Attorneys general from 25 states have mounted a legal challenge to the Biden administration’s push for new emissions regulations and an electric vehicle (EV) mandate.
The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is the battleground for this legal dispute. The 25 states, led by Kentucky, are petitioning the court to block an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule, known as the “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles,” from going into effect.
The states argue that the final rule not only oversteps the EPA’s statutory authority but is also arbitrary and capricious. They are calling upon the court to declare the rule unlawful.
The coalition of states argues that the rule sets impractical emissions standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles. They are accusing the EPA of using the federal government’s weight to compel manufacturers to produce more EVs.
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With the rule set to take effect on June 17, the states argue that the rule’s stated goal of manufacturers producing enough electric vehicles to account for nearly 70% of cars available for sale within 10 years is unrealistic.
Despite the government’s push for EVs, the majority of Americans oppose purchasing electric vehicles. Last year’s EV sales constituted only 8.4% of total vehicle sales, despite the availability of millions in federal rebates and subsidies.
The coalition argues that forcing a shift to EVs would “devastate the American economy, threaten jobs, raise prices and undermine the reliability of the electric grid.”
They point out that demand for EVs continues to fall, and even those who want to buy one can’t afford it amid historic inflation.
“Biden’s EPA continues to push radical Green New Deal policies at a time when the infrastructure is not in place and Americans are struggling economically due to Biden-created inflation. Despite these concerns, Biden is trying to force a more than 60% increase in EV car sales over the next decade,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. “We continue to fight Biden’s short-sighted and out-of-touch policies—taking legal action today to protect Americans from these outrageous emissions standards.”
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The lawsuit came after more than 4,000 dealerships from every state sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to “tap the brakes” on his proposed EV mandate. Car manufacturers’ profits have dropped, with many announcing layoffs and scrapping their proposed EV production plans.
Ford Motor Company, for instance, lost roughly $4.7 billion on EVs in 2023 and is projected to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion this year.
As The Tampa Free Press reported on April 4, Ford Motor Company announced that it is rescheduling the launch of upcoming electric vehicles at its assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, while continuing to convert existing assembly plants and construct greenfields as part of an advanced industrial system designed to produce its next-generation electric vehicles.
“We value our Canadian teammates and appreciate that this delay will have an impact on this excellent team,” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said. “We are fully committed to manufacturing in Canada and believe this decision will help us build a profitably growing business for the long term.”
Ford also announced in January that they are cutting back production of its F-150 Lightning electric vehicle (EV), a model that President Joe Biden took for a test drive to market his administration’s EV agenda.
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Ford made the official announcement that it will be reducing its F-150 Lightning output in 2024 amid slower-than-projected growth in EV demand.
Biden test-drove an F-150 Lightning in Michigan in May 2021 to promote his administration’s EV agenda. The agenda aims for EVs to make up 50% of all new auto sales by 2030.
“Ford is reducing production of F-150 Lightning, the top-selling electric pickup in the U.S., to achieve the optimal balance of production, sales growth, and profitability,” the company announced on in January. “Ford expects continued growth in global EV sales in 2024, though less than anticipated, and is preparing to launch next-generation EVs.”
“We are taking advantage of our manufacturing flexibility to offer customers choices while balancing our growth and profitability. Customers love the F-150 Lightning, America’s best-selling EV pickup,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley. “We see a bright future for electric vehicles for specific consumers, especially with our upcoming digitally advanced EVs and access to Tesla’s charging network beginning this quarter.”
Earlier reports indicated that the company will slash production by about 50%. The F-150 Lightning typically costs approximately $50,000 compared to the conventional F-150’s $36,570 price tag, making the EV version considerably more expensive even with the help of $7,500 consumer tax credits provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
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The Biden administration is using enormous government subsidies and aggressive market regulation to push EVs on Americans. Despite these efforts, the industry as a whole finds itself in a tenuous position to start 2024: Ford and several of its competitors are losing vast sums of money on their EV product lines while executives are backing away from short-term production targets.
Additionally, the nation’s charging infrastructure remains highly concentrated in coastal, densely populated regions rather than in the vast American interior as the Biden administration’s $7.5 billion spending blitz to build out a nationwide charging network has been slow to develop.
The charging infrastructure that does exist, meanwhile, does not always function properly, whether because of hardware issues or weather conditions.
Neither Ford nor the White House responded immediately to requests for comment.
Joining the legal challenge are attorneys general representing the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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