Former President Donald Trump used his nomination speech to address President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle policies, vowing to take action against them on his first day in office.
"I will end Biden’s electric vehicle mandate on day one," Trump declared during his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. He argued that this move would "save the American auto industry from complete destruction happening right now and save American consumers thousands and thousands of dollars per car."
Earlier in his speech, Trump aligned his stance with the Russian foreign minister’s praise for his and Vance’s views on the Ukraine war, adding that this is unwelcomed by authoritarian figures. He emphasized that critical professional journalism is a cornerstone of democracy, which irritates those who believe they hold the sole truth.
Trump’s Plan to Cancel the "Electric Vehicle Mandate"
Although the Biden administration does not have an official mandate on electric vehicles, critics argue that the new air pollution limits set in March by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would effectively force automakers to sell electric vehicles unlawfully.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to overturn what he calls Biden’s "electric vehicle mandate," referring to the EPA’s stringent new exhaust pollution regulation. This regulation is so strict that it would compel automakers to sell more electric and hybrid models in the future.
While automakers have several options to meet these stringent pollution limits, it is expected they will do so by selling more low-emission hybrids and zero-emission electric vehicles. According to one EPA scenario, approximately 56% of new car and light truck sales would be electric, with an additional 16% being hybrid models, by 2032.
Trump’s comments on electric vehicles came just before he criticized what he described as wasteful spending into the trillions of dollars on "the new green scam." He proposed redirecting funds to infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, and dams, though he did not clarify how he would achieve this.
Displaying clear disdain for electric vehicles, Trump argued that they do not work and would benefit China and Mexico while hurting American auto workers. Conversely, Biden has made the transition to battery-powered cars one of his key climate and industrial policies, setting a goal for 50% of all new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.
