US first-quarter auto sales get a lift from looming Trump tariffs

By Nathan Gomes

(Reuters) -U.S. buyers snapped up more pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles in the first quarter from a year earlier in the run-up to President Donald Trump's tariffs on auto imports, which could raise prices by thousands of dollars.

General Motors topped the list with a 17% jump in sales, aided by demand for its affordable crossover SUVs, such as the Chevrolet Trax, manufactured in South Korea.

Meanwhile, first-quarter electric vehicle sales rose 19.2%, according to Wards Intelligence, even as Tesla is expected to report a decline in deliveries amid weakening demand for its aging lineup and a growing backlash against CEO Elon Musk's politics.

"Automotive tariffs — now set to take effect on April 2 — might have pulled ahead some vehicle purchases in Q1," said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at automotive data provider Edmunds, before the data release on Tuesday.

President Trump's planned 25% levies on auto imports are due to be collected from April 3 and carmakers are weighing whether and by how much to raise prices.

The tariffs could also reduce the number of lower-cost imported vehicles in the market, such as Ford's compact Maverick pickup truck, further straining affordability as the average new-vehicle price nears $50,000.

"Many cars would see drastic overnight price increases almost by necessity — and that unquestionably would cause a decline in sales," said auction site owner Doug Demuro, referring to the tariffs.

Crosstown rival Ford Motor reported a 1.3% drop in sales, citing the discontinuation of some models and the timing of certain rental fleet sales. Toyota Motor's North American unit reported a rise of about 1%.

Asian automakers Hyundai, Mazda and Honda also reported higher quarterly sales.

"The last week, and including this past weekend, was by far the best weekend that I've seen in a very long time," Hyundai Motor North America CEO Randy Parker said Tuesday.

"So lots of people, I think, rushed in this weekend, especially, to try and beat the tariffs."

Overall, U.S. new vehicle sales in the quarter finished at around 3.91 million units, up 4.8% from last year, according to data released by Wards Intelligence on Tuesday.

"The potential for higher inflation due to new tariffs at American borders will all potentially hold back new-vehicle sales in 2025," market research firm Cox Automotive said.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru and Nora Eckert in Detroit; additional reporting by Shivansh Tiwary; editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Alan Barona)

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