DETROIT — Shares of automakers were closed higher Monday after a statement was made by President Donald Trump that he is looking to “help some of the car companies” amid his 25% auto tariffs. It was said by Trump during a meeting Monday with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office that the automakers “need a little bit of time” to move their production to the U.S.
“I’m looking for something to help some of the car companies, where they’re switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places, and they need a little bit of time because they’re going to make them here,” Trump said without elaborating on the potential plans. “But they need a little bit of time, so I’m talking about things like that.”
The remarks sent shares like Ford Motor, General Motors and parent of Chrysler Stellantis higher, each gaining between 3% and 6% after earlier trading flat or in the red. Shares of Rivian Automotive closed Monday 4.9% higher, while shares of Tesla were unchanged. Shares of other automakers like Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and EV upstart Lucid Group closed higher by between 1.5% and 2%. A high-ranking auto industry official characterized Trump’s remarks as “some acknowledgment that this is getting rough for the industry.” Trump’s comments Monday follow close on the heels of implementing tariffs on imported automobiles on April 3 of 25%.
Despite reducing tariffs on most countries last week and giving tech companies such as Apple exemptions from the levies over the weekend, the automotive tariffs have remained in effect.
Automakers have responded to the tariffs in a variety of ways. Manufacturers that are mostly domestic, such as Ford and Stellantis, have announced temporary deals for employee pricing, while others, such as British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, have ceased U.S. shipments. Hyundai Motor also has said it would not raise prices for at least two months to ease consumer concerns.
GM has been strategically increasing some U.S. production, including upping output at a pickup truck plant in Indiana as well as canceling previously announced downtime next month at a facility in Tennessee.
“The company continues to update and revise production schedules as part of their standard process of evaluating and managing vehicle inventory as needed,” plant leadership said in a message to workers viewed by CNBC. “The previously announced downtime for the week of May 12th is being rescinded, which means full production in Vehicle Assembly will run as normal.”
