US cars face the sudden challenges of competing in Europe
The auto worker of Trump founder Brian Pannebecker tells fellow US workers not to worry about alleged “pain” from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Most people around the world either need or want to buy a car. However, when it comes to choosing a model, American vehicles will be shorter. In other words, people outside the US seem to avoid buying our cars. Instead, they would rather buy the homemade version.
Consider these car sales figures. In 2024, the US imported 757,564 new vehicles european unionaccording to the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the EU imported only 169,152 from the United States. Paying for it is 38.5 billion euros ($43.9 billion) of EU sales to the US and 7.8 billion euros (approximately $8.9 billion) sold to Europe.
The majority of the reason is the 10% tariffs that the EU places on all imports of cars and light trucks. Before President Trump’s recent changes, compare it to the 2.5% tariff on the car. That alone puts our cars at a major disadvantage compared to cars made within Europe.
Stellantis offers employee discounts to US buyers when automatic rates are enabled
The Chevrolet Tahoe is being built at its factory in Arlington, Texas. (GM)
In Europe, some of the bestselling US trucks and cars are more expensive.
For example, in the US, the new Chevy Tahoe, a large SUV, has a starting price of $59,000. In Norway, when taxes are added, it can be up to $100,000. Elsewhere in Europe, you will still pay more. In France, it costs $60,490.
Additional taxes and other expenses can result in the cost of sucking your second-hand car. For example, Fox Business discovered the 2021 Dodge Ram It was recently provided at 2.5 million Norwegian krone, worth $235,000.
A new Ford Ranger truck begins It costs $33,808 in the US, but $40,000 in France and Germany. Outside of Europe, the costs are the same in China and Japan.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee starts at $38,490 in the US, $64,830 in France and $61,990 in Germany. It costs around $61,990 in Japan and China.
The Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray starts at $68,300 in the US and $69,990 in France and Germany. In China it costs $76,990 and in Japan it costs $69,990.
On February 11, 2011, employees will fit the airbags to Opel Corsa at General Motor’s Adam Opel Plant in Eisenach, Germany. (Jochen Eckel / Bloomberg Via / Getty Images)
The Tesla Model Y costs $50,630 in the US, but $51,289 In France In Germany, it costs $51,175. This was the only US car to become the best-selling vehicle in the European Union country in 2024. They were Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden. In all other EU countries, people chose non-US-made cars as the best option. In China, the Tesla Model Y costs $36,430. In Japan, it costs $61,600.
Car taxes vary in countries, but this usually depends on the price of the vehicle.
GM will increase our truck production after Trump’s tariff announcement
In Europe there are issues other than price that make American cars and light trucks attractive. In particular, American cars tend to be significantly larger than European cars, and on average about 20% more than European cars. Gasoline is much more expensive than the US, a major European economies such as France, Germany and Italy, so gasoline costs between $7.19 and $7.57 per gallon. This is more than $3.22 per gallon in the US these days.
“There’s a psychological problem with how much it costs to fill a gas tank,” Robert Wright, an economics professor at the University of Central Michigan, told Fox Business. “Psychologically, I don’t want to fill up a large gas tank because of the cost.”
There has also been a long-standing bias and sinister nature of purchasing American cars in Europe.
Wright said, “Many Europeans also believe that American cars are less reliable than European and East Asian cars at similar price points and appreciate American styling.”
Art Hogan, B. Riley’s chief market strategist, told Fox Business “the cars are small everywhere in Europe.” “They don’t have large SUVs, they don’t have oversized cars. It was probably the challenge to sell American cars in Europe.”
On March 28th, 2025, the car will be stopped in traffic in Lyon, France. (Romain Doucelin/SOPA Images/Lightrocket via Getty Images)
Small cars have small parking spaces, so we have made small preferences for small cars mildly.
Furthermore, European roads tend to be narrow and winding rather than straight. This reflects medieval style road systems in most countries. “While driving, I’ve never seen a single American car fit on a European road,” Hogan said.
Click here to get your Fox business on the go
There is even more challenge: car safety. That’s important when selling EU US cars. EU safety legislation is much stricter than in the US, according to Police, a cooperative European network of cities and regions to improve transportation. Road deaths in Europe have declined 16% since 2013, compared to a 25% increase in the US. This points to American pickup trucks as a risk to pedestrians and cyclists.
These safety concerns could prevent some people from purchasing American-made vehicles. “This issue is partly dependent on consumer beliefs,” Wright says.
Things are similar in other regions and countries where 33,417 vehicles will be sold to China in 2023, according to World Integrated Trade Solutions. Japan bought less than that at 28,369. Many other countries have bought even fewer cars.