Trump's tweeting turns auto PR into an art form

With Donald Trump in office, the pressure is on for companies to invest locally, and the President is not shy about putting on a little pressure through social media. The automotive industry has already attracted much attention from the new President during his short time in office. However, Trump's frequent tweets could be reshaping the timing and the substance of industry announcements. Ford's US$1.2bn for Michigan Ford's recent Michigan investment announcement has come under the spotlight following a handful of twitter postings. On 29 March, Ford published a press release with the headline: 'Ford investing US$1.2bn in three Michigan Facilities', highlighting US$850m in the Michigan Assembly plant to upgrade for the Ford Ranger and Bronco models, US$150m to expand capacity at Romeo Engine and US$200m to set up a new advanced data centre in Michigan to support expected data storage needs to come from increasingly connected vehicles. The numbers look big, and Trump was keen to seize the announcement as evidence of job security. The President took to Twitter: "Big announcement by Ford today. Major investment to be made in three Michigan plants. Car companies coming back to US. JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!" How big is big? The coup, if it is one, loses some of its significance when the headline figures are peeled away. Of the total US$1.2bn investment, just a few hundred million is new. The bulk of these plans were included in 2015 UAW bargaining agreements, at which time the union boasted that it has secured US$9bn in planned investment and 8,500 new or secured jobs. Ford itself includes a reference to the contract with a statement from UAW-Ford Vice President Jimmy Settles in its press release: "Thanks to collective bargaining, the hard-working men and women at each of these locations will now reap the full fruits of their labour. We look forward to celebrating more product investment and job growth at each of our UAW represented facilities in the months and years to come." Specifically, the news that Michigan Assembly would receive funding for the Ranger and Bronco production and the Romeo engine plans were all part of the 2015 UAW deal. What's new is that Ford is adding an extra US$350m to the amount allocated for the Michigan plant. The data centre is also new news and had nothing to do with previous union conversations. Ford itself has said that it was confirming these previous union commitments. While a very welcome investment at any time, some industry watchers suggest the scope does not merit the sort of 'JOBS, JOBS, JOBS' rhetoric from Trump. Commenting on what he suggests is a misleading boast, Steven Rattner, an outspoken critic of many of Trump's policies and former lead advisor to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry under Barack Obama's administration in 2009, tweeted: "The big news ended up being only 130 jobs in MI that were announced back in 2015. When will he stop misleading ppl?" Jamie Riddell, Chief Executive of social media analytics platform Birdsong, has suggested that the President's prolific tweeting could be behind Ford's approach. "Trump’s Tweets are influencing the news cycle, which in turn is impacting when and how automotive brands are making statements," he told Automotive World. The President has 20 million followers on Twitter, with any tweet immediately putting a company in the hot seat. Taking credit Some of Trump's detractors were critical of what they saw as an attempt to take credit for the investment, as he - or at least his team - had in early January. When Ford scrapped plans to build a US$1.6bn plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Trump's Social Media Director Dan Scavino tweeted: "Ford to scrap Mexican plant, invest in Michigan due to Trump policies." The Michigan Democratic Party was particularly scathing in its reaction to Trump's tweet. "Donald Trump taking credit for Ford’s latest investment in Michigan is like a kid telling his friends he made dinner when his dad picked up a Hot-N-Ready from Little Caesars," said Brandon Dillon, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. "These investments are the result of collective bargaining between UAW and Ford in 2015, made possible by President Barack Obama’s faith in America’s auto workers." Dillon goes on to describe Trump as "the most anti-worker occupant of the Oval Office" that the US has ever seen, adding: "The fact that someone who’s supposed to be the president of the United States has no accomplishments of his own, and feels the need to take credit for someone else’s, is a joke." Not everyone is critical. "The Trump administration is clearly focused on jobs in America and can’t be held at fault for celebrating all the job creation happening in the car business right now, if they are directly responsible or not," commented Rebecca Lindland, Executive Analyst from Kelley Blue Book. As she told Automotive World: "A strong, healthy car business is good for America, so of course the White House will be quick to play cheerleader for the story. Considering the short history of the new administration, that should come as no surprise. The challenge for the White House, of course, will come on the other side, as the auto business has always been cyclical and there will be a downturn. If you take credit for the job creation, will you also take credit for job losses?" And CA$1bn for Canada Aside from whether or not Trump was taking credit for a role in Ford's investment decision, the timing of Ford's news is notable. One day after the manufacturer drew attention to its US commitments came news of a hefty investment in Canada. Premier Kathleen Wynne and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a more than CA$1bn partnership with Ford, which promises to create 300 new jobs at Ford operations in Ontario. The funding will be used to set up an advanced manufacturing programme at Ford's Windsor Operations, turning the site into a world-class powertrain facility. Some of that investment will also go towards the establishment of a Research and Engineering Centre in Ottawa for connected car technology. Trump may not have liked to see CA$1bn leave the US, but Ford's timely reminder of US$1.2bn for Michigan may sweeten the pill enough to avoid any negative publicity.

Trump’s tweeting turns auto PR into an art form

Ford's big investment announcement for Michigan was more reminder than breaking news, and was followed closely by a hefty investment for Canada. By Megan Lampinen

M:bility | Magazine – Q4 2018

Special report: Will Mobility as a Service become the new normal?

Special report: Is this the end of the diesel engine?

Strategy update: Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance – 2018 edition

How to efficiently test and calibrate xEVs

M:bility | Detroit

M:bility | Europe

M:bility | California

M:bility | India

Monthly Briefing – September 2018

M:bility | Detroit

Grasp the future of mobility

12-13 March 2019
Dearborn, Michigan

M:bility | Europe

Grasp the future of mobility

9-10 July 2019
Stuttgart, Germany

M:bility | California

Grasp the future of mobility

17-18 September 2019
Santa Clara, CA

M:bility | India

Grasp the future of mobility

26-27 November 2019
Pune, India

It’s time to log in (or subscribe).

Not a member? Subscribe now and let us help you understand the future of mobility.

Single-User Site License

Team Site License

Enterprise Site License

Email Alerts

Related Content

Log In

Single-User
Site License

Team
Site License

Enterprise
Site License