Japan auto majors say they aren't passing tariff costs to U.S. consumers

Major Japanese automakers have denied to CNBC that they have raised prices in the U.S. because of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

That comes after a Nikkei Asia report on Thursday that stated that Japanese automakers are "passing some of the expense of U.S. tariffs through to American car buyers, a change from their strategy of absorbing the impact."

Japan was hit with 25% tariffs on automobiles in April, but that was lowered to 15% under a deal reached with the Trump administration on July 22.

Toyota , Japan's largest automaker, told CNBC on Thursday that when its U.S. affiliate raised prices in July, it was "not in response to the tariffs or prospects of increases, but rather a regular, annual price increase to reflect increases in various operational costs."