Nissan Kicks, Versa, and Sentra are all built in Aguascalientes for the North American market, three reasonably priced vehicles for price-conscious consumers who would definitely feel a pinch if tariffs were implemented. For less price-focused shoppers, Nissan also builds the Infiniti QX50 and QX55 in the same city, just in a different plant.

In fact, that plant is a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz, and it builds the GLB subcompact crossover for almost the entire world. Speaking of luxury cars, BMW builds the 3 Series sedan in San Luis Potosí for North America, and the 2 Series coupe including the M2 for the entire world. So, if you want the least expensive M Car on the market, you might want to act sooner rather than later.

While we’re on the subject of German cars, we have to talk about Volkswagen. The brand’s built vehicles in Mexico for absolutely ages, and it currently builds four vehicles in Mexico for the North American market. The Jetta, Tiguan, and Taos are all built in Puebla, while the Audi Q5 is made in San José Chiapa. Considering Puebla’s the only plant for the Jetta outside of China, the Taos is neither built nor sold in Europe, and the only other plants for the Q5 are one in China and one in India, there likely aren’t any quick pivots for those models.

A few manufacturers only build one model in Mexico for the U.S. market. For instance, every single Toyota Tacoma pickup truck sold in North America is produced in one of two Mexican plants. One’s in Tijuana, one’s in Apaseo el Grande, and together they crank out hundreds of thousands of midsize trucks, but that’s the only Toyota model sourced from Mexico for U.S. sales. Likewise, Honda only has one U.S.-market model built in Mexico, the popular HR-V subcompact crossover at a plant in Celaya, and the only Kia built in Mexico for the U.S. market is the K4 compact sedan.

Are there any car manufacturers that build in Mexico and might be best-positioned to weather a potential tariff storm? Well, yes. While many Hyundai Tucson compact crossovers continue to be built in Alabama, some have been rolling off a line in Kia’s Mexican factory since last year. In theory, Hyundai is likely best positioned to shuffle production, potentially sending more Mexican-built Tucsons to Canada

Whew, that’s an incredibly long list of models that could be affected by potential tariffs, and we haven’t even discussed vehicles using engines built in Canada or Mexico. It’s safe to say that if the threatened blanket tariffs go into place as announced on Feb. 1, the automotive landscape in America could look a whole lot different regarding availability and affordability. Considering new cars are already mighty expensive, the best possible outcome for American consumers is some sort of deal to avoid a trade war.

(Photo credits: Dodge, Lexus, Honda, Ram, Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai)

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