News

UK-made vehicles imported into the US will be hit with a reduced tariff of 10%, president Donald Trump has announced, but only for the first 100,000 cars exported.

It follows more than a month of negotiations between UK ministers and US officials after president Trump revealed sweeping levies on foreign-made products. This included a 25% tariff on new cars imported into the US. All levies were due to start on 1 April, but a 90-day reprieve was given so negotiations could take place.

Details on the new deal are currently sparse, but the US confirmed that the 10% tariff - which brings it in line with the levy on other foreign goods – will apply to "100,000 cars". This suggest anything over that number would be hit by the higher 25% figure. Previously, before Trump's March announcement, the tariff was 2.5%.

However, Starmer did confirm that "we have scope now to increase that quota - this is not final". 

Last year the UK sent some 102,000 cars to the US market. The US is the British car industry's second largest export market, behind the EU, with 27% of all UK-made vehicles sent to the market in 2024, accounting for some £9bn a year.

On the new tariff, Starmer added: "That is a huge and important reduction."

No details were given on the proposed 25% tariff on car parts - which was due to begin in the coming months.

While details have yet to be fully confirmed, it is said also confirm new deals on food, chemicals, machinery and industry. Tariffs on steel and aluminum have been reduced to 0%.

The UK is the first nation/market to reach an agreement with the US following president Trump's tariff announcement in March. China is said to be the next, said the US.

Announcing the deal from the White House's Oval Office, president Trump said: "I’m thrilled to announce a breakthrough trade deal. The agreement with one our closest and most cherished allies.

"Final details are being written up and will be detailed in the coming weeks."

Without detailing, he added that the deal gets rid of many US to UK tariffs that “unfairly discriminated” against US. “They are opening up their country. Their current is a little closed," said Trump.

Starmer added: "This is a really fantastic historic day. A real tribute to the history we have of working together. This [deal] is going to boost trade."

In response to the news, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders boss Mike Hawes said: "The agreement to reduce tariffs on UK car exports into the US is great news for the industry and consumers.

"The application of these tariffs was a severe and immediate threat to UK automotive exporters so this deal will provide much needed relief, allowing both the industry, and those that work in it, to approach the future more positively."

Thursday's news marks a major step down from president Trump's end of March announcement, where he signed a bill that penalised all car makers that import cars into the American market.

At the time, Trump said the decision was made because of the imbalance of American-made car sales in other markets, and claimed the move would lead to "tremendous growth" for the US automotive industry. Around eight million cars were imported into the US last year, approximately half the total sold in the market, most were from Mexico, Canada Germany and Japan.

The news will offer relief to the UK’s car makers, especially JLR (Jagaur Land Rover) – which counts the US as its biggest market sending 130,000 cars there in 2024 – after it last month paused shipments to the US as it worked to “address the new trading terms”.

The likes of Mini, too, will welcome the news, given the Mini Cooper – a car which has recorded a near-doubling in US sales so far this year – is produced at its Oxford plant. However the larger Countryman, made bigger in its most recent generation as part of a US market push, is made in Germany where the 25% tariffs remain.

Tariff negotiations between the EU and US are still ongoing.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.

The new Mercedes-Benz CLA, Europe’s longest-range and most efficient electric car, has gone on sale priced from £45,615.

With deliveries to start this summer, the entry-level CLA 250+ with EQ Technology will be capable of driving up to 484 miles between charges, Mercedes claims, and will still manage some 420 miles if driven exclusively at motorway speeds.

These figures mean the CLA EV leapfrogs all other electric cars available in the UK. That includes Mercedes’s own flagship EQS 450+, which manages 481 miles per charge from a 118kWh battery.

That car costs a whopping £112,610 – some £65,000 more than the CLA EV’s opening price. The rest of the CLA EV's range is priced at £49,3751 for the AMG Line Edition and £51,7701 for the top-spec AMG Line Premium Edition.

The remarkable range figure is thanks to Mercedes’ efforts to minimise the CLA EV’s energy consumption: it has a nickel-managanese-cobalt (NMC) battery of just 85kWh in capacity.

This means the CLA EV achieves an efficiency figure north of 5.0mpkWh – which many manufacturers consider the key to taking EVs to the next level.

However, while it promises an impressive range figure, the CLA is unable to use any 400V DC charger - a common standard across the UK and Europe. Mercedes confirmed that "charging at 400V charging stations is not possible", meaning owners will be limited to using newer - and less available - public charging stations.

PUNCHY BUT FRUGAL

The CLA EV’s impressive range figure is in no small part thanks to its aerodynamic design. Although the car is larger than its predecessor in every dimension (25mm wider, 25mm taller and 30mm longer), much work went into minimising its frontal area, and smoothing the flow of air around it.

For example, the wheels are set further in-board of the arches than its predecessor. Small inlets on the front bumper (and corresponding outlets at the rear) guide the flow of air around each corner, relatively undisturbed by the alloy wheels’ flush-faced designs.

The efforts net a slippery drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.21, just behind that of the EQS (0.20) and ahead that of the Tesla Model 3 (0.22).

The CLA EV’s new rear-mounted permanent magnet motor is also significant to its efficiency. It uses a new silicon-carbide inverter that brings greater output in a smaller package, reducing weight, while the engineers claim its torque density is boosted by the magnets being inserted in a double-V formation, concentrating their field.

The motor also gets a Porsche Taycan-style two-speed gearbox, rather than the usual single-speed reduction gearing. This has a short (11:1) first ratio for improved off-the-mark acceleration and better efficiency at town speeds and a significantly longer (5:1) second ratio for less consumption at a cruise.

The powertrain puts out 268bhp, which allows the CLA 250+ to complete the 0-62mph dash in 6.7sec.

The four-wheel-drive CLA 350 4Matic with EQ Technology gets an additional 107bhp motor with a single-speed gearbox on its front axle, giving a combined output of 349bhp. This cuts its 0-62mph sprint time down to 4.9sec, making it quicker in a straight line than the V8-engined C55 AMG of 20 years ago.

This additional motor is decoupled from the front axle when it isn’t needed, reducing energy losses to friction by 90%. This means the four-wheel-drive CLA EV can still manage 478 miles per charge – a smaller disparity compared with the rear-driven version than is typical of most other EVs.

Braking primarily relies on the motors’ regenerative effect (which can provide up to 200kW of stopping power), helping to keep the battery topped up.

The CLA EV can be rapid-charged at rates of up to 320kW, thanks to its 800V electrical architecture, allowing for a 186-mile top-up in just 10 minutes.

In addition to the 85kWh battery, a 58kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) pack will be added to the line- up shortly after launch.

This will almost certainly bring a significant price cut but also reduce the CLA EV’s range to around 300 miles.

Autocar can reveal that a hot AMG CLA 45 EV is inbound, too, with a pair of Yasa-developed axial flux motors providing more than 500bhp and a raft of extensive modifications aimed at bolstering its performance and dynamics. 

ADVANCES IN COMBUSTION TOO

The new CLA will also be offered in hybrid form. Specifically designed to fit in the same space as the EV’s front motor, its powertrain pairs a new 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a small, 1.3kWh battery and a 27bhp electric motor. These combine to send either 134bhp or 161bhp through the front wheels or, in the range-topping 4Matic model, 188bhp to all four wheels.

According to Mercedes, the engine achieves “diesel levels of fuel efficiency”, suggesting an MPG figure comfortably north of 50.

As part of a push for parity from Mercedes, the hybrid CLA will be priced on a par with the CLA EV, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius recently announced. This is thanks to cost savings of some 30% in battery production bringing the EV’s overall price down by around 15%.

The EV will go on sale first, around October, with the hybrid following a few months later.

Joining the saloon will be a new CLA Shooting Brake. This estate car is earmarked to arrive in the UK early next year with both powertrain options, so its unveiling will most likely take place at September’s Munich motor show.

STAR-SPANGLED

In a first for Mercedes, the CLA hybrid and CLA EV will look almost identical inside and out, as well as sharing a model name. This marks an end to Mercedes’ strategy of entirely bespoke EVs being developed to sit alongside their combustion-engined equivalents, such as with the E-Class and EQE.

The CLA also ushers in a dramatic new look for future Mercedes models, emphasising the brand’s three-pointed star logo.

The motif features in the CLA’s headlights and rear brake lights, and the EV also gets a flush front grille with no fewer than 142 backlit stars. They surround the main front badge, which is also backlit. In the US, the outer ring of the badge itself is lit, but EU legislation prevents this.

The CLA hybrid is differentiated by a traditional open grille, needed to provide cooling airflow to the engine.

NEW-LOOK INTERIOR

Inside, the new CLA takes on a sportier character than its more luxurious stablemates. The front seats have chunky side bolsters, for example, and there are more exuberant material choices, such as a combination of black and white Alcantara and faux leather with red stitching.

The dashboard is designed around the latest iteration of Mercedes’ Superscreen, whose three digital displays (a 10.25in one for the instruments in front of the driver; a 14.6in infotainment one centrally; and, optionally, a 14in one for the front passenger) span its entire width.

Thanks to Mercedes’ latest MB.OS operating system, the screens can be used to play video games such as Fortnite while on the move or stream shows and films via Netflix and other such services.

The system also features the latest iteration of Mercedes’ virtual assistant, which blends various artificial intelligence functions (ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft Bing) to provide more accurate answers to questions.

In cars without the Superscreen, the passenger screen will be replaced with a glass panel with LED-backlit star logos, which match the interior’s ambient lighting.

Boot space is rated at 405 litres, which is 55 litres down in the old CLA’s but, in a first for a modern Mercedes, the EV gets a frunk that adds another 101 litres of storage space.

Not so long ago, the hatchback was the most popular car body style in the UK, but there's a new chart-topper in town: the small SUV. 

In fact, three of the last five years have ended with a small SUV atop the UK's best-selling cars list.

They're certainly not to everybody's tastes, but there's no denying they offer several benefits that make them ideal for a wide customer base. 

They offer a more commanding view of the road ahead than lower-slung hatchbacks while maintaining similar amounts of space inside.

Styling has come a long way too, with many of the best small SUVs adopting similar design cues to their brand's range-topping models. 

Cars like the Nissan Juke pioneered this class, but it's the Dacia Duster that leads the way today. We rate it highly for space, style, off-road ability and, most of all, its class-leading value for money. 

But which other small SUVs are worth considering? You will find our considered list below, featuring the very best of the segment.

Each car has been rated by our expert panel of reviewers, who have collectively driven every new car on sale today.