Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan said on May 8th that, due to a series of tariff measures taken by the U.S. government, the company's net profit for the fiscal year 2025 (from April 2025 to March 2026) is expected to shrink by 34.9% year-on-year.

Toyota stated that the U.S. tariff measures have had a significant negative impact on the company's performance, with an expected loss of 180 billion yen in sales for April and May this year. Additionally, the rise in raw material prices also exerts considerable pressure on business operations.

Recently, some Japanese scholars have analyzed and pointed out that due to the United States' indiscriminate imposition of tariffs, the entire Japanese automotive industry will be severely impacted. The Japanese automotive industry has a large number of cooperative enterprises, and it is also a pillar industry with a relatively extensive related industrial chain. Therefore, if the automotive industry suffers a heavy blow, it is likely to become an important cause of economic instability in Japan.

In fact, the tariff \big stick\ wielded by the United States not only hits other countries, but the pain of the whip also falls on itself. American domestic car manufacturers rely on some Japanese-made automotive parts, and high tariffs, on the one hand, raise the cost of manufacturing for businesses, and on the other hand, may trigger deeper supply chain tensions.

In terms of parts supply, many countries, including Japan, are important suppliers in the global automotive industry chain. After the United States imposed additional tariffs, the export of parts was hindered, leading to a decrease in orders for related companies and increased operational pressure; at the same time, countries subject to additional tariffs have imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. parts, which will also impact the business of U.S. suppliers in their sales markets, affecting the stability of the global automotive supply chain, and ultimately leading to a reduction in some models due to a shortage of parts.

Ford and General Motors, two American car manufacturers, have recently withdrawn their performance forecasts for 2025, attributing it to the increased uncertainty caused by U.S. trade policies. According to foreign media reports, Ford Motor Company recently stated that U.S. tariff actions could lead to a decrease of about $1.5 billion in its pre-tax profits by 2025. Ford listed seven risk factors, including potential \industry-wide supply chain disruptions\ related to U.S. tariffs, the possibility of future increases in U.S. tariffs, and the potential implementation of retaliatory tariffs and other restrictive measures by various countries.

Additionally, affected by the U.S. automotive tariff policy, many car dealerships in various regions of the country are facing supply shortages and upward pressure on prices. According to reports from American media, a dealer located in Lakewood, New Jersey, used to receive between 100 and 120 cars per month, but only received 18 cars in May. This means that from May to August, when the peak season arrives, their inventory will be even more strained.

Senior executive of Cox Automotive in the United States, Erin Keating, stated that the automobile inventory appears to be \exhausted,\ a phenomenon mainly caused by two factors: on one hand, consumers are rushing to buy cars before the implementation of tariff measures; on the other hand, most automobile manufacturers have temporarily reduced or suspended supply to dealers during the process of adjusting production and pricing strategies.

The uncertainty of the trade war manufactured by the United States has also affected consumers' car purchasing decisions. For consumers planning to buy imported cars or parts, the price increase caused by tariffs may lead them to postpone their purchases. At the same time, imported cars made in the United States will also face the dual pressures of rising costs and other competitors.

Whether it's Ford or General Motors, these two representative American car companies, or looking at the recent situation of American car dealers, a series of uncertainties caused by the United States' indiscriminate imposition of tariffs are threatening the supply of parts in the American automotive industry, as well as the import and export business, cost control, and terminal sales of the car companies themselves.