Fact check: Trump’s claims about auto industry hyperbolic but not entirely untrue

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump included a shout-out to Detroit's auto industry in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, saying he "halted government mandates that crippled America's great, beautiful autoworkers, so we can get the Motor City revving its engines once again."

Michigan's auto companies had been in the midst of a resurgence before Trump was elected in November 2016, having had record sales that year, topping seven years of growth after General Motors and Chrysler were steered through structured bankruptcies — and aided by billions in federal investment — during the Obama administration.

Trump wasn't specific about which regulations he was referring to, but his administration has moved to relax fuel efficiency standards mandated under earlier rules for cars and light trucks in model years 2021-2025 — help that carmakers said they wanted, though environmentalists and state officials in California have protested the change.

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Whether that has led to any increase in auto production is questionable — U.S. sales dropped slightly in 2017 and further slippage is expected this year — but what is not is another mention made by Trump about Michigan — that Fiat Chrysler was moving production from Mexico to the state. Earlier this month, FCA said it was investing more than $1 billion to modernize the Warren Truck Plant and add 2,500 jobs as it moves production in 2020 of its Ram Heavy Duty trucks. The company said that move was made possible by a new federal tax law pushed by Trump that slashed the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.

Trump's full comments on Detroit and the auto industry:

"In Detroit, I halted government mandates that crippled America's auto workers — so we can get the Motor City revving its engines once again.

"Many car companies are now building and expanding plants in the United States — something we have not seen for decades. Chrysler is moving a major plant from Mexico to Michigan; Toyota and Mazda are opening up a plant in Alabama. Soon, plants will be opening up all over the country. This is all news Americans are unaccustomed to hearing — for many years, companies and jobs were only leaving us. But now they are coming back."

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In addition to FCA's Warren announcement, Toyota and Mazda this month announced plans to build a $1.6 billion plant in Huntsville, Ala.

Analysts believe FCA's move and other steps reflect fear of potential effects of a reconfigured North American Free Trade Agreement that punishes vehicle importing.

"The president has scared car companies into assembling more vehicles in the U.S.," University of Michigan business professor Erik Gordon said in an email.

The Toyota-Mazda joint venture in Alabama is the only brand new standalone plant announced by a major automaker since Trump's inauguration.

It's not the first in decades. Several automakers have built new plants in the U.S. in recent decades, including General Motors, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.

USA Today reporter Nathan Bomey contributed to this article. Contact Todd Spangler: 703-854-8947 or at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tsspangler.