The biggest brand-new thing yet in the large SUV sector has sustained a price hit.

TRUMP tariff shock isn’t explicitly cited, but seems implied, as to why a giant American sports utility wagon soon to show up here has been hit by a surprise price increase.

Announcement this week that right-hand-drive re-engineering of the GMC Yukon is under way comes with a sting.

The gargantuan eight-seater passenger petrol guzzler set to show from this month is one of three General Motors Speciality Vehicles to become more expensive.

Sticker shock also wallops the Chevrolet Silverado pick-up this sports utility wagon derives from, the ZR2 version of the Corvette, sports car and the Cadillac Lyriq electric SUV in its two versions, but to lesser degree.

Last week the Silverado and the Corvette went up $3500, and the Cadillacs have just registered a $2000 lift. Whereas the Yukon is now $5000 more than the original launch price, announced last November when the model was confirmed.

The shift from $179,990 then to $184,990 from now has one silver lining, in that it’s a equivalent lift in dollar terms to one sustained in Australia, but less of an impact when exchange rates are considered.

GMSV has attributed the new price, which of course doesn’t include on-road costs, to exchange rate changes and other cost increases.

“Due to ongoing foreign exchange rate volatility and cost increases, we have needed to review our pricing,” a GM spokesperson told media in Australia.

The global car industry, especially brands shipping into and building cars in the United States for local sale and/or export, has been in turmoil since March 27, when President Donald Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on those products. A measure he assured as permanent then might yet be put on hold for a month, according to reports today.

GMSV’s pricing and product strategies were decided well before Trump’s ideals were enacted, ostensibly to protect and elevate the popularity of ‘all-American’ vehicles - a category the GMSV models would logically fall into. The tariffs will not, as every vehicle made in America appears to rely on global components, which attract penalties under the Trump plan.

Yukon is being sold in its swish Denali format. The model starts out from a factory located - fittingly in ‘bigger than’ Texas, then ships to Australia for conversion to RHD by Walkinshaw Automotive Group in Melbourne.

It outfits with a beefy 313kW/624Nm 6.2-litre V8 to match its massive street presence. The Denali has 24-inch rims, lots of chrome, a 16.8-inch infotainment touchscreen, an 11-inch digital instrument cluster, a 15-inch head-up display, adaptive air suspension, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a digital rear-view mirror.

GMSV managing director Jess Bala has proposed the type has potential to “redefine premium family transport … (through) combining eight seats, incredible cargo room, the latest in premium technology, and easy towing with an advanced V8 engine for effortless progress.”.

In its home market, Yukon Denali is rated as being capable of a 3.8-tonne braked towing capacity, which means it, betters the 3500kg ratings offered by LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol.