Britain’s Jaguar Land Rover will “pause” vehicle shipments to the U.S. in the wake of Pres. Donald Trump’s broad tariff plans on imported autos and auto parts. The automaker said it is working out a plan “to address the new trading terms.” JLR’s announcement follows moves by brands including Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen to adjust U.S. market strategies as the industry faces a substantial increase in vehicle prices. Headlight.News has the latest.
Even base JLR models would face tariffs approaching $10,000.
Jaguar Land Rover will put a temporary pause on vehicle shipments bound for the U.S., it said, in the wake of the new tariffs on autos and auto parts announced by President Donald Trump last week.
Though the tariffs are intended to bring more manufacturing back to the U.S., according to Trump, it already is leading to widespread disruption across the industry, analysts warning the 25% sanctions will lead, at least in the near to mid-term, to higher costs, lower sales and the potential loss of U.S. jobs.
Several manufacturers have announced short-term plans to address sanctions, including Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Stellantis and Volkswagen. JLR officials said they are still developing a tariff strategy and will pause shipments through the end of this month.
JLR’s dilemma
The tariffs come as Jaguar prepares to launch its new EV line based on the Type 00 concept.
Trump’s tariffs are based on transfer, rather than retail, prices. Even so, the automaker’s entry-level Land Rover Discovery Sport S – with an MSRP of $48,900 – will face tariffs of more than $10,000. For the Range Rover SV Carmel Edition, priced at $370,000, the tariffs are expected to come in north of $75,000.
Currently, the Jaguar side of the company has pared back its product line as it prepares to introduce a range of new, all-electric models. For 2025, its least expensive model is the XE, starting at $39,900. That should face a tariff penalty of more than $8,000.
The potential impact could be severe for a carmaker particularly dependent on the U.S. Overall, North America accounted for nearly a quarter of the sales for the two brands last year, JLR delivering 430,000 SUVs, CUVs and passenger vehicles worldwide.
The launch of tariffs comes at a particularly difficult time for JLR. The Jaguar brand is just preparing to launch a new line-up of EVs, he first based on the Type 00 concept shown off late last year.
Putting a pause on exports
JLR’s main Solihull plant in the UK.
“The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands,” JLR said in a statement. “We are enacting our short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”
Unlike many foreign-owned automakers, JLR has no manufacturing operations in the United States, making it particularly vulnerable to the tariffs. Competitors such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have at least some American operations – and, in some cases, use their U.S. plants as the primary global source for products such as the BMW X5. Even then, they will face tariffs on imported parts and components ranging from automatic transmissions to wiring harnesses.
JLR could offset some higher costs by increasing whatever mix of U.S.-made parts might already be in their vehicles. But transferring full vehicle production would be a bigger challenge. It’s relatively low global volume would make it harder to justify adding another plant in the States, especially one capable of handling its broad model mix.
Even if it did go that route it typically takes at least two years, and often several times as long, to plan, find a location for, and then set up an assembly plant.
More JLR News
- Hyundai Will Swallow Tariff Hit
- Trump Announces Extensive New Tariff War – Auto Industry Could Be Hit Hard
- No Going Back for Jaguar as it Reveals Type 00 Concept
What others are doing
VW will break out the tariff costs on its Munroney window stickers.
JLR is one of a handful of automakers to announce short-term plans responding to the new tariffs. Others include:
- Ford Motor Co. which announced it will offer “employee pricing” to all retail customers. But that is expected to still include added tariff costs. The program runs through early June;
- Hyundai and Kia will hold prices at current levels, even on vehicles facing tariffs. That program also runs through early June;
- Volkswagen plans to be “transparent” by listing added tariff costs on Munroney stickers on all new vehicles;
- Stellantis said it is temporarily laying off 900 U.S. workers supplying parts to plants in both Mexico and Canada.
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