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Old 03-01-18, 06:25 PM
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Diesel350
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Default Toyota car prices to increase?

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/01/toyo...to-prices.html

Toyota warning: Tariffs will push up auto prices
  • President Donald Trump says he will introduce new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
  • Toyota says the tariffs would "substantially raise costs and therefore prices of cars and trucks sold in America."

Auto dealers say tariffs passed on to consumer 1 Hour Ago 03:13

On a day when many automakers issued statements saying it's too soon to know how President Donald Trump's proposed steel and aluminum tariffs will impact the prices of cars and trucks, Toyota was blunt: get ready to pay more.

A statement from the Japanese automaker said in part, "...this would substantially raise costs and therefore prices of cars and trucks sold in America."

Toyota doesn't say how much prices will go up, but the message was echoed by the American Automotive Policy Council. Its president, Matt Blunt, reiterated what he said in mid-February about proposed steel and aluminum tariffs.

"This would place the U.S. automotive industry, which supports more than 7 million American jobs, at a competitive disadvantage," Blunt said.

While it is true the automakers like General Motors source 90 percent of their steel and aluminum from suppliers here in North America, the concern is what happens to the global price of those commodities. Even if steel and aluminum prices go up due to trade war, Mark Reuss, who oversees product development of purchasing for GM, is not sure it would lead to higher prices in the showroom.

"I'm not sure that we would pass, dollar for dollar, those price increases on to the consumer," Reuss said. "We are here to offset any of those material costs increases or approaches."

Reuss points out GM is focusing on a mixed material strategy for building its cars and trucks. That means a greater use of materials such as lightweight carbon fiber in building new vehicles.

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Old 03-01-18, 06:34 PM
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All the manufacturers that import will suffer in some form or another not just Toyota.
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Old 03-01-18, 06:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Hoovey2411
All the manufacturers that import will suffer in some form or another not just Toyota.
Agreed. I think Canada is going to be excluded. But those making cars in the US will benefit
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Old 03-01-18, 07:18 PM
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Long-overdue decision, even if it does push up car prices a little. I fully support it. The Rust-Belt industries in the U.S., in a belt from Buffalo through Pittsburgh, west to Chicago, and north to Minnesota, have simply been decimated over the last several decades. The out-sourcing of auto assembly plants and foreign steel, coal, aluminum, iron ore, and other materials overseas essentially dried up entire towns and small cities, and threw millions out of work. And, of course, it's no secret that this is the part of the country whose votes got Trump elected to start with....he's upholding a campaign promise. His next tariff will probably be on American-badged vehicles sold here, but manufactured overseas....Buick Envision, Ford Fusion, etc....

Jill's probably correct, though, on Canada...it will probably be excluded.

Originally Posted by Hoovey2411
All the manufacturers that import will suffer in some form or another not just Toyota.
I'm not shedding very many tears for them. For years, they have been making healthy profits from selling cars here to affluent American customers and outsourcing much of their construction to plants in Asia and Mexico with cheap parts, materials, and labor, while cities and towns in the Rust Belt deteriorated and dried up from lack of jobs and income. Now, the chickens will start coming home to roost.

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Old 03-01-18, 07:31 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Long-overdue decision, even if it does push up car prices a little. I fully support it. The Rust-Belt industries in the U.S., in a belt from Buffalo through Pittsburgh, west to Chicago, and north to Minnesota, have simply been decimated over the last several decades. The out-sourcing of auto assembly plants and foreign steel, coal, aluminum, iron ore, and other materials overseas essentially dried up entire towns and small cities and threw millions out of work. And, of course, it's no secret that this is the part of the country whose votes got Trump elected to start with....he's upholding a campaign promise. His next tariff will probably be on American-badged vehicles sold here, but manufactured overseas....Buick Envision, Ford Fusion, etc....

Jill's probably correct, though, on Canada...it will probably be excluded.
But if, as Toyota has warned, auto prices go up, forcing new car sales down, that could mean layoffs in the American auto plants. In that scenario, your worst fear of more -- cheaper -- imports from Mexico, may come true.

Tariffs on imported goods is not something you simply do by tweet -- it is a chess game to be thought out carefully, many, many moves ahead. What happens if steel and aluminum prices go up and automakers are forced to raise prices? What happens if all the infrastructure construction (bridges, etc.) that Trump bragged about starting stalls because of higher steel costs? What happens if this sets off a trade war with Europe or China or even Canada, which is the largest supplier of steel to the USA?

International trade is a delicate issue and a delicate dance that some clumsy guy should not jump into with 2 left feet, and hands and tongue flailing.
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Old 03-01-18, 07:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Sulu
But if, as Toyota has warned, auto prices go up, forcing new car sales down, that could mean layoffs in the American auto plants. In that scenario, your worst fear of more -- cheaper -- imports from Mexico, may come true.

Tariffs on imported goods is not something you simply do by tweet -- it is a chess game to be thought out carefully, many, many moves ahead. What happens if steel and aluminum prices go up and automakers are forced to raise prices? What happens if all the infrastructure construction (bridges, etc.) that Trump bragged about starting stalls because of higher steel costs? What happens if this sets off a trade war with Europe or China or even Canada, which is the largest supplier of steel to the USA?

International trade is a delicate issue and a delicate dance that some clumsy guy should not jump into with 2 left feet, and hands and tongue flailing.
I agree there are risks involved, and Trump knows those risks...he spent decades as a businessman. But something had to be done. The status quo is just more Rust Belt deterioration, while we look the other way. The quality of life in many of those towns is deplorable....that's one reason why half the population in those towns ended up on drugs.

But if, as Toyota has warned, auto prices go up, forcing new car sales down, that could mean layoffs in the American auto plants. In that scenario, your worst fear of more -- cheaper -- imports from Mexico, may come true.
Trump also has tariffs planned for American-badged vehicles sold here and produced overseas, so I'm not certain that "cheap" Mexican imports would even be an option.

Hey, I've been wrong before (and I'll stand corrected if it turns out I am this time)...but, at this point, I don''t think this is going to start a classic trade war. Nobody wants that...least of all, Trump himself, an experienced businessman.

Last edited by mmarshall; 03-01-18 at 07:55 PM.
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Old 03-01-18, 07:54 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
The status quo is just more Rust Belt deterioration, while we look the other way. .
Long term, a steel tariff is going hurt the US bad. The rust belt jobs won’t be coming back. Short term, US steel companies gain. But the US buys more outside steel than they make.
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Old 03-01-18, 08:00 PM
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Originally Posted by LexsCTJill


Long term, a steel tariff is going hurt the US bad. The rust belt jobs won’t be coming back. Short term, US steel companies gain. But the US buys more outside steel than they make.

Consider, though, that many new American jobs would be needed just to refurbish and rebuild the old plants, getting them ready for (once again) production......some of them have been sitting around idle and deteriorating for 30 or 40 years. That alone, even before we actually start producing more steel, would benefit some of those towns....and other plants that produce the required materials for re-building the plants.

Don't want to get too far off-topic, though......Toyota and GM auto prices.

Last edited by mmarshall; 03-01-18 at 08:08 PM.
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Old 03-01-18, 08:14 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Consider, though, that many new American jobs would be needed just to refurbish and rebuild the old plants, getting them ready for (once again) production......some of them have been sitting around idle and deteriorating for 30 or 40 years. That alone, even before we actually start producing more steel, would benefit some of those towns....and other plants that produce the required materials for re-building the plants.

Don't want to get too far off-topic, though......Toyota and GM auto prices.
Not off topic. That is a dream these factories will come back. They will not. What will happen is that all the companies that produce goods using steel will pass the cost on to the consumers via higher prices.
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Old 03-01-18, 09:03 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Long-overdue decision, even if it does push up car prices a little. I fully support it. The Rust-Belt industries in the U.S., in a belt from Buffalo through Pittsburgh, west to Chicago, and north to Minnesota, have simply been decimated over the last several decades. The out-sourcing of auto assembly plants and foreign steel, coal, aluminum, iron ore, and other materials overseas essentially dried up entire towns and small cities, and threw millions out of work. And, of course, it's no secret that this is the part of the country whose votes got Trump elected to start with....he's upholding a campaign promise. His next tariff will probably be on American-badged vehicles sold here, but manufactured overseas....Buick Envision, Ford Fusion, etc....

Jill's probably correct, though, on Canada...it will probably be excluded.



I'm not shedding very many tears for them. For years, they have been making healthy profits from selling cars here to affluent American customers and outsourcing much of their construction to plants in Asia and Mexico with cheap parts, materials, and labor, while cities and towns in the Rust Belt deteriorated and dried up from lack of jobs and income. Now, the chickens will start coming home to roost.
Much of the closing of those factories had to do with declining US car sales, and less demand for their materials as a result. This is no fault other than the US car companies for building crappy cars that no one was buying. And this is also due to asian brands building reliable and efficient cars that everyone wanted. Less of a political thing, and more of a quality of product/supply and demand thing.
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Old 03-01-18, 09:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Fizzboy7
Much of the closing of those factories had to do with declining US car sales, and less demand for their materials as a result. This is no fault other than the US car companies for building crappy cars that no one was buying. And this is also due to asian brands building reliable and efficient cars that everyone wanted. Less of a political thing, and more of a quality of product/supply and demand thing.
Agreed the build quality of a lot of US cars drove buyers to more reliable Japanese imports. Trump promised to bring the jobs back and his supporters see this as a step in that direction unfortunately I don't think they quite understand how international trade works. Some jobs are never coming back.
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Old 03-01-18, 09:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Fizzboy7
Much of the closing of those factories had to do with declining US car sales, and less demand for their materials as a result. This is no fault other than the US car companies for building crappy cars that no one was buying. And this is also due to asian brands building reliable and efficient cars that everyone wanted. Less of a political thing, and more of a quality of product/supply and demand thing.
That was in the past, though. It was true 30-40 years ago (was it ever true 30-40 years ago....I remember those lemons well). But....time marches on, and the world changes. Today, American plants can, and do, turn out vehicles comparable to anyplace else.
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Old 03-01-18, 10:02 PM
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Originally Posted by LexsCTJill


Agreed. I think Canada is going to be excluded.
Why? Trump believes that NAFTA was a disaster for the USA. Without NAFTA, Canada is just another foreign country stealing US jobs.
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Old 03-02-18, 01:20 AM
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this is anti-competitive, anti free trade, anti-evolution, anti-choice.

If we had a president trump a few hundred years ago, we would still be a country of textile mills, blocked from progress.

All I know is price usually trumps all. If car prices increase across the board, a lot fewer will be sold.

This idiot better consult a large panel of economists before he decides anything.
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Old 03-02-18, 03:11 AM
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Originally Posted by pman6
If we had a president trump a few hundred years ago, we would still be a country of textile mills, blocked from progress.
Obviously not a student of history. Trade barriers were used EXTENSIVELY in the early years of US industrialization. They are an incredibly powerful tool for getting nascent industries off the ground and to the point of profitability where they can become self-sustaining. Without them, capital-intensive industries in developing nations--and the US was a developing nation at the time--either fail, or are never even started at all due to the risk involved. So the truth is the exact opposite of your statement. We would have been blocked from progress and would never have become a superpower, if not for the strategic use of tariffs and other trade barriers.

That said, the US is not a developing nation anymore. So what was absolutely necessary a few hundred years ago makes little sense now.
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