The 25 percent tariffs imposed by President Trump on imported cars have added to the pressures on vehicle manufacturers around the world, but the pain could be particularly acute in Britain’s venerable but flagging auto industry.
Britain exports more than 70 percent of the cars that it makes. In 2024, it sent about 101,000 of those vehicles — about 17 percent of car exports, worth 7.6 billion pounds (about $10.1 billion) — to the United States, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, an industry group. Tariffs now threaten to close what had been one of Britain’s largest markets.
Over the decades, Britain has built a reputation for producing innovative and iconic vehicles like the Land Rover Defender and the Morris Minor, which helped make car ownership affordable as the country emerged from World War II.
In recent years, though, the auto industry has struggled to keep pace as it navigates obstacles including the global shift to electric vehicles and Britain’s exit from its main export market, the European Union.
The annual number of cars made in Britain has fallen nearly 50 percent since the end of the last decade to about 770,000. It now imports far more cars than it makes.
Given the Trump administration’s rapid policy swings, it is impossible for auto industry executives to know what level of tariffs will stick. But Washington’s moves are already bad news for some of Britain’s carmakers, which view the United States as a crucial growth market.
