President Donald Trump made it clear on Day One of his second administration that he intends to help the U.S. auto industry, both through regulations and trade policy.

What effect his measures will have on Alabama’s auto industry remain to be seen.

Trump, speaking Monday in his inaugural address from the Capitol rotunda, vowed to “revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American auto workers.”

“In other words, you’ll be able to buy the car of your choice,” Trump said. “We will build automobiles in America again at a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago. And thank you to the auto workers of our nation for your inspiring vote of confidence. We did tremendously with their vote.”

Though there is no mandate for Americans to buy electric vehicles, the Biden Administration did create a federal EV purchase tax credit worth up to $7,500 for qualifying vehicles.

According to Barrons, ending the mandate will require legislative action, as it was part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed through Congress.

“Ending the Green New Deal,” as Trump also promised to do, probably entails easing environmental standards, according to analysts.

In his first round of executive order signings, Trump killed a 2021 Biden executive order that had sought to make half of all new vehicles sold by 2030 to be EVs, including fully electric and plug-in hybrids, according to The Detroit News.

Automakers are likely to welcome that action, even though the Biden order hadn’t been mandatory. Manufacturers have backed off once ambitious EV goals, such as Mercedes-Benz’s plans for a fully EV lineup by 2030.

Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book said U.S. full-year EV sales reached 1.3 million in 2024, an increase of 7.3% from the previous year. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are little more than 13,000 electric vehicles registered in the state of Alabama. That’s far behind California, which leads the nation with 1.2 million registered EVs.

In Alabama, Mercedes-Benz manufactures the EQE and EQS electric SUVs, as well as the EQS Maybach in Vance. Hyundai’s Montgomery plant makes the Genesis Electrified GV70.

Trump’s mention of support among auto workers shows he has some support among the rank-and-file. Though the leadership of the United Auto Workers union endorsed his opponent in the election, UAW President Shawn Fain said the union is ready to work with Trump on trade policy.

In an opinion piece in The Washington Post Sunday, Fain called on Trump to use the six-year renegotiation clause of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, or USMCA, to pursue a better deal for the auto industry.

“We agree with Trump that the USMCA needs to be fixed,” Fain wrote. “For autoworkers, workers who build farm and construction equipment, and so many other factory workers, U.S. trade policy is not an abstraction. It’s a bomb going off in America’s working class, literally destroying families and communities.”

On the tariff front, Trump said in his inaugural address that he would “immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.”

On Monday, Trump threatened 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports starting Feb. 1.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Trump hopes to use the threat of tariffs to change automotive rules under the USMCA, forcing car plants to migrate back to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.

According to the paper, that has sent major automakers rushing to find ways to satisfy Trump without “blowing up the North American auto supply chain.”

Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada would increase the price of cars assembled in the U.S. by an average of $2,100, according to estimates made by analysts at Wells Fargo.