Trump Targets EVs in First Round of Executive Orders
President Donald Trump issued an executive order targeting the so-called “EV mandate,” a collection of Biden administration policies intended to encourage the adoption of battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
A section of “Unleashing American Energy,” an order dedicated to energy policy, pledges “to eliminate the ‘electric vehicle (EV) mandate’ and promote true consumer choice, by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access,” specifically:
- Revoking a nonbinding 2021 executive order targeting a 50% share of all new vehicle sales for EVs.
- Ending a waiver that allowed California and 11 other states to end the sale of most emission-producing vehicles by 2035.
- Freezing any funds remaining in a $5 billion budget for EV charging infrastructure.
Trump also pledged to end federal tax credits for EV buyers. This would require the repeal of part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which extended a previously established $7,500 credit for new EV buyers with the addition of MSRP and income caps. The 2022 act also added a used EV tax credit worth up to $4,000 for two-plus-year-old units sold for less than $25,000.
