Ford wants to drive one hard bargain with Donald Trump that will backfire in the worst way
Donald Trump ran and won vowing to undo the damage Joe Biden did to the auto industry.
He could face an early fight in his Presidency that he never expected.
And Ford wants to drive one hard bargain with Donald Trump that will backfire in the worst way.
Detroit’s Big 3 automakers will fight to keep electric vehicle mandates
President Joe Biden was hellbent on forcing the country to make the switch to electric vehicles.
Detroit automakers Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors bought into his vision for an electric future for the auto industry.
They used taxpayer subsidies from the Biden-Harris administration to begin ramping up their production of electric vehicles.
But the market doesn’t exist for the mass adoption of electric vehicles.
That’s why Biden tried to give drivers no choice but to buy an electric vehicle in the future.
Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new tailpipe emission standards that would require automakers to make two-thirds of their new vehicles electric by 2032.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a rule for corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, which would require them to ramp up their production of electric vehicles to meet fuel economy standards for the vehicle lineups.
President-elect Donald Trump ran on repealing these electric vehicle mandates by the Biden-Harris administration.
“I will end the Electric Vehicle Mandate on Day One — thereby saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration which is happening right now, and saving U.S. customers thousands and thousands of dollars per car,” Trump vowed at the Republican National Convention in July.
His incoming administration is also looking at repealing the $7,500 tax credit from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to buy or lease an electric vehicle.
Trump could find resistance from Detroit’s Big 3 automakers who want to keep Biden’s electric vehicle scheme in place.
Detroit automakers went all-in on trying to go electric and invested tens of billions of dollars trying to make it happen.
They feel like there’s no turning back from the electric vehicle revolution.
A battle over electric vehicles is brewing
Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis are going to lobby the Trump administration and Congress to keep Biden’s electric vehicle rules in place.
They fear a seesaw back and forth between Presidential administrations on electric vehicle policy.
“The worst thing of all for the automakers, even worse than a difficult regulation, is a back-and-forth swing every four years,” Auto Intelligence service at S&P Global Mobility analyst Stephanie Brinley told the New York Times.
American Energy Alliance president Thomas Pyle – who served on Trump’s 2016 transition team – didn’t think the automakers would have much luck lobbying Trump.
“Given their track record with Trump, I don’t know how much sway the autos will have in terms of the decision the president makes,” Pyle said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, an influential advisor to the President-elect called for the $7,500 tax credit to be scrapped.
“I think it would be devastating for our competitors and for Tesla slightly,” Musk said on an earnings call in July.
Detroit’s Big 3 made the wrong bet with Joe Biden’s electric agenda and now they’re going to try to avoid paying the price for it.
