Motherson, Tata Motors, M&M, Sona Blw stocks jump up to 10% as Trump mulls pausing auto tariffs 

Shares of auto companies saw strong buying on Tuesday, in sync with broader market, as sentiments were lifted by report that U.S. President Donald Trump is exploring a pause in auto tariffs he recently imposed on the sector. The Trump administration, which announced 25% tariffs on imports of autos and auto parts, is considering giving time to car manufacturers to adjust their supply chains.

“I'm looking at something to help some of the car companies with it,” Trump said while briefing the media at the Oval Office about auto tariffs.

Cheering the news, Indian automobile companies - Tata Motors , Samvardhana Motherson , Sona Blw Precision Forgings , and Eicher Motors - which has exposure to U.S. market witnessed strong buying, rising up to 10% in opening trade. Meanwhile, the equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty were up over 2%, led by auto index, which surged over 3%.

In the BSE Sensex pack, Tata Motors was the top gainer, rising as much as 5.5% amid hopes of exemptions on auto tariffs by President Trump’s administration. Auto heavyweights Mahindra and Mahindra , Maruti Suzuki India , Hyundai Motor India , and Hero Motocorp were up between 2-5%. Among others, Eicher Motors, SML ISUZU, Ashok Leyland, and OLA Electric Mobility were also flashing in green.

The shares of Tata Motors has corrected around 27% in the last 3 months, including the 17% drop since last week of March when the U.S. announced 25% tariffs on imports of autos and auto parts. The company’s U.K. subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), has a significant presence in North America, which accounted for 32% of its total sales volume in FY25.

Meanwhile, auto parts maker Samvardhana Motherson International saw its stock price surging up to 10% on hopes of U.S. tariff relief. Samvardhana, the country’s largest auto component exporter, has significant exposure to the U.S. market as it generates a substantial portion of its revenue from supplying automotive components to North America. Vivek Chaand Sehgal-led Motherson, which operates over 400 units in 44 countries, has several auto component units in Mexico which mainly cater to the U.S. market. Mexico contributed 4% to the company’s revenues in FY24. 

In a similar trend, Sona Blw Precision Forgings shares jumped 8% amid broad-based rally across the auto sector. Gurugram-based Sona BLW, which gets over a third of its revenues from EV component exports, has manufacturing facilities in Mexico among other countries.

ICRA in a recent report said that Trump’s 25% tariffs on automobiles and auto components could have a negative impact on revenue and earnings for India’s component exporters over the next few months. The credit rating agency, however, added that these tariffs could create long-term opportunity for Indian parts exporters as higher tariffs are being levied on other competing nations. India’s auto components exports accounted for around 29% of industry revenues in the financial year 2023-24. Of this, about 27% was to the U.S.

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