Ford Backed Group Supports Rollback Of American EV Mandates

After taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump quickly reversed many of former President Joe Biden’s EV-related policies, all via executive order. Trump nullified Biden’s goal of reaching a 50 percent EV sales mix by 2030, and put a halt to distributing unspent funds from vehicle charging stations, while also calling to end an EPA waiver allowing states to adopt stricter emissions rules that California has led the charge on. These moves were supported by the Ford-backed lobby group Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), which just put out another statement pertaining to this matter after Maryland Governor Wes Moore opted to delay the state’s own EV mandates.

“Hats off to Governor Moore for standing up for Maryland drivers and protecting vehicle choice with this executive order delaying Maryland’s looming and unachievable gas vehicle ban,” said John Bozzella, president and CEO Alliance for Automotive Innovation. “How unachievable? Starting in model year 2027 (next year for automakers), the law required 43 percent of new vehicles sold in Maryland to be electric. But Maryland’s EV market share today is just about 12 percent.”

“Like governors in Connecticut and Virginia, Governor Moore understood what was happening in his state – not enough customers or sufficient charging infrastructure for a mandatory 3.5-fold increase in EV sales next year. Maryland wasn’t ready for these EV mandates. Other governors facing similar challenges should follow suit and stand up for vehicle choice by pulling their states from the gas vehicle bans too.”

Moore opted to sign an executive order delaying the enforcement of the Maryland’s gas vehicle bans/electric vehicle sales mandates through model year 2028, becoming the latest to do so. Interestingly, these mandates have never been too terribly concerning to Ford CEO Jim Farley, however, who previously stated that “even the most radical, decarbonizing politician can’t afford to be on the wrong side of the customers.”