It’s about to become tougher to sell new cars, auto dealers say, as buyers confront sticker shock.

The U.S. is set to add 25% tariffs on all imported cars, light trucks and crucial auto parts starting Wednesday, keeping with President Donald Trump’s promise to reshape U.S. trade policy.

Baltimore area auto dealers are anticipating higher retail prices — regardless of whether a vehicle is considered foreign or domestic. That’s because complex supply chains mean even brands like Michigan-based Ford include parts made in other countries.

“From what I’m hearing, whether the vehicle is made in the U.S. or not, there [will] probably be a sweeping increase among all vehicles,” said Calvin Woody, general sales manager at Heritage Chevrolet Buick in Owings Mills.

Tariffs could all add to the overall cost of vehicle ownership, which became more expensive during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cost of the average new car in the U.S. is nearly $50,000.

The White House believes these tariffs will push automakers to move manufacturing to the U.S. and raise $100 billion annually.

Peter Kitzmiller, president of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, said the federal government’s gain will ultimately come from U.S. consumers as costs get passed down to them.

That will “price a lot of people” out of the market, he said. “It’s gonna impact sales.”

Marylanders purchased more than 216,000 new cars in 2023, according to F&I Tools. And, according to an analysis by Insurify, an insurance research website that helps consumers shop for the best rates, 58% of cars purchased in Maryland were foreign-made.

The state is uniquely tied to the automobile industry through the Port of Baltimore, which ranked as the top importer of autos for more than a decade until last year.

Maryland lawmakers said last week that the tariffs are prompting them to dial back a proposal to hike the excise tax on vehicle sales to 6.8% from 6%.

The U.S. auto tariffs come as an already planned 25% levy on imports from Canada and Mexico and 20% on goods from China also goes into effect. And Trump previously increased the tariffs on steel and aluminum by 25% — essential materials in the production of vehicles.

How these tariffs will work in concert with each other, and with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, is unknown. Still, some car brands have quickly announced adjustments to their prices in response to them.

BMW, a German luxury vehicle manufacturer, is increasing the prices of their Mexico-made vehicles — the BMW M2, 2 Series, and 3 Series — by 4%, according to BMWBLOG. However, they won’t change the price of any car with a production date before May 1, 2025.

“They don’t often raise prices in the middle of model years,” said Daniel Kim, sales manager at BMW of Owings Mills. “The only other time I saw that happen was [during the] peak supply-side shortage stemming from the pandemic.”

Italy’s Ferrari, another luxury car maker, announced in a press release last week that its prices won’t increase for cars imported before the day the tariffs go into effect. But cars brought to the U.S. after that may be subject to a 10% increase, Ferrari said.

It’s not just luxury cars. The Japanese automaker Subaru told its dealerships on March 20 that “current vehicle pricing cannot be protected and may be subject to change,” according to a bulletin obtained by CarBuzz.

Most Subaru cars are manufactured in Japan, but the company has a production plant in Lafayette, Indiana.

General Motors, which owns Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac, began preparing for the tariffs months ago, GM CFO Paul Jacobson said at an investor conference in February. The company is considering options, including absorbing some of the increased costs.

“I think we are one of the more prepared companies in terms of this playbook that we have,” Jacobson said in February. “And that’s why we were able to say last week that we think we can offset 30% to 50% of that, and we’re just going to have to continue to adapt.”

Japanese automaker Nissan plans to move more of its production from Mexico to the U.S. to avoid the tariffs, Automotive Dive reported. Volvo and Honda will also move production to the U.S., while Toyota announced Monday it would not raise vehicle prices in response to the tariffs, Reuters reported.

General Motors, Ford and Rivian’s stock prices were up when markets closed Monday; American carmakers Stellantis and Tesla, as well as many foreign automakers, were down.

Consumers won’t necessarily find a haven on used-car lots.

Rameez Haq, general manager of Antwerpen Nissan of Owings Mills, believes that “soon you’re going to see used-car prices go up,” he said.

Partly because the new 25% tax will also impact the cost of essential car parts, including engines, transmissions, powertrain parts, and electrical components, with “processes to expand tariffs on additional parts if necessary,” according to a White House fact sheet.

“I think it is very big uncertainty in what’s going on and it is going to affect everybody,” Haq said. “And it’s going to trickle down from not only the dealerships, but the parts, all the way to when you go get oil changes at those Jiffy Lubes or Midas — those prices are going to go up."

A lot could change in the coming months. A dealer’s advice: Don’t wait too long.

“I would say, if there’s a customer that’s on the fence or not sure what they want to do, it would probably behoove them to take advantage of the vehicles that are currently on the ground,” said Woody, of Heritage Chevrolet Buick in Owings Mills, “as opposed to waiting for the other ones later.”

Banner reporter Hayes Gardner contributed to this article