US President Donald Trump, in a major move in the ongoing tariff, has announced a flat 25 per cent tariff on automobiles made outside of the United States. This means that all cars entering the US or imported to the US that do not have a manufacturing history in the US will suffer the burden of tariffs.
This news has come as a major blow, especially in Asia, which houses some of the biggest automakers in the world.
Toyota Motor Corp
World’s largest automaker, the Japanese automaker Toyota, saw its shares plummet in the intraday trade on Thursday.
The company shares listed on the Tokyo Exchange dipped by a colossal 2.04 per cent or JPY (Japanese Yen) 59. This took the overall value of Toyota shares to JPY 2,828 per share.
Another major Japanese company, whose prospects in the automaker market have looked grimmer with the ever-increasing competition, is Honda.
Honda Motor Co Ltd
Honda, which looked to forge an alliance with other Japanese carmakers, including Mitsubishi and Nissan (which eventually fell apart), also saw a major cut in its stock prices.
The dramatic decline suffered by the company amounted to 2.48 per cent or JPY 37. This took the overall value to JPY 1,456.
Interestingly, Honda found a mention in Trump’s speech, wherein he made the announcement of the tariffs. Trump claimed that the company had invested in the US, and is looking to expand itself.
Despite that, the company shares have seen a steep decline of JPY 38.50 or 2.58 per cent in the past 5 trading sessions.
Hyundai Motor Co
From Tokyo, as we move Seoul, the story is no different. Korean car company Hyundai, another bigwing in the global business also suffered in the intraday trade.
The company shares dipped by an even greater margin. The total value shrunk to KRW (South Korean Won) 2,12,500. This was affected by a KRW 9,500 or 4.28 per cent in the day’s trade so far.
In India, the story was no different, as major carmakers in the country also saw their shares hit in intraday trade. Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bajaj Auto were some of the auto companies, that were trading with cuts today.
