“I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” exclaimed an enthusiastic Donald Trump during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in July. Unfortunately, undoing what the current administration installed won’t be as easy as flipping a switch and there will be resistance from various parties. Electric vehicles (EV) have been a hot topic enveloped in controversy, with strong sentiments on both sides.
At the end of the day, though, the government should not be in the business of telling consumers which cars to buy nor completely transforming a major sector of the economy. Eliminating such heavy-handed measures should be a top priority.
Forcing roughly two-thirds of all new car sales be electric is not a direct mandate, per se, but a result of legislation and agency rules that have set fleetwide fuel economy standards so unrealistically high, automakers cannot comply without a large portion of their sales being comprised of EVs. If efficiency standards are unattainable by current technology, then the law is, in effect, banning the current technology.
The incoming administration has a few options to reverse this path. However, there are uncertainties surrounding what course of action it can or should take.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are expected to roll back the stringent fuel emissions standards, but it will take time to rewrite and finalize new rules. It took nearly three years to undo similar Obama-era regulations during Trump’s first term. However, the recent Supreme Court ruling in Loper Bright v Raimondo has shifted the level of deference previously afforded agencies’ interpretations of various statutes; these types of mandates can now be challenged and overturned with less difficulty.
A somewhat more immediate approach involves the subsidy-rich and partisan Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Biden eventually referred to as “the most significant climate law ever.” This federal law won’t be easily dismantled; however, it can be gutted by targeting the grants and tax credits allotted for clean energy initiatives like EV manufacturing and purchasing.
The government should not be favoring one type of car over another; nor should Americans be subsidizing other Americans’ vehicle purchases, especially when those on the receiving end tend to make well over six figures. The handouts need to end.
Some car companies have gotten used to serving politicians instead of customers and want to keep the gravy train running as well as protect their investments through government mandates. Others are unfazed and tout the EV’s resilience: “This is the future because the product is superior.”
If a product truly is exceptional, then it can stand on its own two feet rather than bureaucrats tipping the scales by propping up an industry with taxpayer funds.
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