Way back in the dark days of last week, automakers like Infiniti, Jaguar Land Rover, and Audi started holding cars at port rather than shipping them on to dealers. Those automakers held out due to tariff fears, given all the uncertainty and course-reversing that's happened in the intervening seven days. It seems, though, that other automakers are holding out on similar fears: Mitsubishi, too, is holding cars at port until the tariffs can be clarified.
Mitsubishi revealed the move Friday, in a note to Automotive News, but the automaker didn't confirm when — or whether — deliveries to dealers would resume. The company claimed that it has a 100-day supply of tariff-free cars ready to go, most of which are already in dealer hands, but buyers have been panic-buying cars before the extra fees kick in — that supply may not last as long as Mitsubishi's math estimates, if it's based on old data.
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi's cars are built in Japan, which faced a 24% tariff from the Trump admin before the "pause" on Friday. Cars, though, are still faced with 25% taxes across the board — something Mitsubishi isn't yet working into its pricing structure, but may have to account for with future sales. With the company's recent struggles in the American market, and the possibility of it being ousted from a future Nissan merger looming over its head, this extra tax the last thing the affordable automaker needs.
Mitsubishi has targeted the price-conscious end of the market with high-volume units, but that entire play could disappear under the current Trump tariffs — let alone if further taxes are enacted on imports from Japan. If the company is lucky, it'll work out some sort of deal that allows this held-back inventory to bypass those tariffs, but that's far from a guarantee at this point. In a worst-case scenario, we could simply see Mitsubishi exit the U.S. entirely — there may simply be no more market here for the brand that once gave us the Evo.
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