The price of many cars is likely to go up in B.C., but how much, when, and which makes and models will be most affected are still not fully known, according to the head of the group representing auto sellers.
"It's going to be a rocky couple of years for sure," said Blair Qualey, the president and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of B.C.
The Langley-based organization represents about 400 new car and truck dealers across the province.
Many of those dealers are now trying to figure out the impact of the 25 per cent vehicle tariffs on any foreign vehicle coming into the United States, and the retaliatory tariffs announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney shortly after.
The American tariffs are apparently only to be applied to "non-U.S. content" in foreign vehicles, based on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Likewise, Canada's new tariffs are based on the non-Canadian, non-Mexican made content parts of autos imported here.
Sorting that out is going to be difficult, since parts in a single car may come from Canada, the U.S., or Mexico, and they may cross North American borders multiple times during manufacturing and assembly before any vehicle is finally finished.
"I think there's a lot of number crunching going on," Qualey said.
He said the industry was pleased that tariffs weren't simply a flat 25 per cent, and that the Canadian tariffs didn't include auto parts.
Right now, dealers are in touch with the car manufacturers who supply them and trying to sort it out, Qualey said.
One effect of all the uncertainty has been some panic-buying of vehicles on both sides of the border. Qualey said that people have been moving up their purchases to avoid the tariffs.
There is a concern that some parts manufacturers won't be able to survive a 25 per cent tariff, and it's uncertain what that means for the big car companies that buy those parts.
Even vehicles assembled in Europe or Asia and sold in Canada – which aren't facing any new tariffs on this side of the border – may see issues because of the parts they've sourced.
"It may be manufactured in another country, but it depends on where the parts come from," he said.
Dealers are worried, Qualey said.
"They're just like everybody else in Canada," he said.
Broadly, prices are expected to rise for new cars.
Some brands might try to absorb some of that impact without raising prices, at least in the short term, said Qualey.
