The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) has called on President-elect Trump to uphold his commitment to abandon electric vehicle mandates and reject the Biden-Harris Administration’s tailpipe emissions regulations.
This statement follows a New York Times report that major automakers are lobbying the incoming Administration to continue the existing emissions policy, which limits consumer vehicle choice by mandating electric vehicles.
“It is disheartening to hear that some within the automotive industry are seeking to largely keep the Biden
Administration’s tailpipe rules in place,” the letter says. “On behalf of SEMA’s members, we support your stated goal of a “Day 1” end to EV mandates. As you are well aware, such mandates stifle the innovation and ingenuity that makes our nation great.”
“EV mandates are the antithesis to what drives America. Whether these mandates arrive in the form of tailpipe emissions standards that can only be achieved through the sale of EVs or waivers that enable some states to impose their own standards on other states (as is the case of California’s standards that as many as 16 states can adopt), they all destroy consumers’ freedom to choose what vehicles they want – or need – to drive. While EVs are a part of the solution for reducing carbon emissions for mobile sources, mandates rob our nation’s innovators of the opportunity to develop new technologies and solutions that meaningfully reduce emissions in a way that doesn’t hurt consumers and small automotive businesses. They harm our economy, threaten to stifle interstate commerce, and place millions of jobs at risk.”
