President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imported automobiles and components months ago, all with an eye toward enticing automakers to increase domestic production. Thus far, that has been the case, as some of those companies have announced plans to move production from other countries to the U.S., though for Ford – which already has a large American manufacturing presence – it also provided a good opportunity to tout that fact. Now, Trump is praising Ford for the very same reason.
“Domestic auto production is up 18,000 cars a month and we haven’t even started yet because a lot of these plants aren’t built,” Trump said at a recent a White House Cabinet meeting, according to the Detroit Free Press. “It’s up 18,000 because Ford, General Motors and a couple of others, Stellantis, they’re taking their existing plants and, as quickly as they can, they’re adding onto them. The results of Ford – which just announced it’s going to create 4,000 new jobs, American jobs, Hyundai 14,000 new jobs. General Motors is moving production of the Chevy Blazer and Equinox from Mexico back to the United States where it belongs,” Trump added.
According to Sam Fiorani, vice president of Global Vehicle Forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, American automotive production has risen by a smaller figure – around 1,000 units in total – since Trump’s inauguration, with Ford building 8,400 more vehicles in the U.S. in the first seven months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. Ford didn’t comment on Trump’s claims that it would be creating 4,000 new jobs, but Hyundai Motor Group does plan to invest $21 billion in the U.S. between 2025 and 2028, and GM does plan to move production of the Blazer EV and Equinox from Mexico to the U.S. in the coming years.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has purchased a handful of Blue Oval vehicles to aid in recruiting efforts for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – including Ford Mustang GT coupes and Ford F-150 Raptor pickups.
