Volkswagen, the German automaker, has told its car dealers that it plans to add an import fee later this month to the price of imported cars sold in the United States.
The company’s move is one of the first and clearest examples of automakers using price increases to deal with the 25% tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on car and auto parts imports. The tariffs on vehicles went into effect Thursday, and the levies on parts will become effective May 3.
In a Tuesday memo to dealers, Volkswagen said that the exact fees would be determined by the middle of April. The New York Times reviewed a copy of the memo. The automaker also told dealers it planned to cut back on sales incentives and had halted rail shipments of cars to the United States from its plants in Mexico, although shipments by sea continue.
Volkswagen plans to hold cars that are subject to the tariffs in port for “the near term.” It also told dealers that the price of the Volkswagen Atlas sport utility vehicle, which is made in Chattanooga, Tennessee, could be affected by the tariffs because it includes important imported components. The extent of the impact most likely will not be known until May, the memo said.
The automaker, including its Audi and Porsche brands, imports almost all the cars it sells in the United States. Besides the Atlas, Volkswagen also assembles the ID.4 electric sport-utility vehicle in Tennessee.
In a statement, Volkswagen confirmed it had sent the memo to dealers because it wanted to be “very transparent about navigating through this time of uncertainty.”
