Tesla and Ford have the most to lose among US automakers on China's new tariffs

Tesla and Ford have the most to lose among US automakers when China announced Friday to reimpose a 25 percent rate later this year on US vehicles entering the country.

Kristin Dziczek, vice president industry, labor and economy of the Center for Automotive Research, is one of China's leading exporters of US-made vehicles in China, alongside Daimler's BMW and Mercedes-Benz. , a non-profit research firm in Ann Arbor, Mich.

While General Motors and others make significant sales in China, they have local production facilities and joint ventures with Chinese companies that protect them from customs duties. GM produces the vast majority of its vehicles sold there in China.

Mercedes-Benz exports cars to China from its Alabama factory and BMW sends cars from its factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, China. The exported models include the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE. Tesla is currently exporting all of its vehicles sold in China from its Freemont, California facility.

In a note from last April, Brian Johnson, a Barclays analyst, referring to the uncertainty of US-China trade, said Tesla could be the US carmaker most affected by a trade war with China.

Tesla would avoid some of the price increases once the company has completed construction of its Gigafactory 3 plant in Shanghai, China. The company started the $ 2 billion plant in January. Production should begin by the end of the year.

The 25% tariff, as well as 5% on automotive parts and components, is expected to come into effect on December 15th. China had suspended tariffs in April. The Chinese State Council on Friday announced auto car tariffs as part of new US $ 75 billion worth of war goods, as part of the war. ongoing commercialization between the country and the United States.

Representatives of Tesla and BMW did not immediately respond to comment. Mercedes-Benz declined to comment.

Ford declined to comment on the direct impact of the 25% tariff but said the company "is the largest exporter of assembled vehicles in the US and we are only a net exporter to China".

"We encourage the United States and China to find a short-term solution to the ongoing negotiations on the outstanding issues," Ford said in a statement sent to CNBC. "It is essential that these two important economies work together to promote a balanced and fair trade."

John Bozzella, who chairs the ad hoc group "Here for America", which includes VW, Daimler and BMW, said "uncompromising fares, in the absence of serious negotiations, are hurting the auto industry American ".

"When these tariffs were originally imposed by China in 2017, US exports of finished vehicles dropped by 50%," he said in a statement. "We can not let this happen again for American workers."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk complained about the unbalanced and unfair trade relations between the United States and China.

During the October third quarter earnings review, Tesla said that manufacturing of its vehicles was 55% to 60% more expensive than "the same car" manufactured by Chinese producers. The Chinese market is "by far the most important" in the world for electric vehicles, Tesla said.

According to Tesla, the new facilities in China "will allow Tesla to locate the production of Model 3 and future models sold in China, with plans for the production of about 3,000 model 3 vehicles per week in the initial phase and the ramp-up of 500,000 vehicles per year when it is fully operational (subject to local factors, including regulatory approval and supply chain constraints). "

Tesla shares in mid-day Friday were down about 4% after opening at $ 219.97.