The Latest Fate Of Car Manufacturers In The US: Self-Responsibility Of Billions Of Dollar Loss Due To Tariffs

JAKARTA Since the tariff policy imposed by the US government took effect, automakers in the United States have borne an additional billion dollars in cost. Instead of directly raising the selling price, they chose to absorb the huge loss in order to protect consumers from "price shocks."

Reporting from a Reuters report on Thursday, September 18, to date, the average price of new cars in the US has only increased by less than 1 percent in recent months, this is a step of restraint that many analysts don't predict. However, with tariff policies seemingly going to last, the pressure to raise prices is now increasing.

The financial losses borne by auto giants are not kidding. General Motors (GM) reported that it will face costs related to tariffs of up to 5 billion US dollars (equivalent to Rp82.8 trillion) this year, while Ford said a 3 billion loss (Rp49.6 trillion). Automakers are reluctant to charge consumers of this cost, which has borne a significant post-pandemic price spike, where transaction prices have risen by around 30 percent since 2019.

In fact, North America's Hyundai CEO, Randy Parker, emphasized that the company's top priority is to maintain competitiveness through price affordability, even though tariff fees have eroded their profits.

Analysts and dealers predict that this situation will not last forever. In order to protect profit margins, producers will eventually start to gradually increase selling prices, even if it has the potential to reduce overall demand and sales. They are also trying to avoid public criticism that publicly highlights companies that raise prices for tariff reasons.

On the other hand, automakers have started charging consumers hidden costs without raising the basic price directly. One example is shipping costs or "destination fees," which rose 8.5 percent in the 2025 model. This increase is much larger than the average annual increase in the last decade. In addition, they have also focused on selling models with higher profit margins.

Despite the ongoing financial pressure overshadowing, the dealers agreed that price increases would not occur drastically. The automotive market is still very competitive, and every producer is trying hard to maintain its market share. Price changes will be made very carefully and gradually over time, ensuring they don't lose customers to competitors.