Automakers petition Trump, hoping to avoid drastic changes in electric vehicle policy

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• A coalition of automakers has sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, asking him to leave the Biden administration’s regulations on electric vehicles in place.

• The letter was sent by John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, on behalf of its member automakers.

• The Automotive Innovation Alliance is made up of 42 automakers, including Ford and General Motors.

An organization of 42 automakers urged President-elect Donald Trump not to remove tax incentives and emissions regulations for electric vehicles, part of a letter in which the group shared its position on a series of auto policies such as automated driving and road safety. according to a new history of New York Times titled “Automakers to Trump: Please Force Us to Sell Electric Vehicles.” » (Trump is pictured above in a 2020 photo with the ill-fated Lordstown electric van.)

The letter, dated Nov. 12, was sent by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation whose members collectively sell the vast majority of new vehicles in the United States each year.

Stellantis says it is ready for change

Car and driver contacted Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, all of which are members of the organization, for comment. Representatives for Ford and General Motors pointed us to the letter sent by Bozzella and the Alliance and declined to comment further. A Stellantis representative responded to CD with the following statement:

“THE New York Times The story portraying Stellantis as preparing to pressure the incoming Trump administration to preserve EV mandates is not accurate. Stellantis was not among the “lobbyists and officials of several automakers” cited as sources by the article. In fact, Stellantis’ CEO has repeatedly stated that the company is uniquely positioned to adapt to any policy changes President-elect Trump may make because its multi-energy platforms can easily adapt to a wide range of powertrain options, from internal combustion to full battery. -electric.”

Perhaps surprisingly, the regulations that automakers want to keep in place are the same ones that aim to reduce tailpipe emissions and will ultimately force the industry to shift to electric vehicle production .

The letter, signed by John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, says the auto industry can only succeed if it benefits from “the stability and predictability of automotive-related emissions standards “. The problem for automakers is that many have already invested billions of dollars in electric vehicle research and development and may fear being undercut by subsidized internal combustion alternatives.

The fact that most automakers operate by planning years into the future underlies this concern about government policy changes. Designers and engineers are already working on models that likely won’t be seen by the public until 2028 or later, and they’re all designed with all of the current regulations in mind. “The worst thing for automakers, even worse than tough regulation, is a back-and-forth every four years,” said Stephanie Brinley, an analyst for S&P Global Mobility’s Auto Intelligence practice. Times.

In addition to concerns about emissions regulations, the Alliance letter shows that many automakers are also concerned about losing the $7,500 tax credit provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Elon Musk’s Tesla is not part of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, and according to to a separate New York Times reportMusk wants to eliminate the tax credit. The same report quotes Musk as saying that removing the credit “would be devastating to our competitors” but less damaging to Tesla itself.

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