| Thanks for reading Hyperdrive, Bloomberg’s newsletter on the future of the auto world. Reading one of Donald Trump’s first executive orders issued after his return to the White House, one could be forgiven for concluding Uncle Sam was treading on carmakers and consumers to a catastrophic degree the last four years. Trump called for eliminating the “electric vehicle mandate,” [1] removing barriers to accessing autos and terminating waivers that allow states to limit sales of gasoline-powered models. He posits in the order that promoting consumer choice “is essential for economic growth and innovation.” A quick scan of US automakers’ sales reports tell a different story. General Motors and Ford had little trouble selling gas-powered pickups and sport utility vehicles under President Joe Biden. Their slow-going progress toward selling more EVs, on the other hand — a form of innovation they’ll eventually need to get a move-on with — is now very much in doubt. Take a look at how US sales of some of GM’s most important truck and SUVs have trended since Trump was last in office, relative to a few of its electric models: Deliveries of big Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, as well as Tahoe and Equinox sport utility vehicles, held up just fine under Biden. While GM was the No. 2 seller of EVs in the US during the second half of last year, fully electric vehicles were a fraction of the company’s overall deliveries. It’s a similar picture at Ford: The automaker’s big pickups and key SUVs were steady over the last four years, and in some cases were steadily growing. Its EVs have largely disappointed. Stellantis has been the exception among Detroit’s traditional big three in having sold fewer vehicles in the US last year than it did in 2020. But the maker of Jeep SUVs and Ram pickups can hardly blame regulation for this. Management made a mess of those brands and others over the last four years, allowing their lineups to languish with few new products — electric or otherwise. There’s no need to Make America Great Again at selling big pickups and SUVs. Detroit’s glaring weakness in an increasingly competitive global auto industry is that it’s woefully behind the rest of the world in electrifying. Taking the regulatory pressure off US companies to address this deficiency will only hurt their standing in the long run.  Trump speaking while signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House. Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA President Donald Trump signaled plans to impose previously threatened tariffs of as much as 25% on Mexico and Canada in a matter of weeks, reiterating his contention that America’s closest neighbors and largest trading partners are letting undocumented migrants and drugs flood into the US. “We’re thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada, because they’re allowing vast numbers of people” across the border, Trump said in response to questions from reporters in the Oval Office. “I think we’ll do it Feb. 1.” | 
