Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign town hall meeting hosted by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Thornton in Flint, Michigan, U.S., September 17, 2024 Des presided over.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
DETROIT – Shares of foreign automakers, including those from China and Germany, fell sharply Wednesday on concerns that the United States will raise tariffs on imported cars under President-elect Donald Trump.
European traded stocks BMW and Mercedes-Benz dropped by about 6.5%, while Porsche dropped by 4.9%, Volkswagen down 4.3%. Shares of Chinese automakers listed in the U.S., such as rickshaw and Nioh They also dropped by 3.3% and 5.3% respectively. OTC stocks BYDThe company, which is not publicly listed in the United States but can be purchased through brokers, fell 4.5%.
Trump has repeatedly said he would raise tariffs on many products, including new cars and trucks from China, Europe and Mexico, where many automakers, including those from Europe, have established manufacturing centers.
Shares of Japanese automakers traded in the U.S. Toyota Motor and honda cars They closed up less than 0.5% and down 8% respectively on Wednesday. Both companies also reported lower quarterly earnings earlier in the day.
Trump made multiple statements on tariffs during the campaign, including calling for More than 200% Duties or taxes imposed on vehicles imported from Mexico. He also threatened to increase imports of European cars, as he did during his first term.
German automaker stocks
Honda Executive Vice President Shinji Aoyama Warning costs increase If tariffs increase, it will have an impact on the company’s operations. He said Honda produces about 200,000 vehicles a year in Mexico, of which about 160,000 are shipped to the United States.
“It’s a big impact,” he said, discussing the company’s latest financial performance. “It’s not just Honda…every company is facing the same situation. In short, I don’t think tariffs are going to be imposed anytime soon.”
Aoyama later added, “Maybe we will go to other places for production that are not affected by U.S. tariffs.”
Most major automakers have factories in the United States, but they still rely heavily on imports from other countries, including Mexico, to meet U.S. consumer demand.
General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler parent company star There are also factories in Mexico. The same goes for Toyota and Honda, modern-Kia, Mazda, Volkswagen and others.
Under the previously negotiated North American Free Trade Agreement and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that replaced it, automakers increasingly view Mexico as a cheaper place to produce cars than the United States or Canada.
Both Trump and Democrats have said they believe the trade deal negotiated by Trump during his first term needs to be revised to address potential plans by Chinese manufacturers, such as BYD Build a car factory in Mexico and export cars to the United States
“They think they’re going to build cars in Mexico and sell them through our production line and we’re going to take them and they’re not going to tax them,” Trump said late Tuesday. “We’re going to charge them – I’m telling you right now – I’m going to put a 200% tariff on them, which means they can’t be sold in the United States.”
Wall Street analysts have speculated that such tariffs may be exaggerated because Trump planned to impose tariffs of up to 25% on imported U.S. cars during his first term, but the plan did not materialize.
“To be clear, we do not expect the Trump administration to likely impose aggressive new tariffs (i.e. 100%+). But the challenge for investors will be around rhetoric, especially with USMCA renegotiated in 2026. Trade uncertainty That could put pressure on autos, as we saw from 2018 to early 2020, during the height of the U.S.-China trade war and NAFTA negotiations, Wolff analyst Emmanuel Rosner said in an investor note on Wednesday. As you can see, the stock market as a whole is underperforming.
Bank of America’s John Murphy had similar thoughts: “We expect a tougher stance on trade and tariffs, although we believe policy changes will be more modest than announcements to minimize business disruption.”
—CNBC Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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