Automakers and parts suppliers would struggle if President-elect Donald J. Trump followed through on his threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.

The popular wisdom had become that he wasn’t really that serious, and the key bit of evidence for that was his nomination of hedge fund investor Scott Bessent as his Treasury Secretary, someone seen as a moderate when it came to tariffs compared with others whose names were floated for the role.

Donald Trump's pledge to slap tariffs on imports to the U.S. from Mexico could be more damaging for European car makers like Volkswagen and Stellantis and their suppliers than any direct tariffs on EU goods,