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Foreign automakers warn costs in US will rise, jobs at

stake

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US car plants could see 30% drop in output - analyst

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Canada, Mexico car plants face hit to profits - analyst

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GM, Ford, Stellantis ( STLA ), Asian carmakers' shares slide

By Nora Eckert, Kalea Hall and David Shepardson

DETROIT/WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. automakers

and their global rivals were rocked on Wednesday by President

Donald Trump's announcement that he would impose 25% tariffs on

all vehicles and foreign-made autoparts imported into the United

States.

General Motors ( GM ) shares slumped 8% in after-market

trading. Shares in Ford and U.S.-traded shares of

Chrysler-parent Stellantis ( STLA ) fell about 4.5%

each. In Asia, shares in Toyota Motor ( TM ), Honda Motor ( HMC )

and Hyundai Motor ( HYMTF ) all fell around 3%.

Shares in Tesla, which makes all the cars sold in

the U.S. locally but with some imported parts, were down 1.3%.

Trump said the duties announced on Wednesday could be a net

neutral or even good for Tesla. He said the company's CEO and

his close ally Elon Musk did not advise him regarding tariffs on

autos.

These companies did not immediately return emails seeking

comment.

Nearly half of all cars sold in the U.S. last year were

imported, according to research firm GlobalData.

Autos Drive America, a group representing major foreign

automakers including Honda ( HMC ), Hyundai, Toyota ( TM ) and Volkswagen

, said the "tariffs imposed today will make it more

expensive to produce and sell cars in the United States,

ultimately leading to higher prices, fewer options for

consumers, and fewer manufacturing jobs in the U.S."

In his second term, Trump's tariffs and threats to impose

them have sowed uncertainty in businesses and roiled global

markets. On Wednesday, he reiterated that he expects the auto

tariffs to prompt automakers to increasingly invest in America

instead of Canada or Mexico.

Automakers in North America have largely enjoyed free trade

status since 1994. Trump's 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement

(USMCA) imposed new rules designed to increase regional content

production.

After initiating 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada in early

March, Trump allowed a one-month reprieve for vehicles produced

in compliance with the terms of his USMCA, which benefited

American companies.

The new rules do not extend that reprieve.

"Companies that have invested hundreds of millions and

billions of dollars on plants in Canada and Mexico will likely

see their profits cut dramatically over the next few quarters,

if not into a couple years," said Sam Fiorani, analyst at

AutoForecast Solutions.

"We're going to look at adjusting our sales and

production forecasts because this will throw everything into

chaos."

The White House said that 25% tariffs on automotive parts

imported to the U.S. will begin no later than May 3, taxing key

automobile parts including engines, transmissions, powertrain

parts, and electrical components.

Importers of automobiles under the USMCA will be given

the opportunity to certify their U.S. content so that only their

non-U.S. content is taxed, the White House said.

Cox Automotive, an automotive services provider, predicted

before the new tariff announcement that $3,000 would be added to

the cost of a U.S.-made vehicle and $6,000 on a vehicle made in

Canada or Mexico without exemptions.

If tariffs go through, by mid-April Cox expects disruption

to "virtually all" North American vehicle production leading to

20,000 fewer vehicles produced per day, or about a 30% hit to

production.

The United Auto Workers union, which represents factory

workers at Big Three Detroit automakers praised Trump's action.

"With these tariffs, thousands of good-paying blue collar

auto jobs could be brought back to working-class communities

across the United States within a matter of months, simply by

adding additional shifts or lines in a number of underutilized

auto plants," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement.