General Motors Chevrolet Traverse sport utility vehicles sit on the assembly line at the Lansing Township Delta Assembly Plant in Lansing, Michigan, February 21, 2020.
Jeff Kowalsky | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DETROIT — General engines hopes to surpass crosstown rival Ford engine to become the leading vehicle assembler in the United States in the years to come.
Mary Barra, GM’s CEO and chairwoman, announced the target Tuesday as the company reported 2025 results and gave a 2026 outlook that included between $3 billion and $4 billion in expected tariff costs.
“As we look further ahead, our annual production in the United States is expected to reach 2 million units, an industry-leading number,” Barra told investors, detailing previously announced plans to increase domestic production.
GM’s efforts to increase domestic production come as tariffs on vehicle imports into the United States will cost the company $3.1 billion in 2025.
Based on the vehicles Barra mentioned, GM could reach its goal as soon as 2027, depending on how quickly it ramps up production. Next year, the automaker is expected to add production of gasoline crossovers currently made in Mexico at plants in Kansas and Tennessee, as well as full-size SUVs and pickup trucks at a currently idled plant in Michigan.
In addition to helping GM reduce its expected tariff costs, hitting that auto production target would take the title away from Ford, which has touted it in its advertising and marketing efforts in recent years.
Ford, which bills itself as the “most American” automaker, will assemble 2.1 million vehicles in the United States in 2024, with 80% of its U.S. sales assembled domestically.
GM, meanwhile, is historically the top seller of vehicles in the United States, but was also the largest importer of new vehicles in America in 2024, Bloomberg News reported last year. It imported about 1.23 million units that year, accounting for nearly half of its U.S. sales in 2024, according to the report.
Trucks head towards the Ambassador Bridge to cross the United States into Detroit on April 1, 2025 in Windsor, Canada.
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images
Ford said it was proud to be the top U.S. auto producer since 2009 as well as the top exporter of U.S.-assembled vehicles.
“This is who we are and always have been, regardless of politics or pricing,” a Ford spokesperson said in an emailed statement to CNBC when asked about GM’s goal. “If other automakers that rely heavily on importing foreign-made cars into the United States are now ‘taking religion,’ that’s good news for American communities. But they have a long way to go to match Ford’s commitment to America.”
GM did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment or details about its current U.S. production.
GM’s expected tariff costs this year would be in line with the automaker’s $3.1 billion in tariff costs in 2025, despite the levies not being in effect year-round. This amount was actually lower than the automaker’s previously announced expectations of between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion in tariff costs last year.
“We have proactively managed our net tariff exposure, reducing it well below our initial expectations, through mutual aid initiatives and policy measures that support companies like GM that have substantial and growing commitments to the U.S. manufacturing industry,” Barra told investors Tuesday.
GM’s expected tariff costs could be higher this year, largely depending on tariffs on vehicles imported from South Korea.
President Donald Trump said Monday the United States would raise tariffs to 25% after South Korea’s parliament failed to approve the deal. Trump previously said the level would be 15%.
Barra said Tuesday that GM is “hopeful” that the United States and South Korea can finalize a new trade deal that includes a 15% tariff on vehicles exported to the United States from South Korea, a figure used in GM’s 2026 forecast.
“We’re really encouraging countries to complete the trade deal that they did last October,” Barra told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on “Squawk Box.”
GM is the second-largest U.S. importer of vehicles from South Korea, behind South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor. The Detroit automaker relies heavily on factories nationwide for entry-level vehicles such as the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Envista.