General Motors executives are closely tracking President Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, but the company is not yet making any major changes to its strategy in North America.
The automaker has pulled together an “extensive playbook” of possible options but won’t put them in place “until the world changes dramatically, and we see a permanent level of tariffs going forward,” the company’s chief financial officer, Paul Jacobson, told reporters in a conference call on Monday evening.
“We’ve been preparing for that and want to make sure that we are prudent and don’t overreact,” he added.
Mr. Trump said last week that he planned to impose tariffs of 25 percent on goods from Canada and Mexico starting Saturday, Feb. 1. If he follows through, the tariffs would deal a big blow to G.M. and other automakers that produce vehicles and components in those countries, and probably increase the prices of many vehicles sold in the United States.
G.M. produced nearly 900,000 vehicles in Mexico in 2024, more than any other carmaker, and most were shipped to the United States. Among them are the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, as well as the Chevrolet Equinox sport-utility vehicle, all top-sellers and big sources of profit for the company. G.M. also produces some Silverados and electric delivery vans in Canada.
In a separate conference call on Tuesday, G.M.’s chief executive, Mary T. Barra, said the company could increase production at U.S. pickup truck plants and send more of the trucks that it produces in Canada and Mexico to other countries, instead of exporting them to the United States.
“We have capacity in the United States to shift some of that,” she said. “We are working across our supply chain, logistics network and assembly plants so that we are prepared to mitigate near-term impacts” of tariffs.
G.M. said on Tuesday that it lost $3 billion in the final three months of 2024, stemming from a $4 billion noncash expense related to a restructuring of its joint venture operations in China. The company’s revenue in the quarter rose 11 percent.
For all of 2024, G.M. reported a $6 billion profit, down from $10.1 billion in 2023. Almost all profit came from North America.
Mr. Jacobson said G.M. expected to earn between $11.2 billion and $12.5 billion in net income in 2025, a forecast that does not include the potential impact of tariffs or other policy changes.
He also said G.M. expected a modest decline in sales of internal-combustion vehicles this year.
G.M. shares were down about 10 percent on Tuesday afternoon, mainly on concerns about tariffs. “Trade policies could be detrimental for demand and thus pressure profits,” Jeff Windau, an analyst at Edward Jones, said in a research note.
In its earnings report, the company said its electric vehicle business was making progress toward becoming profitable. The company produced about 189,000 electric vehicles in North America last year — short of its goal of 200,000 — and hopes to produce about 300,000 in the region in 2025, Mr. Jacobson said.
G.M.’s electric vehicle business may also suffer if Mr. Trump and Republicans in Congress repeal or reduce Biden-era tax breaks that make those cars and trucks more affordable and give companies incentives to manufacture batteries in the United States.
Ms. Barra said the company has stressed in its conversations with Congress and the White House the importance of a strong manufacturing sector and American leadership in advanced technologies. “We believe the president wants to use policy and regulations that will strengthen and not harm domestic manufacturers like G.M.”
She also said that G.M. has a broad portfolio of internal-combustion engine and electric vehicles and is confident they will continue increasing the company’s U.S. market share.
Because of the company’s strong performance in North America, G.M. said it would pay bonuses of up to $14,500 each to 46,000 members of the United Automobile Workers union who work in its U.S. plants.
