Why Ford says Donald Trump may be good for the auto industry

“The problem is we aren’t seeing the full picture of what deal has been negotiated and what Trump is actually going to be able to get done this year”.

“Mr Trump I think wouldn’t want us to produce cars and only export to Mexico”.

Also on Monday, Ford made room to praise Elaine Chao, who is Trump’s pick for Transportation Secretary.

Despite its recent announcement, Toyota said it would not pull back on plans to build an assembly plant in central Mexico in 2019.

Ford announced on January 3 that it would instead spend $700 million for a plant expansion in Flat Rock, Michigan.

The way Bill Ford tells it, you’d think he and Donald Trump are like two old buddies chitchatting all the time about cars, economics and taxes.

In 2011, following its bailout of two Detroit vehicle companies, the White House declared a “quiet resurgence” was under way in American manufacturing, led by an auto industry poised to invest.

In July 2015, Trump said Macy’s stores “suck” and that they were “bad for U.S.A”.

Worse for Mexico, it has little leverage against these potential changes, according to Blanco. Another big factor, he says, is the value of the United States dollar relative to other currencies.

Auto giant, Ford Motor Company, has announced their decision to cancel plans to build a new plant in Mexico.

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Marchionne said that he has not spoken with Trump or anyone on the presidential transition team. Automakers are pushing for the Trump administration to allow them more latitude in meeting President Barack Obama’s miles-per-gallon target of 50.8 mpg by 2025. Meanwhile, production of more profitable SUVs and pickup trucks mainly is in the U.S. The hybrid will be made in the United States in 2018 at an existing plant, and Honda said it would boost investment at its transmission plant in Georgia.

Queue the fawning USA political class now gleefully perpetuating the illusion that the new president-elect of the United States is anything but a huckster. “I’m not saying “we” Nissan, “we” all carmakers. we will adapt to any situation on the condition that this is one rule for everybody”. The Detroit auto giant imported an estimated 33,000 Buick sport-utility vehicles from China this year, becoming the first major auto maker to tap a factory there to fill USA showrooms.

Trump has used Twitter to express himself on assorted subjects, including his desire to see vehicles sold in the U.S. built in the U.S. His Twitter storms can cause industry consternation. On the campaign trail, Trump lashed out at Ford for plans to shift production of some cars to plants in Mexico.

“We do not make our investment decisions based on administrative cycles”, Woebcken said on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show.

So how should companies respond to Trump?

“The auto manufacturers have to consider the incoming administration as they make announcements regarding the production of vehicles”, said Efraim Levy, financial analyst at CFRA.

Vehicle industry executives representing Asian, German and American brands all touted USA investments, as the automotive conclave opened to media and industry insiders.

“He’s not (dictating Ford’s business moves)”, Ford said.

“I need clarity”, he told reporters in Detroit.