President Donald Trump‘s 50% tariffs on Canada may put several top-selling models from companies like General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F), Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM), Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA) and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) at risk.
Production in Canada
On Tuesday, Business Insider reported that vehicles like the Chevrolet Silverado, Toyota RAV4, and Honda CR-V, which were the second, third and fourth best-selling models in the U.S., are partly produced at Canadian manufacturing plants
Ford’s F-Series, which was 2025’s best-seller, is also slated to add Canadian production for Super Duty trucks, the report said. The Ram 1500 also has a meaningful share of its components assembled in Canada.
Erin Keating, an executive analyst at Cox Automotive, cited in the report, warned the fallout would spread beyond factory gates. "The impact of unworkable tariffs would be felt well beyond Canadian assembly plants," Keating said.
Toyota’s RAV4 is a key example of the timing problem, with sales down 36% this year after a redesign and related production constraints. With demand still there, the company has been working to lift output at existing sites rather than quickly replacing Canadian capacity.
GM and Ford, too, have invested in upgrading production facilities in Canada, the report said, but 50% tariffs could make things challenging. “The math on that just got a lot worse for them with the 50% tariff,” according to analyst David Whiston, cited in the report.
Domestic Production Push
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick touted the tariffs as a key element for bringing auto manufacturing jobs back into the U.S. He also hailed Ford’s move to bring back Lincoln production into the U.S. from China by the end of the decade and hailed Toyota’s more than $3 billion investment in the Texas plant.
However, Lutnick’s intervention was also reportedly among the factors that led to the collapse of trade talks between the U.S. and Canada, which resulted in both sides imposing tariffs.
Criticism From Democrats
Meanwhile, Democratic Party lawmakers like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) slammed the tariffs. Whitmer said that the tariffs would result in heightened taxation of Michigan residents, while Michigan Democratic Party Senate Nominee Abdul El-Sayed said Trump was imposing 50% tariffs on Canada for "vanity."
Economist and Echelon Wealth Partners co-founder Peter Schiff also shared his criticism of the administration’s move to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, saying that the move would intensify the cost-of-living crisis that Americans are grappling with.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by a Benzinga editor.
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