from the campaign Trail, President donald trump was consistent: he would “finish” electric vehicle Mandate.” So this phrase is no surprise popped up He signed an executive order on Monday, just hours after taking the oath of office.
Here's the catch: The US has never had an EV mandate, or any kind of law or regulation Is required American buyers will use electricity. Instead, the previous administration tried to create a series of carrots and sticks designed to make electric vehicles more attractive to both manufacturers making them and people buying them. An executive order issued yesterday attempts to undo all of that.
But it is complicated. Experts say the impact of the order is unclear and will take some time to recover. The electric vehicle portion of the order appears to be more about sending a message than having immediate practical effects. “A lot of this is indicative of the administration's intentions,” says Timothy Johnson, a professor of energy and environment at Duke Nicholas School of the Environment. “It is not clear what the administration will be able to do immediately.”
In the meantime, automakers will continue to make and sell electric vehicles and consumers will be able to buy them. Somewhat stricter emissions standards will go into effect in late 2026, and it typically takes manufacturers about five years to plan and build a car, meaning autos that comply with upcoming emissions rules must be manufactured and sold.
US and global automakers have already walked back some of their more ambitious EV-related promises, but electrics are still coming. The long-term future of the US auto industry is unclear. Other governments are still adopting EV-friendly policies, and critics warn they will look into China's auto industry is growing rapidly To get them through the transition.
One thing is clear for the future of EVs in the United States: there will be lawsuits.
report is coming
Monday's executive order demands that US agencies take a look at their regulations related to EVs and determine whether they are “unduly burdensome” and interfere with consumer choice. Those agencies are expected to write up those findings in a report, which is due in 30 days.
From there, the bureaucracy begins to grind, says Kathy Harris, who directs the clean vehicles program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “If an agency wants to repeal a regulation, they have to go through a public process,” she says. This means publishing new proposed rules, taking public comments, going back and forth with the industry, and then publishing those comments. There is a lot of paperwork going on between the Trump administration and finalizing any EV-related program.
The most obvious way for the White House to loosen regulations requiring automakers to make more EVs would be to target vehicle fuel efficiency and tailpipe standards. It requires manufacturers to reach certain levels of gas efficiency in all their cars in the coming years and curb the pollutants they emit. One of the easier ways for automakers to achieve those goals is to sell more electric vehicles, which use no gas at all or emit tailpipe pollutants. The last time Trump was in office, it took more than three years for his administration to replace Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. Harris says this time, agencies may be more efficient and succeed in changing rules more quickly. Still, this process may take several months.