WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) issued the following statement today in response to reporting from the New York Times suggesting major U.S. automakers are lobbying the incoming Trump-Vance administration to keep much of the Biden-Harris EPA tailpipe standards finalized earlier this year:
“The American people spoke very clearly this month. They do not support EV mandates and they want the Trump-Vance administration to follow through with their day 1 promise to rescind EPA’s tailpipe standards and deny California’s request to fully ban gas cars. The surest way for automakers to safeguard their investments is to make cars Americans want to drive.”
The Biden-Harris EPA standards would impose a fleetwide tailpipe CO2e emissions average of 85 grams/mile by 2032, a threshold none of today’s gas or traditional hybrid vehicles can meet. Because the policy is likely to compel automakers to end sales of most new gas cars and trucks, it is often referred to as an EV mandate (EPA’s compliance projections show gas cars likely being capped at less than 30% of overall vehicle sales).
In addition to EPA’s policy, the State of California finalized regulations in 2022 to fully ban sales of new gas and traditional hybrid vehicles by 2035. California’s ban—which is set to be implemented across nearly a dozen states—requires a requires a Clean Air Act waiver from the U.S. EPA before it can move forward. EPA has yet to issue a waiver.