Tariff Talk: Hyundai Motor Company Adjusts Production Plans

I monitor tariff news every day so I can bring you the most important highlights every week.  Here are the items that caught my attention:

Hyundai adjusting plans amid U.S. tariffs
Hyundai Motor announced it will increase its U.S. vehicle production and has trimmed its 2025 operating profit margin goal, citing tariff pressure. The company now expects to produce more than 80% of its U.S. sales domestically by 2030, including expanding its Georgia plant to a 500,000-vehicle capacity (hybrids and EVs). Hybrid model count will also rise globally, and longer-range EVs are expected in 2027. Hyundai reported about $606 million in tariff costs in Q2, with larger impacts expected in subsequent quarters. 

Automakers may soon raise car prices
Despite multibillion-dollar tariff burdens, automakers have largely managed to shield consumers from steep list price hikes. From March to August 2025, average MSRPs rose by less than 1%. But analysts warn that with tariff costs expected to stay or even grow, price increases are likely on the horizon. Some manufacturers are already making small adjustments—destination fees and trims. 

Mexico’s proposed tariffs put BYD, Tesla in the crosshairs
Mexico has proposed a 50% tariff on imported vehicles from countries without free-trade agreements, targeting especially those made in China. That could hit EV manufacturers like BYD (which held nearly half of Mexico’s EV market in 2024) hard, since much of its supply chain is Chinese. Tesla could also be affected for models built in Shanghai. Legacy automakers with local Mexican factories are less exposed under certain existing exemptions. 

What I Am Watching Going Forward

• Whether the price shielding continues or gives way to more aggressive MSRP increases.
• How automakers speed up U.S. plant expansions or shift production to reduce tariff exposure. Hyundai’s move is a case in point.
• What Mexico’s tariff proposal will trigger—either in response from exporters like China, or from automakers adjusting sourcing or production.
• How consumers will react if sticker prices begin climbing more steeply.