US imports 8 mn cars from Mexico, SKorea and Europe
US imports 8 mn cars from Mexico, SKorea and Europe
The United States, which imported eight million cars in 2024, is a key market for a number of major auto exporters, Mexico, South Korea and Europe.
Car makers and their suppliers have been based in Mexico and Canada for many years, taking advantage of the free-trade zone with the United States .
Last year, US and European manufacturers exported nearly three million cars and vans from Mexico, and 1.1 million from Canada, according to the US Department of Commerce.
Production lines are closely linked: parts criss-cross the borders several times before being assembled, complicating any revamp of customs duties announced by Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which makes the Jeep and Chrysler brands, are the three biggest US manufacturers and are largely in favour of tariffs on vehicle imports.
But on Thursday they called for the "competitiveness" of North American auto production to be kept, including in Canada and Mexico.
Japan is a vehicle manufacturing powerhouse and has traditionally been the second biggest exporter to the United States, with 1.3 million cars sent in 2024.
But South Korea overtook it last year by exporting 1.4 million.
Korean firm Hyundai confirmed on Monday that it intended to open a third factory a foundry in the United States.
Japan's Toyota remains the top car brand on the US market and makes the Rav4 SUV and the Corolla saloon at its 11 factories in the United States.
But Toyota still imports just under half of the vehicles that it sells in the country, from Japan, Mexico or Canada.
Car exports are a cornerstone of the Japanese economy and the government on Thursday promised to give a "an appropriate response" to Trump's customs duties.
The United States is also a "key market" for the European auto industry, which exported nearly 750,000 cars worth 38.5 billion euros last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association .
It is the EU's top global car market, representing nearly a quarter of its total export sales, and the second-biggest export product behind medicine, according to Eurostat.
Germany produces the most exported cars, particularly saloons, SUVs and top-end sports cars from Audi, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes.
In 2024, the United States represented 23 percent of the turnover of Mercedes, which also produces its SUVs there and exports them outside the country.
These are likely to be hit by any European retaliation.
Americans are major manufacturers and buyers of vehicles but not big exporters, shipping 1.4 million overseas in 2024 worth $58 billion.
Canada takes about half of the exports from US factories, then Germany, Mexico and China.
American cars have never managed to establish themselves permanently in Europe, which one French analyst said explained Trump's anger towards the continent.
"It's not the 10 percent of taxes that have stopped American manufacturers from entering the market," the analyst added.
"They have never had an offering suited to the European consumer. Small city cars aren't what they do best."
Only Ford has been present long-term in Europe with vehicles adapted to the market but with varying success.
The company has cut thousands of jobs and still has to bail out its German subsidiary to the tune of 4.4 billion euros in the coming years.
Tesla broke through as well with its SUV Model Y made at its factory in Berlin but Elon Musk's brand has seen its sales collapse in recent months after he became a close Trump adviser.
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This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.