Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. expects to take a financial hit of nearly $10 billion from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported cars—marking the largest estimated impact disclosed so far by any global automaker. The figure underscores the mounting cost pressures facing the world’s biggest car manufacturer as trade tensions reshape the industry.
The company revealed on Friday that the 1.4 trillion yen ($9.50 billion) estimate also factors in the knock-on effects for suppliers, particularly those in the US that import parts from Japan. Toyota’s chief financial officer, Takanori Azuma, declined to detail how much of the total is attributable to suppliers but stressed that the company remains committed to serving US customers despite the tariff burden.
“It’s honestly very difficult for us to predict what will happen regarding the market environment,” Azuma told reporters, vowing to keep producing cars for the US market.
The tariffs have already forced Toyota to slash its full-year operating profit forecast by 16%, cutting expectations to 3.2 trillion yen ($21.7 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2026, down from an earlier projection of 3.8 trillion yen.
Toyota’s rivals have reported smaller impacts so far. General Motors expects a $4–$5 billion hit this year, while Ford projects around $3 billion. Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, has forecast an additional $1.7 billion in annual expenses due to the levies.
The blow comes amid wider cost pressures from US tariffs not only on vehicles but also on steel, aluminium, and auto parts. Toyota had earlier estimated a 180 billion yen impact for April and May alone, based solely on the effect on its vehicles.
For the first quarter from April to June, Toyota posted an operating profit of 1.17 trillion yen, down from 1.31 trillion a year earlier but ahead of analysts’ forecasts of 902 billion yen, according to LSEG data. However, its North American operations suffered a sharp reversal, swinging to a 63.6 billion yen loss from a 100.7 billion yen profit a year earlier. The region absorbed a 450 billion yen tariff-related hit in the quarter.
The developments highlight the vulnerability of global supply chains to protectionist policies, with Toyota now facing the largest direct tariff cost disclosed by any automaker to date.
