Volkswagen recently told dealers it would add an import fee to vehicles impacted by the White House’s recent tariff announcements, but at least one of its divisions won’t be following suit. Audi recently announced that it was holding U.S.-bound vehicles at the ports as it works through how best to move forward.
Audi manufactures the Q5 SUV in Mexico, but the rest of its U.S. lineup comes from several other countries, including Europe. It began holding shipments almost a week ago, on April 2, but a spokesperson told Reuters that the automaker had around two months of inventory already in the States, so its situation won’t immediately become dire.
While many countries have offered to step to the negotiating table, President Trump has so far remained steadfast on tariffs and has even threatened to extend the duties levied against China. That makes it unlikely that Trump will back off the effort completely, so Audi and other automakers will use their existing inventories to buy time for additional planning. On average, the industry has about three months of supply before needing to dip into recently imported vehicles, leaving Audi slightly behind the curve on inventory.
Other automakers are taking different approaches. Earlier, we reported that Mercedes-Benz would absorb the additional tariff costs, though it’s unclear how long it can keep that up. Others, including Ford, are offering employee pricing to compensate for the impacts.
[Images: Audi]
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