Automakers raised prices over tariffs, but many dealerships saw no changes

Key Takeaways

• Automakers took steps such as raising sticker, invoice and destination prices in response to tariffs, dealers told Cox in Q4.
• The Cox poll also found dealerships felt tariffs would hurt new-vehicle sales.
• A Kerrigan Advisors dealer poll from June to November found dealers planning to address tariffs by stocking more used vehicles.
• But more than a third of dealers in both polls either saw no automaker changes or planned no adjustments at their dealerships.

Automakers raised sticker and invoice prices in response to tariffs last year while dealerships planned adjustments such as stocking more used vehicles, according to two recently released surveys of auto retailers.

However, more than one-third of dealers surveyed by Cox Automotive during the fourth quarter said they’d seen no automaker changes because of tariffs. And more than 40 percent of dealers told Kerrigan Advisors in separate polling throughout 2025 they had no plans for tariff-related changes at their own groups.

President Donald Trump established tariffs after returning to office in 2025. He promoted the trade policy in a Michigan speech Jan. 13.

“I’m standing up for the American auto worker like no president has ever stood up before,” Trump said during the speech.

What dealers have seen automakers do in response to tariffs

Cox Automotive’s Q4 Dealer Sentiment Index survey, which ran from Oct. 22 to Nov. 6, asked franchised dealership professionals: “Which of the following strategic adjustments, if any, have you observed from OEMs aimed at managing vehicle pricing or mitigating the impact of tariffs?” Respondents could select more than one answer.

He pointed to announcements by the Detroit 3 during the past year to invest in their U.S. footprints as a sign that his trade policies are helping bring manufacturing back to the country and making the industry more competitive.

“The Trump administration is accordingly enacting tariffs, slashing costly regulations like CAFE standards, and implementing tax deductions for Made in USA cars,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement Jan. 14 in response to the Kerrigan and Cox reports. “Recent inflation data showing that new car prices remain flat and billions in new auto manufacturing investments both prove that the Administration’s approach is paying off.”

Automakers raise prices, incentives, destination charges over tariffs

But in the fourth-quarter Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index survey, which ran from Oct. 9 to Nov. 6 and received answers from 492 franchised dealers, 31 percent said tariffs on vehicles and parts were hindering their businesses.

“Tariffs will continue to make things difficult, but the winter months also bring new OEM incentives, as well as necessary purchases due to weather-related issues,” a Subaru dealer in the Northeast told Cox.

Retailers said they expected tariffs to have a negative impact on the auto market and new-vehicle sales in general. They also predicted tariffs would hurt used-vehicle sales, though sentiment here was only slightly negative and very close to neutral.

Cox also asked dealers what they’d seen automakers do in response to tariffs.

Higher sticker prices was the most common answer from dealers, reported by 39 percent. Dealers have seen other price increases as well, they said. Twenty-seven percent of dealers said invoice prices had risen, and 21 percent said they’d seen automakers adding or increasing destination charges. Respondents could select more than one answer.

What dealers planned to do in response to tariffs

The 2025 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, in which Kerrigan Advisors polled more than 500 dealers from June to November, asked retailers: “How have tariffs impacted your business plans?” Respondents could select more than one answer.

However, the second-most-common response was that automakers made no changes at all, a perspective shared by 36 percent of dealers. And 22 percent of dealers saw automakers increase the incentives available to customers.

“Kia has absorbed some staggeringly large numbers,” Jeffrey Hinchcliff, chairman of the Kia Dealer Advisory Council and president of H+H Group in Omaha, Neb., told Automotive News on Dec. 16. “And they are not taking price increases anywhere because of tariffs. ... Kia’s playing the long game.”

He said Kia would need to figure out U.S. production changes eventually because of tariffs, but this was “already in the plan anyways.”

Dealers viewed used vehicles as a tariff strategy

The 2025 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, which polled more than 500 dealers from June to November, asked retailers what changes they expected to make because of tariffs. Forty-three percent of dealers said tariffs hadn’t impacted their business plans at all.

Some dealers expected to grow because of tariffs, with 16 percent planning to buy more dealerships — a much larger percent than the 2 percent who planned to sell more stores because of tariffs, Kerrigan Advisors pointed out in a report on the findings. Respondents could select more than one answer.

“Even with this increased interest in growth, fewer dealers are planning to increase their capital investments as a result of tariffs,” Kerrigan wrote in the report. “Likewise, fewer dealers are seeking to increase their new vehicle inventory and are rather focused on expanding their non-tariffed used inventories.”

The study found 11 percent of dealers planned to cut their new-vehicle inventory compared with 7 percent who expected to expand it. But 27 percent of dealers expected to add more used vehicles compared with only 3 percent who planned to reduce their used-vehicle stock.

Fifteen percent of dealers felt tariffs would prompt them to cut their capital investment spending, and just 5 percent thought they’d increase capital expenditures as a response to tariffs. Fifteen percent said they either had or planned to cut their employee head count — the wording was unclear — while only 2 percent mentioned head count growth.

John Irwin contributed to this report.