Hyundai Motor Group has reportedly donated $1 million (approximately 1.47 billion won) to the inauguration of Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States. This amount is the same as the donations made by General Motors (GM), Ford, and Toyota.
On Nov. 11, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quoted sources saying, "Officials from South Korea's largest automobile manufacturer Hyundai Motor have been in contact with associates of president-elect Trump after the U.S. presidential election and hope to have a private meeting with the president-elect," adding, "Moreover, Hyundai has donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund through its North American subsidiary." According to the report, this is the first time Hyundai Motor Group has donated for a U.S. presidential inauguration.
WSJ also reported that GM, Ford, and Toyota have each donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. Additionally, unofficial commitments of $1 million have been made by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon; Tim Cook, CEO of Apple; Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta.
WSJ analyzed, "Fears regarding tariffs imposed by president-elect Trump are growing among the world's largest automobile corporations," noting, "These corporations are striving to strengthen their relationships with Trump and his senior advisers."
According to Reuters, the Trump administration is working on a plan to abolish the current regulations that provide up to $7,500 in subsidies for electric vehicles under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States. The IRA is a bill that provides subsidies for batteries produced in the U.S. and the electric vehicles that use them.
If the universal tariff of 10-20% that president-elect Trump is considering is implemented, Hyundai is expected to directly suffer from its export performance. The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade projects that when universal tariffs are imposed, South Korea's automobile and secondary battery manufacturers' exports to the U.S. will decrease by 2.7% and 6.7%, respectively.
President-elect Trump is especially targeting China, Mexico, and Canada. He has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 20% on goods if these countries do not work to stop drugs or the influx of immigrants into the United States.
Research firm Wards Intelligence estimates that about 16% of vehicles sold in the U.S. last year were produced in Mexico. Additionally, 7% were imported from Canada.
Wards Intelligence also estimated that approximately $100 billion worth of auto parts are exported to the U.S. from Mexico and Canada each year. They estimated that if tariffs are imposed, the average price of finished vehicles sold in the U.S. could rise by about $3,000.