Investing.com-- Toyota (NYSE: TM ) is considering exporting small volumes of vehicles from its UK plant to the U.S. to ease the impact of higher trade tariffs under President Donald Trump, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
The world’s biggest automaker will consider all its options in the face of increased trade and political headwinds, the FT report said, citing comments from Matt Harrison, Toyota’s chief corporate officer in Europe.
Toyota produced about 98,000 vehicles from its two facilities in the UK in 2024- a fraction of the 9.5 million units it produced in 2024. Of these, at least 1.2 million were built in the U.S., while factories in Canada and Mexico produced 533,000 and 245,00, respectively.
A bulk of Toyota’s production in North America is sold in the U.S., making the company vulnerable to Trump’s tariffs against Canada and Mexico. The U.S. President imposed 25% tariffs against the two countries at the beginning of March, but then shortly later granted a one-month exemption to several key sectors, including automobiles.
Trump has also repeatedly flagged his plans to impose reciprocal tariffs against major U.S. trading partners- a move that could affect Toyota. Trump plans to impose said tariffs from April 2.
If the UK is able to avoid US tariffs, Toyota’s plants in the country could hold export potential, the FT report said. But the scope for this would be limited, given that Toyota UK manufactures smaller models that are unpopular with US. consumers.
The Japanese automaker has defied a global downturn in automotive demand and competition from electric vehicles, thanks largely to the popularity of its hybrid models in North America.
The company now has plans to boost its EV line-up in Europe.