Car buyers weighed their options at the Twin Cities Auto Show, navigating the tough terrain of an auto industry in flux.

“It’s been hectic,” said DeAngelo Parker, who was looking at vans with his wife Regina.

Tariffs on auto imports are in place, and there are taxes on auto parts imports set to go into effect in May. The couple said it’s been on their mind as they shop for a vehicle.

“Price, price, price, that’s the biggest thing,” said Parker. “The biggest concern right now, we are really worried about the price.”

The uncertainty is propelling people to buy.

“People are a little jittery, thinking, ‘Well if I’m going to buy a car in six months, maybe I’ll look at it now instead,’” said Scott Lambert, the president of the Auto Show. “The dealers, their inventory is going down a little bit faster than normal.”

He explained dealers buy their vehicles 90 to 100 days in advance, so there is plenty of selection on the lots with pre-tariff price tags.

Still, nationwide, the 30-day weekly sales pace at the end of March was up 17.2% compared to late February, according to Cox Automotive. The auto industry analyst also said its data showed inventory dropped 10.2% during the month of March with Lexus, Toyota and Honda having the lowest supply.

Minnesota dealers are already ordering 2026 models, according to Lambert. The impact of the tariffs is uncertain as current models leave the lot.

“They’ll sell vehicles for as long as they can under the pricing they have,” said Lambert. “We’re all just waiting to see, are the manufacturers going to absorb these prices? Are they even going to happen? Is it just going to be on certain pieces of the car?”

Drew McLaughlin plans to buy a new vehicle in the next six months to a year after deciding not to rush the decision despite the tariffs.

“The sad part is I think we realize in six months or more that could be a big extra cost with tariffs,” he said, acknowledging inventory could also be a challenge. “If a car goes out, you want a car pretty quickly after that, so I guess you almost have multiple options for what you’re interested in.”