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Aston Martin is limiting the number of cars it ships to the US as it scrambles to cope with Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Adrian Hallmark, the luxury carmaker’s chief executive, said on Tuesday that the company had restricted exports and was instead letting US dealerships run down stock.
The US is one of Aston Martin’s biggest markets. It sold 1,928 cars in the Americas last year, accounting for nearly a third of sales.
Mr Hallmark said: “We are carefully monitoring the evolving US tariff situation and are currently limiting imports to the US while leveraging the stock held by our US dealers.
“We remain vigilant in monitoring events and will respond to changes in the operating environment as they materialise.”
Aston Martin said it will be able to avoid Donald Trump’s tariffs until June after shipping high volumes of cars across the Atlantic earlier this year in a bid to beat levies.
The luxury carmaker said the move will give it a breathing space to consider how much it needs to raise US prices by should the tariffs stick.
Mr Hallmark said: “It’s a situation that’s in free float. Whilst the tariffs have been imposed, there are lots of discussions going on about a UK-US trade agreement, and that is possible. We’re very optimistic about that and the Government we know are very focused on it.”
The move comes after Mr Trump imposed 25pc tariffs on foreign cars and parts, although he announced on Tuesday he would scale back some duties after pressure from the industry.
The tariffs have caused chaos in the car industry, disrupting sales and imports. Jaguar Land Rover suspended all shipments to the US earlier this month.
Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, which owns brands including Fiat, Peugeot and Chrysler, on Wednesday both withdrew forecasts for this year because of the uncertainty caused by the global trade war. They follow similar announcements from General Motors and Volvo earlier this week.
Stellantis reported a 14pc slump in first quarter revenues to €35.8bn (£30.4bn), with North American sales down by almost a fifth.
Volkswagen, meanwhile, reported a 40pc drop in sales since the start of the year, warning of the impact from the global trade war.
Aston Martin’s decision to restrict shipments to the US came as Mr Trump watered down his tariffs on the car industry after manufacturers warned they would cause sharp rise in prices. Sales have spiked in recent weeks as customers rushed to purchase vehicles before higher prices came into effect.
Car tariff climbdown
In an executive order signed during a visit to the manufacturing heartland of Michigan last night, the president scaled back some of the steepest levies and offered credits to companies that make their vehicles in the US.