Trump Slaps New 25% Tariffs On South Korean Cars

Plus, Jaguar is sticking to its electric-only strategy and EV charging companies notch a big win.

CM Metaplant Battery

Photo by: Patrick George

Tim Levin

By: Tim Levin

Jan 27, at 9:00am ET

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Welcome back to Critical Materials, your morning roundup of electric-vehicle and auto tech news. On Tuesday's menu: Donald Trump drops the tariff hammer, Jaguar is still going all-electric and EV charging policy gets a win.

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25%: Auto Tariffs Are Back For The Koreans

2026 Hyundai Kona Electric

Photo by: Hyundai

The auto industry spent months grappling with the shifting reality of President Trump's various tariffs after last April's "Liberation Day." Now the Hyundai Motor Group is taking yet another hit.

On Monday, Trump said he would raise tariffs on a variety of South Korean goods, including cars.

“South Korea’s Legislature is not living up to its Deal with the United States,” Trump said in a post on his social media network, Truth Social. “Because the Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative, I am hereby increasing South Korean TARIFFS on Autos, Lumber, Pharma, and all other Reciprocal TARIFFS, from 15% to 25%.”

The South Korean conglomerate that includes the Kia and Genesis brands makes lots of its cars—electric and combustion-engined—in the U.S., including at the new Metaplant in Georgia. But a lot of its vehicles are imported from its home country too. What interest us most are the hybrids and EVs. And there are a lot of them.

The Sonata Hybrid, Tucson Hybrid and Hyundai Kona Electric are all brought in from South Korea. As are the Kia Niro EV, Sportage Hybrid and Sorento plug-in hybrid. Perhaps most importantly—for EV nerds at least—is the Ioniq 5 N. Hyundai's ridiculously fun, gear-shifting hot hatch, is imported.

Of course, Trump could strike a deal, or a "framework" of one, or backpedal. But as things stand, Hyundai will pay the price sooner or later. And its customers could too.

50%: Jaguar's Controversial EV-Only Plans Are Here To Stay

Jaguar Type 00 Concept

Photo by: InsideEVs

It's tough to forget Jaguar's epically controversial rebrand in late 2024. There were models dressed in funny outfits. There was a chunky blue concept car. And there was a plan to make the storied British brand fully electric.

Despite reporting to the contrary, that's all still in the cards, Jaguar says. The Times of London recently reported that Jaguar was considering adding gas engines to its electric platform to create extended-range EVs.

Jaguar is pushing back, telling various outlets that it is indeed still committed to an electric path. “Our plans to reinvent Jaguar as an electric-only luxury automotive brand are unchanged,” a spokesperson told Automotive News Europe.

The production car based on that wild Type 001 concept will go on sale this year, for a price of $130,000. And early reviews of prototype vehicles signal that Jaguar has a solid EV on its hands.

Jag's brand overhaul may have missed the mark. But I'll give it this: The automaker is staying consistent in an era when so many others are falling back on good old gasoline.

75: Judge Shuts Down NEVI Pause

Alpitronic EV Chargers

Photo by: Alpitronic

In the early days of the latest Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation stopped Joe Biden's signature EV charging program in its tracks. Some $5 billion set aside for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program was effectively frozen.

Twenty states sued to get the money flowing again, and it partially has been thanks to a preliminary injunction from a federal judge. Now there's more good news for the charging industry.

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Tana Lin of Washington ruled that the DOT "defied the will of Congress" by withholding funds. She also barred the government from interfering with it further.

Climate and EV groups cheered the move. "We’re pleased that the Judge’s final decision creates some certainty at last and allows states to move forward and get their highway charging up and running," said Joel Levin, executive director of Plug In America.

The rollout of chargers has been slow-going. But industry experts expect installations to grow dramatically over the next few years, especially with the funding freeze out of the way. Today's count: somewhere between 121 and 150 sites, according to analysts cited by E&E News.

What do you think?

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