Tata Motors shares tank 12% to hit 52-week low as JLR halts US shipments

Shares of Tata Motors Ltd tumbled as much as 12% in opening trade on Monday after the homegrown automaker’s British luxury unit JLR “paused” shipments to the US for the month of April amid Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on automobiles.

The US contributes nearly a third to JLR's global volumes, making it an important market for JLR's luxury brands like Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender. JLR accounts for nearly two-thirds of Tata Motors revenues.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are enacting our planned short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans,” JLR said in a statement during the weekend.

Reacting to the development, shares of JLR parent Tata Motors opened lower at ₹552.50 against their previous closing price of ₹613.85 on the BSE. The stock crashed 11.57% to hit a 52-week low of ₹542.55.

In the first eleven months of the financial year 2024-25, JLR sales increased 39% year-on-year in the US and its market share among the top-four premium OEMs (Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and JLR) increased to 10.9% from 8.4% in FY24, according to HSBC Research.

In Europe, including the UK, however, JLR sales decreased by 2% in the first 11 months of FY25, mainly from weaker demand environment, the brokerage said. “We expect (1) industry growth to remain weak given changing market regulations, (2) an increase in competition from Chinese OEMs and in general a weaker demand environment, and (3) JLR sales to grow in line with the industry,” it said.

Land Rover discounts and incentives declined by 9% in line with competition during January while Jaguar discounts increased by 11% due to outgoing models. “Overall, average incentives in the US per car for JLR incentives decreased by 6% over 3Q FY25 to $4,074, as incentives on Defender and Discovery declined,” it said.

Other auto stocks were also trading in the red. Shares of South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor India dropped as much as 6% to hit their lowest at ₹1,542.95 apiece on the BSE.