Trade policy is redrawing the map of where America's cars are built. Over the summer of 2026, automakers announced plans to move production of China- and Korea-built models to U.S. plants, and one brand lost access to the U.S. market for future models, as tariffs and a federal rule restricting Chinese connected-vehicle technology raised the cost of importing.
Ford brings Lincoln home
Ford plans to move production of some Lincoln models from China to the U.S. beginning in 2030, CEO Jim Farley told Reuters in an Aug. 12 joint interview with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as reported by Jalopnik. The Lincoln Nautilus, built in China and the main vehicle Ford imports from there, faces a 52.5% U.S. tariff, Ford confirmed. "We made this decision as soon as the policy of the administration was set," Farley said.
Tariffs were not the only pressure. In July, Sen. Bernie Moreno told Reuters that Ford had agreed to move Nautilus production to the U.S. and that GM would shift production of the China-built Buick Envision to the U.S. for the 2028 model year, Ford Authority reported. According to Ford Authority, the Nautilus's software is developed in the U.S. but installed in China, so Ford needs government approval under the Commerce Department's Connected Vehicle Rule to keep selling it. Ford Authority also noted that the Lincoln Corsair, due to return in 2027, had been slated for Chinese production.
Polestar shows the cost of staying put
Polestar has already felt the rule's full effect. On June 25, the company said the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security had decided not to grant it authorization under the Connected Vehicle Rule to sell vehicles in the U.S. from the 2027 model year onward. Polestar said it will continue selling existing Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 inventory in the U.S. and supporting customers, including service access, and noted that 94% of its retail volume in the first quarter of 2026 came from outside the U.S. The brand is focusing on Europe, where it plans to build the Polestar 7.
Hyundai moves its best-seller's hybrid to Alabama
Hyundai is applying the same logic to Korean production. Hyundai Motor Co. President José Muñoz said at the Automotive News Congress in Detroit in late September that the company will shift Tucson hybrid production from South Korea to its Montgomery, Alabama, plant and invest "about a half-billion dollars" in the state, Alabama Reporter reported, citing Automotive News. "We are bringing the Tucson hybrids to Alabama, and then we will also bring the Santa Fe," Muñoz said.
The investment will add engines and components and increase the plant's capacity for electrified powertrains. It follows an August announcement that the Alabama plant would launch up to five new models in 2027, including the all-new Tucson, the Tucson hybrid and a Santa Fe extended-range electric vehicle. To make room, Hyundai had already moved Genesis production from Montgomery back to South Korea, according to Alabama Reporter. Hybrids are driving Hyundai's growth in the U.S.: the brand's third-quarter hybrid sales rose 35% to a record.
The Tucson is worth the effort. When Hyundai revealed the next-generation model on Oct. 1, it said the U.S. accounts for about 20% of the Tucson's cumulative global sales and that hybrids made up 31% of U.S. Tucson sales in 2025. Tucson sales rose 23% to a third-quarter record in 2026, and the new model reaches North America in 2027.
Detroit's version
GM CEO Mary Barra told shareholders in July that the company "will be onshoring significant production to further reduce our tariff exposure." GM still estimates that tariffs will cut its 2026 EBIT-adjusted by $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion. Not every new dollar is going to U.S. plants, though: on Aug. 30, GM Canada announced about C$1.4 billion of planned investment at its Oshawa and St. Catharines plants in Ontario, even as U.S.-Canada trade talks broke down.
North America's trading partners are also pushing for different rules. The U.S. currently charges a 25% tariff on non-U.S. content in vehicles from Canada and Mexico, and Mexico has proposed applying tariffs only to parts made outside North America, The Wall Street Journal reported in August.
What it means
Relocating production is slow and expensive. Ford's Lincoln timeline runs to 2030, GM's Envision change is targeted at the 2028 model year, and Hyundai's Tucson move rides on an all-new generation of the vehicle. In the near term, buyers will see narrower choices among imports, starting with Polestar, which will sell only remaining inventory in the U.S. Over the longer term, more U.S.-built hybrids and luxury SUVs should reach showrooms, though tariffs on imported parts mean domestic assembly alone will not erase the cost pressure.