Japanese manufacturers Toyota, Nissan and Honda announced Thursday that they saw their car sales flying off in March in the United States, consumers precipitating their purchases before the application of customs duties imposed by Washington.
Since the beginning of April, the Trump administration has imposed 25% customs surcharge on all vehicles imported in the United States, a huge shock for Japanese manufacturers for which the American market remains crucial.
But while in March was clarified in March the prospect of customs barriers and the probability that they quickly affect the selling prices, American buyers hastened their purchase to escape the cleaver.
Consequence: in March, the last month spared by border surcharge, the world’s number one Toyota world recorded a 7.7% over one year of its sales in the United States, with some 231,300 vehicles sold.
This increase is explained “by a continuous robust request as well as by an acceleration of sales before the entry into force of customs duties”, admitted the Japanese group.
In total, Toyota world sales jumped 7.9% over a year last month.
Toyota is particularly affected by the Washington customs offensive: in 2024, it made a quarter of its world sales in the United States, where it sold 2.33 million vehicles-from 1 million were imported, especially from Japan and Mexico.
Honda, number two Japanese in the automotive industry, also experienced a vigorous start in March, with a surge of 13.2% over a year of its sales in the United States, at nearly 1,47,800 vehicles-to compare with an increase of only 3.1% of all of its world sales.
In addition, Toyota as Honda indicate that they have strongly inflated their car routes from Japan to the United States, enough to strengthen their American stocks having escaped from surcharges.
For his part, in reverse of his compatriots, Nissan, manufacturer in financial difficulties and indebted, suffered from the lively shortness of sales in the United States, failing to offer hybrid models prized by American consumers.
But he too benefited in March from the automotive purchasing frenzy of his American customers, with a rebound of 9.9% over a year of its sales in the country, at almost 110,000 units -even in the world sales picked up in total of 3.4%, especially weighed down by a tumble of 26% in China.
