Automakers report stellar sales ahead of Trump's tariffs taking effect

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Automakers report stellar sales ahead of Trump's tariffs taking effect

2025-04-02 06:48 Last Updated At：07:01

NEW YORK (AP) — The major car companies say sales rose sharply in March, with most reporting double-digit gains. For some companies, the strong performance last month helped make up for a sluggish start to the year.

Automakers sold nearly 1.6 million vehicles in the U.S. in March, up 13.6%. That brought total sales for the first quarter to more than 3.9 million vehicles, Motorintelligence.com said Tuesday. Almost all automakers saw a surge in sales of electric vehicles.

What future months hold for the automakers is uncertain. President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on auto imports that go into effect on April 3. The tariffs are set to expand to applicable auto parts in the following weeks, through May 3. The tax hike means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales, though Trump argues that the tariffs will lead to more factories opening in the United States.

Auto industry analyst Sam Abuelsamid at Telemetry Insight said expectations were that the March numbers would be higher due to some pre-buying ahead of the imposition of tariffs, although the pre-buying was likely “limited to some degree by affordability and continuing high interest rates.”

Here's a look at the latest results:

— Overall U.S. sales rose 17% during the first quarter on strong sales of full-size pickups and SUVs.

— Chevrolet sales rose 14% during the quarter, making it the brand's best quarter since 2019.

— GMC sales rose 18% for the brand's best quarter ever, with electric vehicle sales nearly tripling.

— Total sales rose 10% in March as strong sales of the F-150 pickup and electric vehicles helped offset a drop in sales of SUVs.

— Total sales fell 1% for the first quarter due to fewer sales to rental car companies and the discontinuation of two models.

— Sales of all-electric and hybrid vehicles increased and made up about 15% of total sales for the first quarter.

— U.S. sales for Toyota Motor North America rose 7.7% in March.

— Electric vehicle sales rose 44.1% in March and represented nearly half of the overall sales volume for the month.

— Total sales for Toyota Motor North America rose 0.9% during the first quarter.

— Total sales for American Honda rose 13.2% in March as the company's light trucks notched their best month of sales.

— Electrified vehicle sales surged 89.1% in March and made up nearly a third of all vehicle sales.

— Total sales rose 5.3% during the first quarter, as a surge in truck sales offset a drop in car sales.

— Total sales rose 5.7% in the first quarter, boosted by gains for the Sentra sedan and the Kicks compact crossover.

— Sales of the Leaf electric vehicle doubled in the quarter.

— Total sales for Hyundai Motor America rose 13% in March, led by sales of the Tucson and Santa FE SUVs and the Elantra Sedan.

— Total sales for the first quarter rose 10%.

— First-quarter sales of the company's hybrid-electric vehicles jumped 68%.

— Kia America said sales rose 13.1% in March and 10.7% for the first quarter.

Trump hits the golf course as the stock market plummets for a second straight day over tariffs

2025-04-05 00:37 Last Updated At：00:41

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Two days after sending the economy reeling by announcing widespread tariffs, President Donald Trump insisted his trade policies will never change as he remained ensconced in a bubble of wealth and power in Florida.

He woke up on Friday morning at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, and headed to his nearby golf course a few miles away after writing on social media that “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH."

Several supporters stood on the sidewalk as Trump, wearing his signature red “Make America Great Again” hat and white polo shirt, glided down a street lined with palm trees. They waved to him and he waved back, part of a ritual that plays out every weekend that he's in town.

The Republican president was not expected to appear publicly, although he's scheduled to attend a candlelit dinner for MAGA Inc., an allied political organization, on Friday evening. He spent Thursday in Miami at a different one of his golf courses, where he attended a Saudi-funded tournament. He landed in Marine One and was picked up in a golf cart driven by his son Eric.

Trump has often proved impervious to the kind of scandals or gaffes that would damage another politician, but his decision to spend the weekend at his gilded properties could test Americans' patience at a time when their retirement savings are evaporating along with the stock market. The tariffs are expected to increase prices by thousands of dollars per year and slow economic growth, and there are fears about a potential recession.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that the tariffs were “significantly larger than expected” and are “highly likely” to cause more inflation — at least in the short term but possibly in the long term as well.

However, Trump has described his policies as a painful yet necessary step to encourage companies to relocate their operations to the United States, and he spent the morning defending himself on Truth Social, his social media platform, vowing he is sticking with his policies.

Although experts have harshly criticized Trump's tariffs, he's found some support on TikTok. He shared a video that said “Trump is crashing the stock market” and “he’s doing it on purpose” as part of a “secret game he’s playing, and it could make you rich.”

The goal, the video said, is to push the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, something that Trump explicitly called for later in the morning.

“This would be a PERFECT time" for Powell to cut interest rates, he wrote. “CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!”

With foreign leaders scrambling in response to Trump's announcement this week, the president lashed out and looked to cut deals.

He said he spoke with Vietnamese leader To Lam and claimed Vietnam wants to eliminate its tariffs on U.S. goods if it can make a deal with the U.S.

He also criticized China for announcing its own tariffs on U.S. imports.

“CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!” he wrote.

Republicans suggested that Trump's policies would be the start of a parley with foreign countries.

“The president is a dealmaker if nothing else, and he’s going to continue to deal country by country with each of them,” said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming. He added that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told Senate Republicans this week that the tariffs would be a “high level mark with the ultimate goal of getting them reduced” unless other countries retaliate.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York called Trump’s tariffs “a brutal pincer move with American families trapped in the middle.”

Meanwhile, Trump also celebrated a new report showing the U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, beating expectations. Although the numbers were a snapshot of the economy before the tariff announcement, Trump claimed vindication, saying they already show his moves are working.

“HANG TOUGH," he wrote. "WE CAN’T LOSE!!!”

Megerian reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report from Washington.