Exports of UK-made cars to the US leapt by 34.6 per cent in February compared to the same month in 2024, industry figures show.
America is a key market for Britain’s high-end car manufacturers with luxury and premium brands such as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Bentley, Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) making a substantial portion of their annual sales and profits from US customers. Last year, the UK sold cars, the vast majority of them from high-end marques, worth £8.3bn in America – making it the single largest segment of Britain’s £58bn goods exports to the US.
Industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has warned that UK carmakers may have to “review output” as a result of the tariffs and called for government support, including potential incentives for UK car-buyers, to support the sector. A study last year by the US International Trade Commission predicted that a 25 per cent tariff on cars would reduce foreign imports by almost 75 per cent.
In the interval between the White House announcing his intention to impose tariffs and their application, UK manufacturers have been rapidly increasing shipments to their American dealer networks. Figures produced by the SMMT show an average monthly increase in exports of nearly 30 per cent between December and February.
David Bailey, professor of business economics at the Birmingham Business School, said: “That’s exactly what has happened. Firms have rushed to export cars to the US ahead of expected tariffs.”
Chris Clowes, executive director at supply chain consultancy SCALA, which includes several carmakers among its clients, said: “The recent surge in UK automotive exports to the US suggests a strategic move by UK manufacturers to get ahead of the newly-implemented US tariffs. While part of this could reflect a short-term spike in demand, it’s likely that stockpiling has played a significant role, especially given the uncertainty around trade barriers.”
BMW-owned Rolls-Royce, which last year sold some 5,712 of its ultra de-luxe cars and counts America as its largest single market, said it considered free trade to be one of its guiding principles: “We should be discussing reducing trade barriers rather than creating more.”
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JLR, Britain’s biggest carmaker and the parent company for Land Rover and Range Rover, had sales of some £6.5bn in America in the year to March 2024, representing around 20 per cent of its total revenues. Similarly, Aston Martin secures about a quarter of its sales from the US and Canada, while Bentley sold 3,848 cars to the Americas in 2023 – some 28 per cent of its total sales for that year. McLaren, the super-carmaker, sends more than a third of its vehicles for sale in North America.
Felipe Munoz, an expert with Jato Dynamics, an automotive industry analysis company, said: “These UK brands are perhaps better positioned because the price sensitivity of consumers is lower than in the mainstream segments.”
But experts also warned of heavy weather ahead for UK manufacturers even if they have succeeded in securing some temporary respite by ensuring healthy car stocks on the other side of Atlantic.
Several analysts said that even the hardiest UK car brands were now contemplating a changed economic outlook with reduced sales for 2025.
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He added that among the steps which the industry could contemplate is setting up assembly facilities in America to potentially overcome Trump administration requirements that vehicles are made in the US.
Ben Farrell, chief executive at industry body the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, pointed out that American producers are set to be hobbled by many of the barriers faced by foreign producers, with Ford’s F150 pick up, part of the company’s best-selling model line, reliant on imported components for 50 per cent of each vehicle.
Farrell said: “These costs are going to be going up for everyone in the US market. So for UK car makers, this is about thinking very carefully about the response, tackling costs to remain competitive and working out where the opportunities and possible alternative markets might be. It’s now all about the agility of response.”
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