Automakers including General Motors Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. reported higher US auto sales as the threat of price hikes from President Donald Trump’s tariffs drove consumers to showrooms.

President Donald Trump will tout plans by Hyundai Motor Co. to invest $20 billion in the US, as the South Korean automaker moves to boost production on American soil and avoid his tariff threats, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Hyundai Motor, a South Korean conglomerate known for its automobiles, will invest $21 billion to expand manufacturing in the United States in what President Trump said was proof that his tariff policies were creating jobs.

“A lot of people look at a tariff as a punishment, but we’re not trying to punish them,” said Steve Bosarge, president of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, a trade association. “We just want to be at a level where we all can compete.”

Sunset Honda in San Luis Obispo sold half of their cars in March in the last 10 days of the month due to the uncertainty surrounding tariff impacts

Trump touted Hyundai's $5.8 billion in its first U.S. steel mill in Louisiana was a result of threatened tariffs on overseas manufacturing.

South Korean carmaking giant Hyundai has unveiled $21bn (£16.3bn) of investment in the US.The plan includes a new $5.8bn steel plant in the southern state of Louisiana.Hyundai also said it will expand its American vehicle production and invest billions of dollars in new technology including autonomous driving and artificial intelligence (AI).

U.S. President Donald Trump said Hyundai Motor’s investment “is a clear demonstration that tariffs very strongly work.”

It's the largest investment ever in the U.S. for the South Korean conglomerate according to its chairman Euisun Chung.