Trump says small cars can bring down big prices. Here’s why that’s unlikely.
The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s premier independent, member driven, non-profit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to improving vehicle safety, quality, and fuel economy on behalf of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
Automakers would need to see more demand to justify either importing the cars or investing to reengineer the cars to pass US crash standards, said Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Automotive Safety.
“The kei cars are not built for the US market, so none of the vehicles are going to immediately be able to meet US standards,” Brooks said. “But that doesn’t mean there is some kind of mandate or block against those vehicles operating in the United States. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
By Chris Isidore
December 16, 2025
President Donald Trump has a tiny solution to a big problem: have US factories manufacture very small cars, like the ones found in Asia and Europe, to drive down giant price tags.
“Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries,” Trump said in a Truth Social post after meeting with auto executives in early December. “START BUILDING THEM NOW!”
But even the mini cars’ mini price tags aren’t likely to solve pricing issues, experts say. While Trump claims to have rolled back regulations that he blames for keeping small cars off US roads, the truth is there is no minimum-size rule for vehicles sold in America as long as they meet safety standards.
What stops automakers, both foreign and domestic, from building such cars here, or even importing them, is much simpler: Americans have shown, repeatedly, they just don’t want those cars.