Faced with Donald Trump’s tariffs, British sports car maker Aston Martin is restricting imports to the United States, whose peers are Stellantis and Mercedes, withdrawing financial guidance for the year, blaming uncertainty around the uncertainty of U.S. policy on import taxes.
Aston Martin, known for producing cars driven by James Bond in spy movies, said, “is currently using stocks held by U.S. dealers while restricting imports to the U.S..”
The United States is the main market for losing automakers, which is about one-third of the country's £1.6 billion revenue in 2024. It said Wednesday it “carefully monitors the evolving U.S. tariff situation” and will “respond to changes in the operating environment.”
Aston Martin, Mercedes and FIAT owner Stellantis is a carmaker affected by Trump’s full tax, which has the potential to push the auto market up and undermine global supply chains.
The U.S. government imposed a 25% tariff on all auto imports on April 3 as part of its global trade restructuring and aims to bring auto production back to the U.S.
However, Trump announced on Tuesday that he would impose slow responsibilities on U.S. automakers by reducing some of its responsibilities to foreign cars and parts, and at the domestic industry warned that his strategy would increase costs by tens of billions of dollars, thus imposing relief on U.S. automakers, announcing that it would reduce its overall tariffs.
Automakers with other levies imposed by Trump will not be subject to other taxes, such as steel and aluminum, while U.S. automakers will be allowed to temporarily apply for a portion of the fees imposed by imported parts.
Meanwhile, Stellantis, a maker of Jeep, Fiat, Vauxhall and Peugeot, said Wednesday that the company suspended its 2025 financial guidance to achieve modest business recovery due to uncertainty in U.S. tariff policies.
The group's profits fell in 2024, with vehicle traffic falling by 9% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, while net sales were a slide for net sales.
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The German automaker Mercedes-Benz also withdrew its financial outlook on Monday due to Trump's tariff uncertainty.
The company – which produces some vehicles in the United States but also ships European-made cars to North America – said that “there is considerable uncertainty in the world economy” due to U.S. tariff policies and other government countermeasures, which makes it difficult for the company to make forward-looking statements.
Mercedes said the tariff fluctuations this year were “too high to reliably assess” business development, adding that its operating profit, cash flow and margins could be affected if U.S. tariffs remain.