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Car Makers Trail US High-Grade Market With Levies Set to Hit

(Bloomberg) -- Automakers’ bonds weakened in US debt markets on Thursday after President Donald Trump slapped 25% tariffs on car imports and warned of a broader trade war ahead.

Risk premiums, or the extra yield over Treasuries that investors demand, rose on recently issued notes from US units of Volkswagen AG and BMW AG. For example 5.35% Volkswagen notes due 2030, sold just last week, widened by 0.24 percentage point to 1.35 percentage point. The broader market is on track to weaken by less than a basis point.

Concerns about tariffs are weighing on new bond sales as well. In the junk bond market, French auto supplier Forvia SE is boosting the yield on its first US dollar offering to draw in sellers.

The latest troubles for automakers’ debt reinforce a trend that’s been in place for much of the year: the companies’ bonds are lagging the broader US market. Spreads on a bond index tracking high-grade car makers have widened by 26 basis points this year through Wednesday, while spreads on the broader high-grade corporate market have widened by 10 basis points.

Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday for 25% tariffs on car imports, going into effect on April 3, a levy that will expand to major parts like engines and transmissions a month later. The taxes threaten to boost the cost of vehicles and cut into sales, potentially weighing on profits for manufacturers. Share prices for the companies broadly fell on Thursday.

Among the other investment-grade bonds that have trailed the market are BMW 5.4% bonds due 2035, whose spreads widened by about 6 basis points to 122 basis points, according to Trace. Bonds from Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Co. similarly trailed the market.

Funding costs are rising for automakers, with Volkswagen, Toyota Motor Corp., Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Hyundai Motor Co. potentially most vulnerable to this pressure, Bloomberg Intelligence credit strategist Joel Levington wrote in a note on Wednesday.

“Unlike past years, new issuance has turned out poorly for bondholders, as bonds have lost value on average post issuance, in contrast to tightening during initial price talk,” wrote the analyst.

(Updates data in second paragraph, adds chart.)