With a license plate and a set of keys, Jerry Chen enters the new Toyota Highlander that his family decided to buy before the US President Donald Trump's car tariffs threw the equipment.
Chen and his wife, who have two children, bought a vehicle from the Toyota dealer in Bloomsfield Township, northern suburb of Detroit.
“I'm very excited,” Chen said just before entering the driver's place.
CBC News went to Michigan Motor City because of its high presence of the automotive industry to find out how consumers and dealer react to tariffs. Detroit is also opposite Windsor, Ont., A key player of the automotive industry in Canada, where giant plants, such as Ford and Stellantis live.
Chen admitted that the purchase of a family Highlander was made earlier than originally planned.
“We were a bit concerned about waiting, you know, six months or a year, not knowing what would happen,” he said, referring to what vehicles can cost the road.
“I was actually looking for about a month, so I think the car itself is great and I have to become a new car, and with all tariffs, I think, it's probably a good time to get a new car before the prices will rise.”
He is not alone. According to the sale of American vehicles, it increased in March by over 10 percent compared to the same month of last year, according to Cox Automotive ia Economic report TD.
The numbers were released after Trump announced at the end of March that, with effect on April 2, his administration will hit a 25 % tariff on imported vehicles that are not subject to the State Meticus and Cusma agreement (Cusma), and the 25 % tariffs will be imposed on some car parts from May 3.
“Pretty good rush” of the sale of cars
Bob Page, the owner of the Toyota dealer, in which the Chen family bought their car, said that his sales increased this year by about 20 percent compared to the same period in previous years.
“In general, we had quite a lot of rush. I hear it all over the country to add car shopping. Moving people, people who think about doing it for the next two or three months, we try to do it now.”
The site is also the owner of the Honda salon about 16 kilometers from Toyota.
At Bloomsfield Honda, one of the best sellers of Page, Sean Fathhi, said business was good.
“From mid-March, when tariffs were announced … We had a huge increase in sales of new cars and many buyers,” said Fathhi.
“So the buyer who was on the market in a month is coming now; the buyer who was on the market this summer. Later people are worried that (subsequent tariffs) will take place.”
Sales are so good, Fathhi said playfully to the CBC that “I have holidays … coming now and I don't want to go a bit because it was so busy.”
But Fathhi knows that the sales boom can stop.
“I hope that this will not happen, because you know why people should pay more because of the tariffs, just because someone wants to put a tariff on the vehicle. It's unfair.”
Cars succumbing to the tariff can cost thousands more
According to Anderson Economic GroupThe tariffs are expected to add from USD 2,500 to 5000 to the price of American vehicles and up to USD 20,000 to some imported models, which costs Americans about USD 30 billion in the first full year.
The general moods from these CBC talked to Trump's great plan to move as much production as possible back to the USA, it was that people are not opposed, but at the same time they recognize that the change will not occur overnight – and in the meantime it can harm the economy.
“I feel that he does it for some reason and I hope that it will all work out, because, you know, it did not happen. He says that he will do it and then does not do it,” said Fathhi.
“It's annoying, but there is a 90-day pause and I hope it helps,” he added. “I just don't know what is going on to tell the truth. I mean that I voted for Trump, but I don't know what is going on.”
Another dealer owner, George Glassman, also does not complain about sales growth, but worries about the future.
“Anxiety, anxiety related to what tariffs means or can mean, it will be at higher prices. So if someone can buy a car or lease a car today, they are sure that the cost will be, unlike what is on the road.”
Glassman, the owner of the second generation of his family in the Auto Park in the suburbs of Detroit, sells both new and used vehicles. He wears many foreign brands, including Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, Genesis and Mitsubishi.
“At the moment customers are entering, in quite good numbers to buy vehicles in front of the tariff that are cars on earth,” said Glassman.
In the second week of April, Glassman estimated that he had a 60-day delivery of vehicles without tariffs on his plot.
“It will take years”
According to Kelley Blue BookThe average car brand had a 91-day product delivery, and was 70 years old. The car data supplier claims that the nationwide sales rate in March was over 17 percent faster than in February.
Although the tariffs are only in new cars, supply and demand determine the supply of used cars when consumers are racing to find an inexpensive vehicle, and therefore also increases in these vehicles.
There was an increase in the sale of new cars when the drivers are in a hurry to overtake the impact of tariffs. But dealers are prepared for what will happen next. David Common CBC goes to Detroit to find out how the industry reacts to the incoming tide of higher prices.
Despite the uncertainty of Glassman is the optimist that negotiations related to the tariff will bring the result with which he can live.
“I do not think that anyone can imagine the scope of what is happening today. To say this, I am still optimistic that negotiations will be underway. Do I think that there will be tariffs and there will be some increases in vehicle costs? Absolutely?”
Like others, Glassman sees a large picture of Trump, but he realizes how much time it may take to get to be implemented.
“I don't think anyone can get a problem with this, the goal, which is to have more plants in the United States, but this is not something that we will see in a short -term period.. “
The analyst claims that BIG 3 automakers may suffer
Analyst Jato Dynamics Felipe Munoz Chrupped the numbers and argues Detroit's Big Three car manufacturers – General Motors, Ford and Stellantis – are more exposed To the tariffs compared to many foreign brands.
“I would say that it will not be easy for them, especially since some products that bring from these two countries, Canada and Mexico are mainly products of size, and it is difficult to transfer the production of these cars only in months. It will not happen. In the meantime they will suffer in my opinion,” Munoz said CBC News.
He said that American car manufacturers were able to produce cheaper cars in Canada and Mexico and sell them with competitive prices in the US, and “this competitive position they had for years is now threatened.”
Munoz also said that although the new trade policy aims to increase domestic car manufacturers, they will influence them due to the smaller global presence, relying on domestic sales compared to some Japanese and European competitors.
At the moment it is not clear whether the automotive industry will break the tariffs, but Trump referred to one.
April 14 He told journalists In the oval office “I do not change my mind, but I am flexible”, causing further uncertainty in the industry already shocked by the charms of the president.
Until then, it seems that speculation will continue to increase sales.