From the campaign Trail, president Donald Trump was consistent: he would “end Electric vehicles command.” So this phrase is not surprising came In an executive order he signed on Monday, just hours after taking the oath of office.
Here’s the catch: The US has never had an EV mandate, or any kind of law or regulation is required American buyers to go electric. Instead, the previous administration tried to create a series of carrots and sticks designed to make electric vehicles more attractive to manufacturers and the people who buy them. An executive order issued yesterday seeks to undo all of this.
But it’s complicated. Experts say the effects of the order are not clear and it will likely take some time to be implemented. The electric vehicle components of the order seem to be more about messaging than immediate practical effects. “A lot of this is signaling the administration’s intent,” says Timothy Johnson, a professor of energy and ecology at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. “It is unclear what the administration will be able to do immediately.”
In the meantime, automakers will continue to build and sell electric vehicles, and consumers will be able to buy them. Some of the tougher emissions standards come into effect as late as 2026, and it usually takes manufacturers five years to plan and build a car, which means the auto is built and sold in compliance with the upcoming emissions rules. should go
US and global automakers have already scaled back some of their more ambitious EV-related promises, but electrics are still coming. The long-term future of the US auto industry is unclear. Other governments are still pursuing EV-friendly policies, and critics warn that they will see China’s auto industry is growing To get them through conversion.
One thing that is clear for the future of EVs in the United States: There will be lawsuits.
Report incoming
Monday’s executive order calls for US agencies to take a look at their regulations related to EVs and determine whether they are “unduly burdensome” and interfere with consumer choice. Those agencies must write up those findings in reports, which are due within 30 days.
From there, the bureaucracy starts to grind, says Kathy Harris, who directs the Clean Vehicles Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “If an agency wants to repeal a rule, they need to go through a public process,” she says. That means publishing new proposed regulations, taking public comments, going back and forth with industry, and then publishing those comments. There is a lot of paperwork between the Trump administration and the eventual nixing of any EV-related programs.
The most obvious way for the White House to loosen regulations that require automakers to build more EVs is to target vehicle fuel efficiency and tailpipe standards. These require manufacturers to reach certain levels of gas efficiency and emissions in all cars they make in the coming years. One of the easiest ways automakers can meet those goals is to sell more electric vehicles, which don’t use gas or emit any tailpipe pollutants. The last time Trump was in office, it took his administration more than three years to replace Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. This time, agencies can be more efficient and succeed in changing regulations faster, Harris says. However, the process can take months and months.
