Mazda and Subaru revealed gross sales numbers for the primary quarter of 2025, with every model posting file numbers for the month of March. Mazda gross sales jumped by 16.1 p.c in comparison with March 2024, whereas Subaru noticed a 16.6-percent improve. The large positive aspects might need one thing to do with tariffs. 

Mazda North America moved 43,097 autos within the month of March, essentially the most within the model’s historical past. The CX-50, the CX-70, and the CX-90 all noticed file gross sales, and even automobiles just like the Mazda3 sedan and the MX-5 Miata elevated gross sales by double-digit proportion factors. In the meantime, automobiles like Mazda3 hatchback and the CX-30 have been down by double digits. The ageing CX-5 was down solely barely year-over-year. General, Mazda bought 43,097 autos in March 2025, versus simply 37,119 autos throughout the identical month in 2024.

Subaru of America managed to promote 71,478 autos in March, beating the corporate’s earlier single-month file of 70,039 automobiles set in August 2019. The Crosstrek, Legacy, and Outback have been the largest gainers, every posting double-digit proportion will increase in comparison with March 2024. The Forester had its finest month ever, promoting over 22,000 items. Each mannequin noticed will increase in gross sales in comparison with the identical month final yr, save for the Ascent and the WRX. 

Troy Poston, senior vp of gross sales at Subaru, credit the file month to “retailers’ unwavering dedication to delivering excellent service” and “constructing relationships by means of reliability and buyer satisfaction.” However there is likely to be another excuse for the boon in gross sales: tariffs.

The Trump administration tariffs, set to enter impact on Thursday, goal all foreign-built automobiles and automobile components, together with autos coming from Japan. Automobile pricing is predicted to rise by $3,600 on common, in accordance with analysts. Fashions from Mazda and Subaru are anticipated to be among the many most closely impacted.

A well knowledgeable client would, theoretically, need to keep away from paying extra for a automobile if they’d the possibility. So it is seemingly many potential consumers determined to make journeys to the dealership earlier than the tariffs come into impact, avoiding the inevitable will increase in value.

That is simply hypothesis proper now, after all. We cannot know the true impacts of the tariffs till later this yr, when present stock dries up. However one thing tells us these positive aspects might be short-lived—and never only for Mazda and Subaru. The entire business is about to undergo a significant shift.