European Automaker Shares Drop on U.S. Tariff Threat

By Dominic Chopping

Shares in European automakers slumped Monday as investors reacted to the threat of further U.S. tariffs.

President Trump has threatened fresh tariffs on several European countries as he seeks to pressure Denmark into selling Greenland to the U.S.

BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche shares were all over 3% lower in early European trade, while Volkswagen and Ferrari shares fell over 2%. Volvo Car and Aston Martin shares dropped around 2%. Renault and Stellantis shares were around 1.5% lower.

Trump announced over the weekend that he would slap a 10% tariff on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland from Feb. 1, before rising to 25% from June 1.

It is still unclear if the new tariffs would be added to existing duties that were agreed last year.

Trump announced 25% auto tariffs on EU cars early last year, on top of an existing 2.5% rate, before softening his stance and bringing in a new 15% rate on cars and auto parts imported from the bloc. In the U.K., the 25% tariff was replaced with a 10% tariff for the first 100,000 vehicles, with anything above that threshold subject to a 27.5% duty.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 19, 2026 04:32 ET (09:32 GMT)