BERLIN, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The German automotive industry responded cautiously on Thursday to news that U.S. President Donald Trump has taken first steps towards the imposition of new tariffs on foreign-manufactured vehicles.

"Following repeated announcements by the U.S. president on this subject, it had to be expected that the U.S. administration would formally begin to assess the possibility of raising import tariffs on vehicles," a statement by BMW read.

The Munich-based carmaker was referring a process initiated on Wednesday night by Trump under a 1960s trade law to assess whether car imports could be justified on the grounds of a threat to U.S. national security.

BMW highlighted that free market access was a crucial factor in its own business model and one that also underpinned growth in the global economy as a whole.

Similarly, BMW's national competitor Volkswagen warned on Thursday unilateral protectionism had only ever served to produce economic harm in historical experience. Only free and fair trade could ensure increases in prosperity and allow carmakers to make long-term investments with a reasonable degree of certainty about the future.

According to media reports, U.S. import tariffs on foreign-manufactured vehicles could rise to 25 percent compared to a relatively low duty currently levied on most passenger vehicles brought to the country of 2.5 percent. The change would consequently lead to a significant rise in cost shouldered by the German automotive industry in the U.S. market.

Investors took fright at the news, with the share prices of major carmakers listed on the Frankfurt-based Dax stock exchange falling in Thursday trading.