Ford Jumps the Border, Will GM Follow Suit?

Here in America, the political climate is about to take a major turn. Whether that turn ends up being for the better or for the worse, remains to be seen. All we can do is wait for the outcome to present itself, and cross our fingers that the apocalypse is not upon us. As unsettled as some Americans are regarding the next President of the United States, the free people have spoken, and in just ten days time, Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th POTUS. To say that President-Elect Trump is a controversial choice is putting it lightly. Unless you live under a rock, or have tuned out the pettiness of politics on purpose, then you are all-too familiar with the rhetoric swirling around our upcoming President. I will spare you the details, save for the fact that Trump has managed to both anger and invigorate our nation, simultaneously. As we wait and see what his presidential term will entail, it seems as though we are already getting glimpses into just how interesting it will get.

The automotive industry, in particular, has voiced concern regarding our next president. With uncertainties surrounding his lax energy policies, and push to keep business here on American soil – there has been plenty of controversy between Trump and major American automotive manufacturers since the election took place on November 8. While it hasn’t yet affected the willingness of Americans to take advantage of exceptional Chevy lease deals and low purchase prices, the extent to which President Trump will impact our automotive future remains to be seen.

Ford Jumps the Mexican Border

Perhaps the only time that President Trump will actively encourage a border crossing into the United States, happened in early January of this year when Ford abruptly changed its plans to move production to Mexico and out of the U.S.

Trump has long been a proponent of keeping jobs here on American soil, and with a tagline to Make America Great Again, it appears that he wasn’t too happy upon hearing that Ford planned to invest $1.6 billion into the Mexican economy. Rather, the company will open up shop in Detroit, Michigan, on a much smaller scale. The new facility will end up stimulating the U.S. economy by as much as $700 million, which is great news for America, regardless of which political party you side with.

Ford’s decision to scrap the project in Mexico has been a controversial one, with speculation and rumors circulating whether or not the company felt strong-armed by President-Elect Trump into making the change. In true Donald Trump fashion, the now president-elect took to the campaign trail and bashed the foreign investment by Ford every chance he got. Even taking to social media platforms like Twitter to announce his disapproval, Trump managed to call out many other automotive brands investing millions south of the border, including General Motors.

After receiving criticism from many regarding the decision to cancel the plant in Mexico and begin building a new facility here in the States, CEO of Ford Mark Fields issued a statement saying, “The main reason we’re not building the plant is because we’ve seen a decline in the overall demand for small cars in the U.S.” The planned plant in Mexico was going to be fully devoted to Ford’s lineup of small cars, which the company now claims is unnecessary. As much as this line of logic makes sense, less than two weeks ago, Fields told U.S. Investment News that Ford’s decision to move out of Mexico and back to the United States was a “vote of confidence,” specifically in Trump and his “pro-growth policies.”

Aside from stimulating the United States economy with the $700 million it will cost to build the facility, Ford is expected to employ 700 new citizens to staff the plant, and run it on a three-shift schedule.

Will GM Follow Suit?

From what we can tell, General Motors, the parent company of Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick, has no intention of changing course and moving out of Mexico. After Ford made its shocking announcement to keep small car production out of Mexico and here in the United States, General Motors felt increased pressure to do the same. Despite this, the company remained steadfast in its future plans, which includes investing millions across the southern border. The Chairman and CEO of General Motors CO, Mary Barra, clarified in a recent statement that the automotive giant does not plan to change production plans for building the Chevy Cruze Hatchback in Mexico.

Barra’s public declaration to keep production plans intact, spurred a Twitter response from our future president saying, “General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!” While some have criticized his Tweet as strong-armed and a borderline threat, Barra is not taking it as such. The CEO said in a statement that she and Trump have “Much more in common than we have different,” which is not surprising considering that both parties have built a successful career in business. While she declined to go into details regarding phone calls with President-Elect Trump, Barra did say that, “I think it’s safe to assume a company of our size with a significance and the number of jobs that General Motors provides in the United States that our staff is regularly talking to his staff and the communications are ongoing.” As it is true with many other aspects of the upcoming Trump administration, what that actually means only time will tell.

For now, it seems that GM and Barra are sticking to their guns, refusing to give in to pressure from Trump. As the inauguration approaches, and as President Trump serves the beginning of his first term in office, increased clarity regarding the future of the automotive industry will surely be brought to light. Until then, all we can do is wait and see what happens. Grab your popcorn, pull up your Twitter account, and cancel your cable subscription – because everything you need to see will be right there on the screen of your favorite Wi-Fi connected device.