Penticton car dealerships brace for uncertainty amidst trade war

Okanagan car dealerships are bracing for a slowdown, facing uncertainty brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs within the automotive industry which could limit car manufacturing and raise prices on new vehicles.

The U.S. and Canada are in the middle of a rollercoaster trade war that has seen changing terms on a sometimes daily basis. The automotive industry is in the crosshairs, with both threatened and realized tariffs focused on new vehicles and parts coming across the border.

Multiple Okanagan dealerships said they have not see significant changes yet or increases in pricing coming into play due to the tariffs, or lack thereof depending on the day, but expect that may change months down the road.

“There isn't a lot of stress yet. We're thinking about the unknown. We don't really know what or how it's going to be affected,” said Scott Barber, Penticton Nissan general manager.

“Nissan is in a good spot with their model lineup in general. We just have to roll with whatever comes our way, similar to a few years ago, when we had to roll with what was given to us with COVID. We'll do the same here.”

Penticton Toyota general manager Larry Pidperyhora Jr. said he thinks the trade war does weigh on people's consumer habits and their planning for the future.

“There's definitely some questions, and unfortunately, we're not in a position to be able to give all the crystal ball answers that I think some people would like, but for the most part, these people that are coming in, they've had orders with us for a while. Their cars are already built and allocated and secured and en route,” he said.

Pidperyhora said in his experience, nothing that has been announced so far in terms of tariffs has had a trickle-down effects to dealership consumers yet.

But Jim Tabler, dealer principal for Parkers Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat, said they have seen an impact since the tariffs were introduced in regards to consumer spending.

“Initially, what we saw was a reluctancy of people to want to really get out and be buying or shopping because of the uncertainty of everything that was going on,” he said.

As people realized nothing was immediately changing for cars that were already at the dealership being sold off their lots, they began to come back.

“We have actually started to see things getting busier,” Tabler said

He said one thing the dealership is prepared for is that new vehicles are going to get more expensive in the future and he believes that will drive up the cost of used vehicles.

“Supply is going to be affected. It starts with parts moving back and forth across borders. The assembly of these vehicles, where the final assembly is actually done, in a lot of cases, is in North America,” Tabler said.

All dealerships agreed that now is the time to buy.

“There could be price increases, but for now, everything's staying the same,” Barber added.

The estimations is price may change in a few months.

Tabler said manufacturers are now looking other ways to produce these vehicles.

“You're starting to see a lot of conversation about, how can we produce these vehicles in other countries and potentially bypass the United States in some of these situations?” he said.

“Time is going to tell. We don't know where we're going to be at with the tariffs just yet.”

Photo: Casey Richardson