From the campaign trail, President Donald Trump has been consistent: He will “end the electric vehicle mandate.” So it’s no surprise that those words appeared in an executive order signed on Monday, just hours after being sworn into office. Here’s the catch: The US has never had an EV mandate, or any law or regulation requiring American buyers to leave. electric. However, the previous administration tried to create a series of carrots and sticks designed to make electric vehicles more attractive to manufacturers and buyers. An executive order issued yesterday attempts to undo all of that. But it’s complicated. Experts say the effect of the order is unclear and will take some time to dissipate. The electric vehicle portion of the order appears to be more about messaging than immediate practical effect. “A lot of it signals the administration’s intentions,” said Timothy Johnson, a professor of energy and the environment at the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment. “It’s unclear what the immediate administration can do.” In the meantime, automakers will continue to make and sell electric vehicles, and consumers will continue to buy them. Some of the stricter emissions standards begin at the end of 2026, and it usually takes manufacturers five years to design and build a car, meaning cars under the upcoming emissions regulations must be built and sold. US and global automakers have backed off on 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 working on EV-friendly policies, and critics warn that they will focus more on China’s auto industry to get them through the transition. One thing is clear for the future of EVs in the United States: There will be lawsuits. IncomingMonday’s executive order demands that US agencies review rules related to EVs and determine that they are “too burdensome” and interfere with consumer choice. The agency is supposed to write its findings into a report, which it will do within 30 days. From there, the bureaucracy begins to unravel, said 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 a public process,” he said. That means publishing a new proposed rule, taking public comments, going back and forth with industry, and then publishing those comments. A lot of paperwork has come between the Trump administration and the eventual elimination of any EV-related programs. The most obvious way for the White House to loosen rules that require automakers to make more EVs is to target vehicle fuel efficiency and tailpipe standards. This requires manufacturers to achieve a certain level of gas efficiency in all cars made in the following years and to cover the pollutants released. One of the easier ways for automakers to achieve that goal is to sell more electric vehicles, which don’t use gas or produce tailpipe pollutants. The last time Trump was in office, it took more than three years for the administration to replace Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. This time, agencies may be more efficient and succeed in changing rules more quickly, Harris said. However, the process can take months and months.
