US car buyers rammed for the worst when President Donald Trump’s car rates began to come into force in April. But so far, prices have been slightly changed.
However, industry experts do not expect that this will remain true for a long time if the tariffs remain in place – so Americans may want to buy a car now before prices start rising within a few months.
“So far, there is a discrepancy between the expectation of what would happen and the reality of what happened to the prices,” says Ivan Duri, director of insights on the Edmunds.com car. “But I still think we will still start starting in two to three months.”
Even with 25% rates for all imported cars and auto parts, prices are maintained in control.
The price paid for new cars in May fell by an average of 0.2% compared to the month before, according to Edmunds, and they only increased by 2.5% compared to the period before the Tariff in March. This was also reflected in the Government Index of Consumer Prices for May, which reported both the new and used car prices, reduced when correcting for seasonal factors.
There are many factors that support prices stable. Tariff fears kept buyers far in April and May, and reduced demand limited the ability of dealers to raise prices. CNN experts were talking to say that the automotive industry was also concerned about announcing high prices that could anger the Trump administration.
But mostly dealers still work by offering cars before tariffs. Most of the cars sold after the tariffs in April were either imported to the United States or were built before the tariffs came into force, Durie said.
“The impact is not there yet,” he said.
In March, automakers had between 30 and 77-day delivery of batch vehicles, depending on the manufacturer, according to Edmunds.
In addition, customer search is not there. Some buyers rushed to buy cars in March before the tariffs were introduced, creating sales jump in the first quarter and weakening demand since then. Plus, fears about the economy and workplace security, along with high interest rates, could prevent some from making a big purchase.
While Edmunds has not yet forecast sales in the second quarter, Drury said the “chances are good”, the trend will continue and sales will be reduced or at best flat compared to the same time last year.
But Durie said that the lack of price increases could start to attract consumers back to the market to buy cars later this year. The conference council announced in May that 12.1% of Americans consumers were considering buying a new car over the next six months. This is a significant jump of 10.6%that said the same in April and more in line with the normal season of car purchases.
When customers return to the car market, they can see prices crawl.
Price increases may come later this year
Each carmaker is affected by the rates. With the exception of Tesla, every major company imports cars that sell to US dealers from foreign installations, representing 46% of car sales in the United States in 2024, according to S&P Global Mobility. Even those built in US factories use imported parts.
Durie said that some manufacturers are already raising costs in ways that do not appear in price, such as adding fees and reducing the incentives offered to buyers. But as tariffing vehicles start hitting the lots, experts expect to pass some of these costs.
Cars prices are not determined by car manufacturers – they are negotiated between dealers and buyers. But car manufacturers determine the “proposed retail price” or MSRP, also known as the price of the sticker.
Adam Jonas, a Bank of America automotive analyst, believes that car manufacturers are likely to raise MSRP later this year, when cars for the model year in 2026 began to be delivered to dealers.
“We hear the slow rise in prices slowly,” Jonas said at a recent Bank of America conference. “I think with the change models by 2026 (this) will be the opportunity for companies to raise the prices of new vehicles so that they do not embrace some people who can go down on them to raise prices.”
Until then, car manufacturers are ready to pay some of the cost of tariffs from reduced profits, partly because of the more famous demand by buyers, in part, to avoid the angry of Trump’s administration.
Durie said that even when car manufacturers are raising prices, they will be careful not to attribute the rates.
“I think they have learned that there is nothing good that comes from it,” he said.
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