President Donald Trump has announced that "tiny cars" would be produced in the U.S.
The White House Says Tiny Cars Are Coming To The U.S.
In a post on the social media platform X on Sunday, the official White House handle shared a video of what appears to be a die-cast model of the Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) Hilux pickup truck. "President Donald J. Trump has approved TINY CARS to be built IN AMERICA!" the post said.
The announcement comes as Trump, on Friday, posted on the social media platform Truth Social, calling the cars "inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient and, quite simply, AMAZING!!!" He also urged manufacturers to build the vehicles in the U.S.
"Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries," Trump said, adding that the cars can be propelled by gasoline, hybrid and electric powertrains.
Source: Donald Trump via Truth Social
He had earlier hinted at the cars during a White House press briefing, calling the segment a "really cute" car that is available in South Korea, Japan and other countries, Trump said.
He added that he authorized Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to "immediately approve" the production of the cars, touting affordability, mentioning companies like Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE:HMC). Duffy mentioned that Toyota, as well as other companies, could kick off production of the cars if they wished to.
EU's E-Car Class
The news comes as the EU is reportedly mulling regulations that would allow kei cars to be produced and sold in the bloc, as Chinese EV giant BYD Co. Ltd. (OTC:BYDDY) (OTC:BYDDF) hinted at possibly bringing its kei car from Japan to Europe if regulations allowed.
In Japan, kei cars are the smallest, expressway-legal category of cars with engine sizes capped at 660cc for ICE-powered versions. In Japan, cars come with tax benefits for owners, which have now been reduced.
BYD has also been steadily growing in the European market, with the UK being the largest market for the automaker outside of China. BYD sold 11,271 vehicles in the UK during September.
Trump's CAFE Rollback
The news comes as Trump recently rolled back CAFE norms in the U.S., which was hailed by Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) CEO Jim Farley as a move that will drive affordability in the auto industry.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that the rollback was a “big deal” as it would lower the costs of cars and trucks in the U.S. by “thousands of dollars.” He has also recently challenged vehicle safety features like automatic emergency braking and rear seat child occupant alerts, which he says drive up costs for vehicles.
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