Ford Motor Company and General Motors (GM) will each donate $1 million and contribute a fleet of vehicles to support U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration.
Spokespersons of the two companies made this announcement on Monday.
Policies on tariffs and electric vehicles under consideration by the incoming administration would affect Detroit carmakers.
These include Ford which is struggling to ramp up and sell its battery-powered models.
Republican Trump has proposed broad tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as killing an EV tax credit that benefits Ford.
Ford CEO Jim Farley told media persons this month that he was optimistic that Trump would be open to hearing the company’s perspectives on these actions.
“(Given) Ford’s employment profile and importance in the U.S. economy and manufacturing, you can imagine the administration will be very interested in Ford’s point of view,” Farley said.
General Motors also said on Monday that it is donating $1 million to the event and will provide vehicles.
Other large companies, including Amazon and Meta Platforms, have also donated to the inauguration.
Trump raised a record $106.7 million for his 2017 festivities.
Democratic President Joe Biden raised $61.8 million for his 2021 inauguration, with contributions from companies including Pfizer, AT&T and Boeing.
Trump’s proposal to impose a 25% tax on imports from Mexico and Canada could significantly impact the profits of GM and other U.S. automakers while driving up prices for SUVs and pickup trucks for American consumers.
GM leads the automakers that export cars from Mexico to North America.
The top 10 car manufacturers with Mexican plants collectively built 1.4 million vehicles over the first six months of this year, with 90% heading across the border to U.S. buyers, according to the Mexican auto trade association.
Other Detroit manufacturers are also likely to feel the pain: Ford and Stellantis are the top U.S. producers in Mexico after GM.
GM is expected to import more than 750,000 vehicles from Canada or Mexico this year, with most manufactured south of the border, according to business analytics firm GlobalData.
They include some of GM’s most popular vehicles, including nearly 370,000 Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra full-sized pickups and nearly 390,000 midsized SUVs.
(With inputs from Reuters)
