Dive Brief:
- Hawaiʻi and Wisconsin joined the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition last week, increasing membership to 13 state governors.
- Launched in May, the coalition aims to promote more affordable electric vehicles, support U.S. automotive manufacturers and preserve states’ authority under the Clean Air Act.
- The coalition was formed by the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan group of 24 governors. States will address their own challenges and opportunities while working together to achieve the coalition’s collective goals, the Climate Alliance said in a press release.
Dive Insight:
New electric vehicle sales were strong in the past two months as buyers rushed to take advantage of federal incentives before they expire Sept. 30. However, the share of EVs compared to total automotive sales declined in the second quarter both year-over-year and compared to the first quarter, according to CleanTechnica.
“Sales of EVs will likely fall dramatically when tax credits expire,” said Cox Automotive Senior Economist Charlie Chesbrough in an August 27 statement.
A further blow to EVs came in June when Congress and the Trump administration ended California’s authority to set its own stronger vehicle emission standards. A 1990 federal law allows 17 additional states and the District of Columbia to follow California’s vehicle emissions regulations.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, representing many of the industry’s automakers and suppliers, supported the administration’s actions. “An aggressive regulatory push toward battery electric vehicles – ahead of consumer demand and without market readiness – will reduce U.S. vehicle production and auto jobs versus a more balanced approach that prioritizes and preserves vehicle choice,” said the group’s president and CEO, John Bozzella, in an April 29 blog post.
The coalition’s 11 initial governors said in a May 23 statement that “The federal government and Congress are putting polluters over people and creating needless chaos for consumers and the market.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a Sept. 4 statement, “We need to make it easier, not harder, for consumers to upgrade to electric vehicles — and that’s exactly what we’re doing through this state-led partnership.”
The Climate Alliance said it is making resources available to coalition members to help them reduce vehicle pollution and enable consumer access to more affordable zero-emission vehicles.
Sierra Club Clean Transportation for All Director Katherine García said in an emailed statement that the organization is “proud of Hawaiʻi and Wisconsin for joining 11 other states to improve access to electric vehicles at a time when the federal government works to prop up the fossil fuel industry at the expense of our economic well-being and health.”
