- Buyers pay more despite automakers publicly claiming prices remain stable or unchanged.
- Incentives have dropped while delivery and interest charges are quietly raising total costs.
- On top of that, tariff hikes are coming soon, with some brands already raising 2026 prices.
“Stealth is a good word for it.” That statement comes from Morris Smith III, a Ford dealer in Kansas and he’s not talking about a new paint color or trim. He’s talking about the way not just the Blue Oval, but automakers in general are raking in more cash while telling the public that prices are staying the same.
var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“0f7e3106-c4d6-4db4-8135-c508879a76f8”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“82503191-e1d1-435a-874f-9c78a2a54a2f”);
}
});
For folks deep in the car business, this is nothing new. But everyday buyers might not realize that MSRP is only the opening act of a much wider and more complicated play. The real cost comes from a mix of sneaky add-ons, reduced perks, and behind-the-scenes adjustments that don’t show up on the sticker.
Read: Mercedes Has A Tariff Plan For Trump That’s Brilliantly Fair If You’re Already On Top
We’ve ripped greedy dealers before for blatant markups, but that’s not what we see now. No matter how this debacle ends, and end it will at some point, Donald Trump’s tariff war is going to affect car prices one way or another.
Despite that, several automakers, including Ford, Stellantis, Hyundai,and others, have committed to keeping prices stable for at least a little while. According to statistics and some dealers, though, that’s only half the story.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Speaking to Bloomberg, Smith III laid out the setting: “On the consumer side, they’re seeing several thousand dollars of actual-experience price increase, whereas the factory is saying, ‘No man, we didn’t raise prices at all’.”
What he’s talking about are the other ways that manufacturers and dealers can make a profit without adding to the MSRP. For example, they can reduce incentives. They can increase the delivery and destination charges. They can even add a little to the price of cars on dealer lots, knowing that it’ll help them break even as costs increase throughout the year. Data shows that all of this is happening right now as we speak.
var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751”);
}
});
According to the Kelley Blue Book, the average sale price for cars increased 2.5 percent in April. That’s the largest single monthly increase in five years. Incentives fell to just 6.7 percent from a recent high of 10 percent. Then, to top it all off, zero-percent interest deals fell to their lowest rate since 2019. Sure, the MSRP might technically be the same, but all of these factors have buyers paying more right now, not months from now
Price Increases Are Inevitable
No matter how you slice it, even Ford, Subaru, Hyundai, and the rest will have to set higher prices to handle tariffs. There’s no way around it for the time being. “There’s nothing they can do to prevent this from having an impact,” said Kelley Blue Book editor Sean Tucker.
“There’s not a single cliff, but the date they run out of those pre-tariff cars, that’s when you’re going to see the most dramatic change. Dealers set final prices, and they’re dealing with the knowledge that for every car they sell, it’s going to cost them more to replace it than it used to,” he continued.
var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“b25ecba7-3bbb-4ea7-a3a8-dbea91695c07”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“e46c436a-adeb-4b5e-a2c7-56bc36561c10”);
}
});
According to AutoNews, several brands are committed to increasing prices. Mercedes will likely jack up prices on 2026 models by 3 to 5 percent. BMW will add an average of 1.9 percent to its 2026 cars. Volvo will add 4 percent. Subaru has already increased prices by 4.2 percent since November.
Other Methods To Watch For
Fewer incentives, larger delivery charges, and higher interest aren’t the only tools to recoup tariff charges as automakers have additional methods they can leverage. For instance, be on the lookout for models that suddenly lose features they used to have as standard.
That’s another way for automakers to save money while they charge clients the same MSRP as before. Technically, the car won’t get more expensive – it just won’t be as well-equipped.
On top of that, they don’t have to recoup costs on each and every model. They could instead make more expensive models even pricier to offset the losses incurred by low-cost cars . For example, while the next Ford Escape might be barely more expensive than the last, the next F-150 might cost considerably more to make up the difference.
To conclude, one thing is abundantly clear: don’t listen to the marketing blurbs or execs’ announcements. Cars simply are not going to get more affordable in the foreseeable future.
