BMW Canada is preparing to restart imports of its U.S.-built SUVs, even though those vehicles face one of the steepest tariff penalties in the auto industry. According to Automotive News, dealers in Canada say shipments of the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7 and XM from BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina will resume in the coming weeks. Deliveries stopped this spring after Ottawa responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on global vehicle imports with its own 25 per cent levy on American-built cars.
The pause quickly drained inventory. Several retailers said their supply of Spartanburg-built models is now almost gone, leaving them with little to offer in BMW’s most popular segment. The X1 and X2, built outside the U.S., remain unaffected. BMW Canada declined to confirm the restart directly. In a written statement for Automotive News, spokesperson Barb Pitblado said the company is “actively exploring multiple avenues to ensure steady vehicle supply” but offered no further detail.
Core Products Caught in Tariff Dispute
The halt cut deep into BMW’s Canadian lineup. The X3 and X5 were the brand’s two best-selling models in 2024, with 7,128 and 4,489 units sold, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center. U.S.-assembled vehicles made up nearly half of the company’s Canadian volume that year. By the second quarter of 2025, sales of the X3 and X5 had fallen 25 per cent year over year. U.S.-built models accounted for 38.3 per cent of BMW Canada’s total sales in the quarter, down from 51.1 per cent a year earlier.
Growth From Overseas Models
Despite the hit, BMW Canada still posted a 5.3 per cent overall sales increase in Q2. Imports from Europe — led by the X1, i4 and 3 Series — filled some of the gap. Dealers, however, stressed that the X3 and X5 remain the backbone of their business, often representing more than half of store volume. There are also signs that the Canadian market will gain one more model in the near future – the plug-in hybrid BMW X3 which is manufactured in South Africa.
Resuming imports means absorbing a heavy tariff load. The Spartanburg-built X models do not qualify under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement because they contain only about one-third North American content. Engines and transmissions shipped in from Europe keep them far below the 75 per cent threshold, said Sam Fiorani, vice-president at AutoForecast Solutions.
That leaves the vehicles exposed twice: first to U.S. tariffs of 25 per cent on imported components, and then to Canada’s 25 per cent countertariff plus a 6.1 per cent most-favored nation duty. Combined, the burden is roughly 31.1 per cent. On a $100,000 SUV, tariffs alone add around $31,100.
Higher Prices Ahead
To manage the costs, BMW Canada plans to raise prices across its entire lineup, dealers said. Instead of pushing the increases solely onto the U.S.-built models, the company will spread them evenly, meaning even tariff-free vehicles will see higher sticker prices.
[Source: Automotive News]