SC automakers are surprising winners and losers in Trump's vehicle tariff war By David Wren Mar 30, 2025 Volvo Cars could be one of the biggest winners in President Donald Trump's tariff war over automobiles. BMW, on the other hand, looks to be a loser.
A new report by Axios says the 25 percent tariffs on imported vehicles starting April 3 could force automakers to move production to the United States to avoid the steep fees. The report points to Volvo and Volkswagen as the two companies that have already said they'll consider building more cars in America. That could give those nameplates an advantage with new-car buyers trying to avoid what analysts say will be a $4,000 or more price hike on imported vehicles.
Volvo CEO Jim Rowan has already said there's plenty of room at the Berkeley County plant to add another model or two to the production line.
"We have space, paint shops, the buildings, all that's there," Rowan said earlier this month. "We just need to make a final decision on which models and which platforms that we would move to the USA."
Of course, made in America might not be enough to avoid tariffs altogether. The report points out that every car sold in the U.S. is made of at least 20 percent foreign parts and those parts are also subject to the 25 percent duties.
South Carolina's other top carmaker — BMW Manufacturing in the Upstate — could be one of the biggest losers, the report states. BMW's factory exports about 70 percent of the X-model SUVs it builds. Last year, that was nearly 225,000 cars worth $10 billion. Axios says retaliatory tariffs by foreign countries could hurt sales of those BMWs overseas.
Perhaps surprisingly — and paradoxical considering the tariff on parts — retailers like AutoZone and O'Reilly Autoparts are among the projected winners in this trade war. That's because car owners are expected to repair their aging vehicles rather than buy a new one.
Isuzu recently announced plans for a $280 million plant in Greenville County to build trucks with gas, diesel or electric motors. That facility, which will employ about 700 people, is expected to begin operations in 2027.
Meanwhile, Redwood's $3.5 billion recycling plant at the Camp Hall Commerce Park off Interstate 26 is under first-phase construction, with an initial recycling process scheduled to be online in the third quarter of this year. The company is also working with the state's ReadySC job training program to hire some of the 1,500 people who will eventually work at the site. For more information about jobs, visit https://www.redwoodmaterials.sctechjobs.com/.
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