From the countryside trail, president Donald Trump was consistent: it would “end the electric vehicle mandate.” It is therefore no surprise that the expression arose in a decree he signed Monday, just hours after taking the oath of office.
Here’s the catch: The United States has never had an electric vehicle mandate, or any sort of law or regulation. demanding American buyers will go electric. Instead, the previous administration attempted to create a series of carrots and sticks aimed at making electric vehicles more attractive to both the manufacturers who make them and the people who buy them. A decree published yesterday attempts to undo all this.
But it’s complicated. Experts say the effects of the order are unclear and will likely take some time to iron out. The elements of the order relating to electric vehicles seem to be more about the message than the immediate practical effects. “It largely indicates the administration’s intent,” says Timothy Johnson, a professor of energy and environment at the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment. “It is unclear what the administration will be able to do immediately.”
In the meantime, automakers will continue to make and sell electric vehicles, and consumers will still be able to buy them. Some stricter emissions standards will take effect in late 2026, and it typically takes about five years for manufacturers to plan and build a car, meaning automobiles that meet these upcoming emissions regulations would have to be built and sold.
U.S. and global automakers have already backed away from some of their most ambitious EV promises, but EVs are still coming. The long-term future of the U.S. auto industry is far from clear. Other governments continue to implement EV-friendly policies, and critics warn they will reconsider. increasingly focused on the Chinese automobile industry to support them in the transition.
One thing is clear about the future of electric vehicles in the United States: there will be lawsuits.
Incoming reports
Monday’s executive order requires U.S. agencies to review their electric vehicle rules and determine whether they are “unduly burdensome” and interfere with consumer choice. These agencies are supposed to document these findings in reports, due in 30 days.
From there, the bureaucracy starts to work hard, says Kathy Harris, who directs the clean vehicle program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “If an agency wants to repeal a regulation, it has to go through the public process,” she said. This means publishing proposed new rules, gathering public comments, engaging with industry, and then publishing those comments. There’s a lot of red tape waiting between the Trump administration and permanently canceling any electric vehicle-related program.
The clearest way for the White House to relax rules requiring automakers to make more electric vehicles will be to target vehicle fuel efficiency and exhaust standards. These require manufacturers to achieve certain levels of energy efficiency on all the cars they make in the coming years and to limit pollutant emissions. One of the easiest ways for automakers to achieve these goals is to sell more electric vehicles, which use no gasoline and emit no tailpipe pollutants at all. The last time Trump was in office, it took his administration more than three years to replace Obama-era energy efficiency standards. This time, agencies could be more efficient and succeed in changing the rules more quickly, Harris believes. Still, the process could take months and months.