Republican lawmakers have expressed opposition to the Biden administration’s proposed regulations on car manufacturing, which they argue effectively mandate electric vehicles (EVs).
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) standards aim to significantly increase fuel efficiency, potentially resulting in penalties for non-compliance.
Lawmakers argue that the regulations are unlawful and fail to consider consumer preference for internal combustion engine vehicles over EVs.
The lawmakers wrote, “corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards proposed in July would raise costs, restrict consumer choice, harm businesses and degrade both U.S. energy and national security,.”
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation predicts “companies will pay more than $14 billion in non-compliance penalties under the proposal.”
“Nowhere in law did Congress authorize NHTSA to set fuel economy standards that effectively mandate EVs while at the same time force the internal combustion engine out of the market,” wrote the lawmakers.
“In fact, federal statute expressly prohibits NHTSA from considering the fuel economy of EVs when determining maximum feasible CAFE standards for passenger cars and trucks,” their letter continued.
“NHTSA’s out-of-touch de facto EV mandate ignores the reality that most Americans still prefer the internal combustion engine vehicle, and the fact there is a lack of consumer demand for EVs,” explained the Republicans.
“We strongly urge NHTSA to withdraw its misguided proposal, go back to the drawing board and reissue new CAFE standards that comply with the law, rather than ones that seek to pick winners and losers in the free market and remake our country’s economy,” they concluded.
Industry representatives have criticized the administration’s push for EVs, emphasizing the need for consumer-driven policies.
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturer CEO, Chet Thompson, said, “the Biden administration is overseeing a whole-of-government campaign to effectively ban new gas, diesel and flex fuel vehicles. … This agenda is bad for American families, bad for our economy and indefensible from a national security perspective.”
Thompson said that he supports “efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation and improve vehicle performance and efficiency for consumers.”
He also believes “successful, consumer-first policies must encourage real competition among all technologies and powertrains, including American-made, American-grown fuels,” explained the CEO.
The resistance reflects concerns about government overreach and the imposition of unpopular mandates on the public.
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