By Kosaku Narioka

Asian auto stocks rose as President Trump's comments on potential tariff exemptions for carmakers further lessened fears about escalating trading frictions between the U.S. and its trading partners.

Toyota Motor shares were recently 4.9% higher on Tuesday in Tokyo, Honda Motor was up 3.9% and Nissan Motor was 3.0% higher. In Seoul, Hyundai Motor was up 4.6%, while Jaguar Land Rover-owner Tata Motors was 4.7% higher in Mumbai.

President Trump said Monday that he was considering some short-term tariff exemptions to help car companies that are looking to switch making parts from Canada and Mexico to the U.S.

"They need a little bit of time because they're going to make them here," he said about the parts, without giving additional details.

The comments came after the U.S. administration late Friday announced tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and several other electronics products, leading to a relief rally in Asian markets on Monday.

Trump said that he exempted smartphones and certain electronics from recent tariffs in order to help U.S. companies, including Apple.

The Trump administration's 25% tariffs on foreign-made automobiles took effect on April 3. The U.S. government said components that are compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement would remain tariff-free until it develops a system to measure their U.S. content.

Automakers are scrambling to respond to the tariffs, which could hurt sales or damage profitability in the U.S. market.

Earlier this month, Nissan decided to continue two shifts for producing the Rogue midsize crossover SUV at its Tennessee plant, scrapping an earlier plan to scale back to one shift in order to maintain localized production volume in the U.S.

In March, Hyundai said it would invest an additional $21 billion in U.S.-based car manufacturing and supply chains for critical materials. Trump credited the South Korean company's investment to his aggressive use of tariffs.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 15, 2025 01:50 ET (05:50 GMT)

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