By Stelios Kandia

Determined to support the US industry, and especially the automotive industry, at all costs is the president of the United States to increase federal revenue that will allow him to be impaired.

Donald Trump ignores warnings that a trade war will probably slow down US economic growth by reducing income tax revenue and intensifying global uncertainty.

The US president’s decision to implement his pre -election announcements, imposing a 25% duties on imported cars, and after a month on imported spare parts, caused chain reactions to the car production countries and the car industry, with the US General Motor. Shortly after the announcements. The new duties will be implemented on April 3, the day after Trump announces reciprocal duties to the countries in which he is responsible for most of the US trade deficit.

The European Union has announced that it is preparing a strong response to the “New Order of Things” that Trump is trying to impose, but trying to prevent a trade war. The American leader warned that his response will be young, much higher duties If the European bloc and Canada work together to “financially harm the US”.

According to Reuters, suppliers warn of prompt rise in prices And distributors are afraid of the impact of a fall in employment in the countries based on the automotive industry.

Will the Greek market be affected?

The question is whether “international tricks” affect the Greek market, albeit as light ripples. However, there is no risk of “braking” the Greek car market. Market players emphasized on SKAI.gr that they do not see any implications for Greece. They clarified that there are other challenges for the car in our country such as the still incomplete infrastructure for the use of natural gas (CNG) as a fuel.

Regarding Volkswagen’s official position on US duties, Kosmocar’s public relations head. Elias Tsounis He told SKAI.gr that “the Volkswagen Group is closely monitoring the United States’ decision to impose a 25% duties on imports of passenger and light professional vehicles. It is currently in the process of internal evaluation, as it is still premature to accurately assess the potential implications.”

“Volkswagen Group considers the US market of strategic importance. With Invest in more than $ 14 billion In recent years and creating thousands of jobs, contributing significantly to economic growth. Volkswagen shares the view that new duties – as well as potential countermeasures – may have negative consequences for the international economy, automotive industry, supply chains and consumers. It remains consistently committed to the principles of free trade, open markets and constructive dialogue between commercial partners. Despite developments, there is a restrained optimism that logic will prevail, ensuring stability and smooth continuation of trade relations “ Added Mr. Tsounis.

For his part, Mr. Alexis GalanopoulosPublic Relations Officer of the Spanos Group – Exclusive Representative of DFSK, Seres, Dongfeng, XEV and BMW and Mini Authorized Distributor noted that such unilateral and sudden decisions can cause serious damage to the world market.

“European automakers with significant export activity in the US have already seen the price of their share fall significantly. On the other hand, our experience from the recent EU duties on electric cars has shown that many manufacturers are trying to absorb these increases instead of The road and the Europeans. “At this stage we can only wait” Mr. Galanopoulos ended.

The cars that will be affected are those that are imported from America appreciates Mr. Sotiris Floropoulosused car dealer. According to Mr Floropoulos, there is currently a 10%increase in cars coming from America, to add VAT, which depends on the country where the buyer is located. The new Trump duty regime will further burden cars manufactured in America. Therefore Tesla, Cadillac cars (though the latter are not particularly popular in our country) etc. They are very likely to be affected. In relation to the competition of electric cars from China, according to Mr Floropoulos, it is much cheaper, so there is no question of competition. Finally, in terms of used vehicles he himself predicts that no significant impact is expected to be recorded

According to figures announced by ELSTAT, in the period January – December 2024, 243,796 cars (new or used) were released for the first time. The new cars released in January – December 2024 are 148,276.

More generally in Europe in 2024 the offer of used vehicles increased by 5% compared to the previous year.

Abroad

It is estimated that with the measures taken by Trump the US will have $ 100 billion revenue a year.

According to the BBC, the US was entering about 8 million cars totaling $ 240 billion last year.

In 2024, European automakers sent cars worth € 38.4 billion on the opposite bank of the Atlantic, a 4.6% decrease in the previous year, according to the European automaker, ACEA.

Trump wants US and non -US automakers to build in America, otherwise they will “suffer costs”.

However, not all rosy: By imposing duties on Canadian and Mexican car spare parts, Trump will “break” supply chains that took decades to create, explains Howard Glekman. US automakers will be faced with increasing costs and restrictions on supply that do not apply to their German and Japanese competitors, which will hurt their profits and jobs in the US. Also, any impact on workers on extensive US car -car industry support networks cannot be overlooked. And factories with large car production lines are not built from one moment to another.

Even Tesla by Ilon Musk, Trump’s government official, who has large factories in California and Texas, will not be completely unhappy with duties. In a post on X on Wednesday, Musk acknowledged a “significant” impact on the company.

Japanese automakers will be among those who will be significantly affected by sanctions, with Tokyo announcing retaliation.