A majority of Brits say they will boycott brands from a country imposing tariffs on UK models.
Almost six out of 10 people (59%) say they are less likely to buy a car from a country imposing tariffs on UK-made models. While the UK imports comparatively low numbers of US made models, there could be reaction to brands with US links, such as Tesla (shown above), which has already seen sales dramatically fall after owner Elon Musk moved closer to US President Donald Trump.
Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said, “While the actions so far taken by the US are quite limited, tariffs are a subject that have been receiving a lot of attention in the press lately and motor manufacturing is certainly one area where it appears President Trump is looking to use them to reshape imports and exports. This has come on top of tussles between China and the EU when it comes to electric vehicle tariffs at the end of last year.
“Our research shows that the public takes quite a dim view of this kind of economic protectionism and a majority would proactively fight back by boycotting the cars of any country that imposed tariffs on UK manufacturers.”
He added, “The main issue here is that the country most likely to impose tariffs is the US and we buy very few US-made vehicles here, despite some concerted efforts by major manufacturers over the years to change that. There are just not many cars to boycott.
“Probably the Trump view would be that we should be buying cars from the US to balance out trade but these vehicles have been largely rejected by UK buyers in the past purely because they didn’t meet their needs or expectations.”
Last week, specialist off-road maker Ineos said that it was outraged that the tariff situation with the US has been neglected by the EU.
President Trump has been very clear on his intention to implement tariffs on the auto industry. He has been asking for fairness and reciprocity and yet European leaders have not come to the table to negotiate a better solution.
The US government has also been clear about the consequences of non-engagement. This should be a surprise to no-one in the EU, and it could and should have been averted.
Lynn Calder, CEO of INEOS Automotive said, “This is what happens when politicians sit on their hands. As a growing EU-based automobile brand, we are vulnerable to tariffs, and we need our politicians to support our business, our jobs and our economies. We need urgent and direct political intervention on tariffs.
“We will give whatever support we can to our political leaders to keep the playing field even for small, competitive brands such as Grenadier. But we must see action from EU politicians: only they are in a position to address the issue. Fortunately, we have been planning for tariffs but there is only so much we can do to protect US customers from price rises.”
