We’ve covered this before, and we need to say it again, since former president Donald Trump, who is the Republican nominee to be president again, got it wrong last night.
There is NO MANDATE FORCING AUTOMAKERS TO BUILD ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
I don’t know if Trump was lying or just honestly has his facts wrong, but either way, there is no EV mandate. The Biden administration DID tighten fuel-economy standards (though not as much as initially proposed) and the EPA did tighten tailpipe-emissions rules but there is no rule or law forcing automakers to build EVs or a certain percentage of EVs. Biden has set a goal of 50 percent EV sales by 2030, but that’s a goal not a mandate.
Some might argue that the tighter rules will, in effect, force automakers to build more EVs in order to comply, but that would ignore that automakers can get there using other tech including hybrids. Automakers could also, if I understand the rules correctly, be in compliance simply by building more vehicles that have fuel-efficient internal-combustion powertrains — you know, the kind of vehicles that have become scare as consumers flock to more-profitable crossovers and SUVs.
Even if the new rules do force automakers to alter their product mix and offerings to be in compliance, it is not a mandate that they build EVs.
I’d also add, taking off the fact-checker hat and putting on the analyst hat, that many American-built EVs are built in states that show heavy support for Donald Trump. Not only is Trump likely upsetting automakers, who need regulatory consistency since they plan models years in advance, but he could be upsetting his own constituents.
To be fair to Trump, it’s possible he was conflating an executive order from the Biden administration that required all government-purchased fleet vehicles to be EV by 2035, with all light-duty vehicles to be EV by 2027, with the general market. It’s unclear if that order was followed or not.
It’s also worth noting that California has outpaced the feds with rules that would require all new vehicles sold in the state to be all-electric or plug-in hybrid by 2026, with all new vehicles sold in the state required to be all-electric by 2035. Given the size of that market, the fact that automakers loathe building two types of vehicles for separate domestic markets, and the fact that 13 states and D.C. have said they’d follow California, it’s possible that’s what Trump had on his mind.
We’ll pause here to note that the California rules seem unrealistic given the state of the EV market, challenges facing charging infrastructure, and automakers who would much rather not have to choose between either the cost of building cars for two halves of the country or building cars strictly to satisfy California’s rules even if those cars might not sell in other parts of the U.S.
Trump also got one other automotive fact wrong — he said he’d slap tariffs on Chinese cars being built in Mexico. Right now, there aren’t cars from Chinese brands being sold in America, though there are a few models sold by Western automakers that are built in China. Vehicles such as the Buick Envision and Volvo S90.
Tariffs on Chinese vehicles are a bipartisan pursuit — the Biden administration has already slapped a 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made vehicles earlier this year.
I know it might get political down in the comments, so please let’s be civil and not insult each other. The banhammer is ready and waiting.
Before any of you accuse myself or other writers of being biased, as long as I am the M.E. here, TTAC will always strive be fair and point out factual failures from all sides of the political spectrum, at least as pertains to cars and the automotive industry. If Biden (or whoever replaces him, should he drop out) gets automotive-related facts wrong, myself or someone else here will point it out.
Some readers believe we are being ideological when we point these things out, but fact-checking is not bias or ideology, and we will point out mistakes from all sides. We also make the difference between fact checks and our opinions as clear as possible.
Indeed, while there might not be an EV mandate, the Biden administration’s rules must be taken with this context: given that EVs make up just 7 percent of the market, Biden’s 50 percent by 2030 goal seems unrealistic.
I’d also like to fact-check the administration’s touted numbers on barrels of oil and consumer dollars saved by the new rules, but this site doesn’t have the resources for that.
I also am not touching on Trump’s comment suggesting that the UAW fire Shawn Fain — that’s Trump’s opinion, and not something that would be subject to a fact check.
There’s just way too much misinformation and disinformation out there — it’s outside our purview but my god, some stuff I saw on social media about the shooting of Trump or Biden’s ability/decision to stay in the race was just absurd. Unfortunately, even very smart, well-educated people are believing things that aren’t true. All we can do at TTAC is try to make sure that when it comes to cars, we at least have the truth correct. After all, it’s right there in the name.
[Image: Jonah Elkowitz/Shutterstock.com]
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