Japan had in Mexico the perfect ally to fill the USA with hybrid cars. That is about to end

In his battle for torpedoing every car that comes from outside the United States, Donald Trump’s government has imposed a hard 25% tariff to every car that is manufactured outside its borders. And he has also raised an economic wall for cars manufactured there with pieces from abroad.

That measure is especially shocking for Europe, which sold vehicles to the United States by value of 38.9 billion euros in 2024. But, above all, it is for Japan. The country had in United States a sales reef. A huge market that was willing to buy its cars, especially hybrids.

It is now in a real problem. Everything that comes from Mexico will have to pay tariffs. Everything that comes from Japan will have to pay tariffs. And its presence on American soil is minimal.

The Japanese Balancing Game Complex

The automobile industry for Japan is especially important. To understand it, just look at the size of its exports. Until last year, Japan was the country that sold more vehicles outside its borders. His companies have a huge tradition, from giants such as Toyota and Honda to smaller companies such as Nissan or Mitsubishi and others with great recognition such as Mazda or Subaru

For its growth, Japan installed new vehicle factories in the United States in the 80s. They produced there but The pieces arrived from Japan So the costs were minor and, in addition, generated wealth in their local market. Now, Donald Trump threatens to destroy that way of working. Before they had already achieved the favor of Americans with good cars in the 60s and, above all, a perfect opportunity with the oil crisis in the 70s.

Now the car represents 3% of Japanese GDP but cars sold to the United States added 28.3% of all exports made to the North American country. The impact of maintaining a 25% tariff is such that Reuters He points out that he can impact a 0.2% drop in the country’s GDP.

The United States is, for half a century, the main market of its exports in the car market. In 2015, for example, They sold 1.7 million cars In the North American country, for the more than 700,000 units that sold throughout Europe.

Its weight is such that in 2023 they sold cars worth 41,070 million dollars to the United States. The figure almost reached that registered throughout the European Union in 2024, when it placed in the US market 38.9 billion euros (42,560 million dollars) in vehicles.

They are figures that take into account the production of cars in Japan but, in addition, Japanese firms have found an ally in Mexico in recent years. His proximity to the United States has allowed him to get huge performance to his cars. They offer more affordable vehicles than those sold by local brands and, in addition, they are manufactured at a much lower price.

The path taken by Donald Trump has made Jump alarms Within the Japanese government. In fact, the United States already confirmed yesterday (April 7, 2025) that Negotiations with a Japanese delegation opened high level that had been sent to negotiate the terms of the new tariffs.

It must be remembered that, in addition to cars, the United States has imposed an added tariff of 24% to all Japanese imports, which is a commercial attack on the largest foreign investor in the country, in data collected by EFE. In Bloomberg They encrypt a 0.59% drop to growth forecasts due to these tariffs.

According to calculations echoing ReutersJapan could lose 17,000 million dollars as a result of these tariffs. In Bloomberg They emphasize that American manufacturers do not pay tariffs in the United States for their car sales but claim that strict security measures, among other regulations, prevent them from acting there competitively. It is a case similar to the European where the United States has difficulty selling its cars.

On the contrary, the Customer Caladero that Japanese companies have in the United States is huge. Bloomberg points out that 23% of Toyota’s sales worldwide went to the North American country. The figure grows to 28% in the case of Nissan and … at 83% if we talk about Subaru. The country’s weight has been growing thanks to the fact that they have been turning with the Hybrid car salesa Japanese specialty.

They are very bad news for brands like Toyota. However, the sanitized accounts of the Japanese giant allows you Reuters. The fall would be 8% for Honda.

But the provisioning that Japanese companies make of pieces produced in Mexico They are a real problem for smaller companies or with more gloomy economic perspectives. Mazda and Nissan would be the most affected, with a 59% benefit drop for Mazda and 56% for Nissan.

Nissan is, without a doubt, the one who has a more complicated horizon. The company is looking for a buyer who holds him from a dramatic fall in his income that It has taken 9,000 layoffs. The Japanese government has pressed without success for Honda to buy To the company. And now It is Foxconn that positions itself as the alternative that sounds more strongly.

Focused on the hybrid car and with an almost testimonial presence among the electric ones, the Japanese need to reach an agreement with the United States urgently. In Europe they need to sell more electric cars if they want to meet the European regulations in 2027 Or, as a minor evil, reach an agreement with other manufacturers. At the same time, In China they have it more and more complicatedsince the market has moved to the electric car.

And Chinese competition is, more and harder.

Photo | Shahzin Shajid and Justin Cron

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