Major foreign automaker risks Trump's wrath as it blames tariffs for skyrocketing prices
It's getting more expensive to drive a new car off the lot.
Mitsubishi Motors said Tuesday it would raise prices across its US lineup by an average of 2.1 percent. It joins a growing list of automakers responding to vehicle import tariffs with higher sticker prices.
The decision follows President Donald Trump's decision to launch 25 percent tariffs on imported cars from most countries, including Japan and Thailand, where Mitsubishi builds much of its lineup.
In April, shortly after Trump's announcement, Mitsubishi suspended deliveries from US ports while assessing how to respond.
Deliveries resumed last week.
The Outlander, Mitsubishi's best-selling SUV, currently costs around $35,000. After the adjustment, drivers can expect to slap on an additional $700 to the sticker price.
'[The increase] is based on our most recent evaluation across the industry,' Jeremy Barnes, a spokesperson for the company, told DailyMail.com. 'There will be no adjustments to vehicles already in dealer inventory.'
Mitsubishi's price hikes land just months after it announced the end of Mirage production, retiring the longtime holder of America's cheapest new car title.
Despite the shake-up, the automaker has shown signs of growth.
Mitsubishi's 2024 sales jumped 26 percent to more than 110,000 units, its best US performance since 2019. Sales climbed another eleven percent during the first quarter of 2025.
But now, it's joining a growing list of automakers who say their hand was forced into spiking prices.
Subaru raised prices last month by up to $2,055 on certain trims. Ford hiked pricing on three Mexico-built models in May by as much as $2,000.
BMW issued guidance to dealers outlining a two percent price increase on 2026 gas-powered vehicles.
'[Business is] not sustainable longer term without significant price increases,' Mark Templin, Toyota's chief operating officer for North America, recently said.
'And the industry already has an affordability problem.'
The tariffs create pricing headaches for automakers. The tax hits when a vehicle enters the US, often weeks or months before it reaches a buyer.
The mid-size Outlander SUV was last year's best-seller for the brand
Katsuya Nakanishi, Mitsubishi's CEO, took over as the top boss in 2022
That means carmakers must absorb the added cost without knowing whether the car will sell.
Executives at this year's New York International Auto Show said the unpredictability of the tariff regime makes it nearly impossible to build pricing into long-term product planning.
Independent analysts have also warned the tariffs could drive up prices for both new and used cars by thousands of dollars.
Higher prices are also expected to push insurance premiums even higher.
The average price of a new car in the US hit $49,000 last month — a $12,000 jump since 2019.
Average monthly payments have climbed to $700, driven largely by pandemic-era supply shortages and a now increasing parts availability problem.
In April, China retaliated against Trump's trade policy by halting exports of rare earth magnets, a key material in electric motors.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said the trade throttling forced the company to temporarily suspend some US vehicle production.
'This could result in lower sales and could be similar to the chip shortage,' Seth Goldstein, an automotive industry analyst at Morningstar, told DailyMail.com.
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