The GM logo is visible on a water tank of the General Motors assembly plant in Ramos Arizpe, in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, February 11, 2021.
Daniel Becerril | Reuters
While car actions reacted to the last price announcement in Washington, DC, Thursday, General Motors gained the weight of the blow.
GM shares fell by more than 7% in trade Thursday, by far underforming tastes Ford And Stelllantiswhich loses more than 3% and approximately 1%, respectively. Tesla The stock was essentially unchanged for the day.
The divergence stems from the quantity of vehicles that GM imports and its exposure to Mexico in particular.
“Tesla and Ford seem to be the most protected location of vehicle assembly installations, although Ford faces additional exposure on imported engines,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote on Thursday in a note. “GM has the most exhibition in Mexico.”
President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration would impose 25% prices on “all cars that are not made in the United States” and certain automotive parts. The executive decree signed on Wednesday allows a certain leniency for the components which comply with the agreement of the United States-Mexico-Canada, but it was not immediately clear what relief that could offer to the North American automotive industry.
General Motors’ actions fall after the Trump rate announcement.
Mexico represented 16.2% of vehicle imports in the United States as a percentage of sales in 2024, according to GlobalData. It was most of all countries, about double the actions of South Korea and Japan, which ranked second and third respectively in terms of import volume.
According to Dan Dan Levy research, around 52% of GM vehicles sold in the United States in the first three quarters of 2024 were assembled in the United States. This leaves 30% assembled in Canada and Mexico, and an additional 18% have been brought from other countries.
Levy also stressed that GM is based strongly on Mexico and South Korea for the production of some of its small multisgments, including its equinox and blazer vehicles.
“About half of the US GM sales are produced in the United States, but imported parts are a concern,” he said.
During the same period, 57% of Stellantis vehicles and 78% of Ford vehicles sold in the United States were assembled in the United States. Levy reported that Stellantis had gathered 39% of its American units in Canada and Mexico, and Ford, only 21%.
Emmanuel Rosner of Wolfe Research said that prices mainly affect car manufacturers abroad, but have noted that 15% of US GM vehicles come from South Korea.
John Murphy from Bank of America said that compared to the wider automotive market, GM is “relatively exposed to prices” and may need rebalance.
GM action is down 13% over a year. Actions fell sharply at the end of January after investors feared that the car manufacturer did not respond to concerns concerning the tariffs in its last report on the results.