Trump’s auto manufacturing claims clash with industry data

President Donald Trump has been visiting various cities to rally support for Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections. During one of his rallies in Baltimore, he claimed that his administration has drawn automakers back from at least five countries and touted the growth of the industry, especially the opening of more vehicle manufacturing plants across the country. However, some of his claims seem to be exaggerated or inaccurate.

Trump stated, "We didn't build a car plant for 44 years in this country. Now we're building more car plants than we ever have in history." While it is true that vehicle factories have been opened in the United States during the past four decades, the U.S. is not currently building more auto manufacturing plants than it has ever had.

Over two dozen major new vehicle assembly plants were established in the U.S. during this period, as reported by Autos Drive America, with some existing plants being bought, retooled, or repurposed.

Despite these inaccuracies, Trump has indeed seen significant automotive manufacturing movement under his leadership. Recently, Rivian broke ground on a second factory in Georgia, while the Hyundai Motor Group's Metaplant America opened in Georgia. Under Trump's first term, Mazda and Toyota announced a joint vehicle facility in Huntsville, Alabama, and Volvo's first U.S. plant opened in South Carolina. These developments in recent years align with trends observed over the last two decades.

Experts agree that the U.S. has been producing cars for its consumers for a long time, with the likelihood of a Honda-made in the U.S. being higher than elsewhere. Additionally, car factories have been built regularly over the past few decades. The White House credited more than $50 billion in investments by automakers to Trump's trade agenda, citing projects such as Toyota's $10 billion investment and Stellantis' $13 billion expansion plan.

Ford, General Motors, and Mercedes-Benz are also investing around $15 billion in their respective projects. The White House spokesperson, Taylor Rogers, stated that the President has "launched a manufacturing renaissance" with trillions of dollars in investments.

However, not all of Trump's accomplishments can be solely attributed to his administration. Similar to Trump's term, the U.S. has also seen the opening of both new and retrofitted auto plants under President Joe Biden. For instance, Rivian reopened a former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois, and Lucid opened a plant in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Tesla opened an all-new Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, while Ford began construction on the BlueOval City, a complex for EVs and batteries, in Stanton, Tennessee. General Motors also announced plans to invest $7 billion in EV and battery plants in Michigan, while Vietnamese automaker VinFast announced plans to build an EV plant in North Carolina.

As of today, there are a total of 51 light vehicle assembly plants operating in the U.S., slightly down from 52 five years earlier.