MUMBAI: Some auto and ancillary stocks saw strong selling on Thursday after the US imposed a 25% import tariff on these products, effective May 2025. Tata Motors, which exports over 20% of its Jaguar-Land Rover cars to the US, closed 5.6% lower and led the pack in Thursday’s session.
Among others, Sundaram Fasteners lost 4% while Ashok Leyland was down nearly 3% and Samvardhana Motherson 2.2%. The move by the Trump administration to impose 25% tariff on key automobile components from May 2025, will compress the operating margins of Indian component manufacturer-exporters by 125-150 basis points (100bps = 1 percentage point) from 12–12.5% range, assuming full absorption of tariffs, Crisil Ratings senior director Anuj Sethi said.
“About a fifth of the revenue of India’s auto component sector is derived from exports. Of this, 27% is to the US market alone. The operating profitability of indirect suppliers — who supply to tier 1 suppliers or OEMs in other countries with end destination in the US — would also be impacted,” Sathi wrote in a note.
At close of trading, BSE’s auto index was down 1%. In the broader market, the sensex gained 318 points to 77,606 points — its eighth session of gains in the last nine days — with foreign funds continuing to buy. On the NSE, Nifty gained 105 points to 23,592 points.
According to Prashanth Tapse of Mehta Equities, the domestic markets held on to their recovery gains despite fluctuating sentiments influenced by tariff concerns and renewed optimism among foreign funds. At the same time, “global markets faltered on fears of a trade war impacting US economic growth and inflation. Looking ahead, the market’s focus would shift to key events including US inflation data and upcoming tariff decisions,” Tapse said.