President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed his policies have triggered a wave of new car-factory construction across the United States, saying investment is flowing in from Mexico, Canada and China. But a Reuters investigation, examined here, finds that much of this activity is something else entirely: automakers unwinding electric-vehicle commitments made under his predecessor and retooling factories they already own.
From EV hub to petrol pickups
The clearest example comes from General Motors. In 2022, under the Biden administration, GM announced a multibillion-dollar plan to convert a suburban Detroit factory into a hub for electric pickup trucks. In June 2025, the company said it would instead retool that same plant to build petrol-powered pickups and the Cadillac Escalade SUV, reversing much of the earlier plan. GM has also cut output at one of its main EV factories, citing weak demand.
Stellantis, the maker of Jeep and Chrysler vehicles, has scrapped plans for a battery plant and parts hub at its Belvidere, Illinois complex, according to the United Auto Workers union. Automotive News has separately tracked cancellations and delays to EV programmes at Honda, Tesla, Hyundai and Kia through 2026.
A policy reversal, not a factory boom
The shift traces back to Trump’s first day in office in January 2025, when he signed the ‘Unleashing American Energy’ executive order, revoking Biden’s target of having EVs make up 50% of new vehicle sales by 2030. That target was never binding, but it had shaped billions of dollars in industry planning, including state-level efforts such as Georgia’s aggressive courting of EV and battery manufacturers, including Rivian and Hyundai-affiliated suppliers. Those Georgia commitments have since slowed or faltered, according to Grist and the Georgia Recorder.
The consultancy AlixPartners has tracked a sharp rise in US auto capital investment during the Biden years, driven largely by the industry’s collective bet on EVs, followed by a pullback as the policy environment changed. Meanwhile, EV sales have continued to grow only modestly, from roughly 7% of new car sales to about 7.5% year over year, far short of the abandoned 50% goal.
“We have so many car company factories under construction or being designed right now. And they’re coming from China. They’re coming from Mexico.” — Donald Trump, President of the United States, quoted by Reuters via CBC
The White House has pointed to record vehicle sales at Ford and GM in 2025 and 2026 as evidence of an industry revival. But Reuters’ reporting, along with accounts from the UAW and industry analysts, suggests the underlying pattern is one of retooling and retreat from EV commitments rather than the fresh factory-building boom the administration describes.
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