Winnipeg dealerships see spike in vehicle sales ahead of U.S. auto tariffs

A Winnipeg auto dealer and an industry expert both say there's been a surge in demand for vehicles ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's Wednesday announcement that sweeping tariffs, including a 25 per cent levy on the Canadian automotive sector, are coming into effect.

The downside for consumers is that the cost of vehicles — both used and new — is expected to rise following what Trump is calling "retaliatory" tariffs, which will come into effect Thursday at midnight.

The 25 per cent tariffs, which were first announced last week, will be applied to passenger vehicles and light trucks imported into the U.S., as well as key automobile parts, with processes to expand tariffs on additional parts if necessary, according to the White House.

Experts say the automotive industry's deeply interconnected supply chain, and possible counter-tariffs by Canada, could mean higher vehicle prices here in light of the U.S. tariffs.

Taylor Liebrecht, who had been kicking the tires on a new vehicle purchase for the past couple of months, said she wasn't thinking about tariffs when she put a deposit down on her new vehicle Monday.

But she was warned by the dealership that prices could rise at the beginning of April.

"With Trump, you never know," she said as she picked up her new ride on Wednesday.

"So I wasn't sure if they would increase dramatically, or just a little bit or maybe not at all, but I didn't want to take the chance, so I decided to put my deposit down on [March] 31st and get the pricing they were offering me at the time."

Winnipeg's Crown Automotive Group has seen a swarm of customers purchase vehicles at its dealerships over the last seven to 10 days, vice-president Kabeir Dilawri told CBC.

Dilawri said that's pretty consistent with dealerships he's spoken with in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, with many reporting some of their best weeks in years for sales volume.

"We're anticipating that if [tariffs] do come in, parts will go up, all supply chains will be impacted," he said prior to Trump's announcement.

He likened what he's seen recently to the slowdown of the global supply chain that gripped the world in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but not altogether the same.

"This has definitely been a bit different," Dilawri said, since the pandemic issue was a lack of supply, whereas right now, it's more about intense demand.

Like the dealership staff Liebrecht dealt with, Crown Automotive employees were encouraging prospective buyers to jump on purchasing opportunities sooner rather than later.