American President Donald Trump believes that there is little solution to a big problem related to high car prices, ocobeno beyond the ocean. According to Trump, American factories should start producing many small cars, like those in Asia and Europe, to reduce the prices of giant American cars, reports CNN Business.
"ΠManufacturers have long wanted to do this, just as they are produced so successfully in other countries", wrote Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social following a meeting with auto executives in early December.
"Start making them now!"
There's just one big problem, industry insiders say. Prices for smaller cars likely won't solve the price problem, experts say. While Donald Trump claims to have repealed regulations blamed for keeping small cars off American roads, the truth is that there is no minimum size rule for vehicles sold in America, as long as they meet safety standards.
This is what stops automakers, both foreign and domestic, Even for Americans to produce such cars or even import them is much simpler: Americans have often said that they simply do not want these cars.
The "kei" cars, popular in many parts of Asia, can cost as little as 8,000 or 10,000 US dollars. By contrast, the average price of a new car in the United States is currently around $50,000.
The availability of such cheap new cars would be a solution to the affordability problem for many car buyers - and a major political headache for Donald Trump. ΠThe problem is that there simply isn't enough demand to sell these cars in America, let alone produce them in American factories, instead of importing them from abroad, where they are popular.
That's because American car buyers have long said they prefer SUVs and even pickup trucks. However, it's also great for automakers, because these larger models carry larger profit margins.
"Americans love larger cars and often don't feel comfortable driving smaller vehicles next to larger equivalents on the streets and highways," said Ivan Drypi, director of analysis at car buying site Edmunds.
The expert is adamant that small cars have a "very small niche" of the American car buying market.
"If you ask Americans whether they would rather spend $50,000 or $10,000, they would choose $10,000, but what they can get for that price is the right idea. unprofitable."
The disappearing compact car in America
For a while, most automakers sold compact and subcompact cars in the U.S., while demand simply didn't drop. ΠCompact car sales in the U.S. have fallen 59% over the past 10 years, according to Sox Automotive, while subcompact car sales have fallen 90%.
Only four such models remain for American buyers, and all of them are made abroad: the Nissan Versa, Mitsubishi Mirage, Fiat 500 and Mini. Soerer.
Many small car models, such as the two-seater Smart, are no longer offered in the United States. The most affordable small city car, the Versa, starts at $18,635 with an automatic transmission. Against this backdrop, Nissan sold just 41,000 in the first nine months of this year, or about a quarter of the sales of its Rogue SUV, its best-selling model.
Obviously, the American president's idea is hard to achieve. Especially in a country with wide, straight roads and drivers who have been driving limousines, SUVs, and pickup trucks for decades.