President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has approved “tiny cars” to be manufactured in the United States, although there isn’t a specific federal regulation prohibiting small micro cars in the US.
“I have just approved TINY CARS to be built in America. Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“They can be propelled by gasoline, electric, or hybrid. These cars of the very near future are inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient and, quite simply, AMAZING!!! START BUILDING THEM NOW! Thank you to the DOJ and the Departments of Transportation and Environment.”
The president also praised the idea during a televised Cabinet meeting Wednesday, telling his team he had been struck by “a very small car” he saw during his recent Asia trip, calling them “really cute.”
“How would that do in this country? And everyone seems to think good, but you’re not allowed to build them,” Trump said.
However, some of these small cars from Asia that Trump speaks of have been imported already, although not in significant numbers. There are local regulations on which roads they can drive on, and there are federal rules requiring certain levels of safety for car occupants in case of crashes.
But it has been mostly market forces, not regulation, that has stopped the production of ultra small vehicles in the United States. American car buyers have shown a desire for bigger trucks and SUVs, enough so that the traditional “Big Three” US automakers essentially stopped producing small sedans years ago. Some imported models, such as the Daimler-Benz two-seat “Smart car,” did not catch on in the US market.
CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg and Chris Isidore contributed to this post.
