CV NEWS FEED // A total of 120 Republicans signed a letter urging the Biden administration to withdraw proposed regulations on gas vehicles which critics have dubbed an “electric vehicle (EV) mandate.”
The lawmakers stated that corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards drawn up by Biden’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) “seek to pick winners and losers in the free market and remake our country’s economy.”
“Nowhere in law did Congress authorize NHTSA to set fuel economy standards that effectively mandate EVs while at the same time force the internal combustion engine out of the market,” the Republicans went on. “In fact, federal statute expressly prohibits NHTSA from considering the fuel economy of EVs when determining maximum feasible CAFE standards for passenger cars and trucks.”
Later in the letter, the members of Congress pointed out that the administration’s “out-of-touch de facto EV mandate ignores the reality that most Americans still prefer” traditional gas vehicles. The fact is “there is a lack of consumer demand for EVs,” they wrote.
The letter’s signatories included 77 of the 219 Republicans in the House, led by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-MI, and 43 of the 49 Republicans in the Senate, led by Sens. Mike Crapo, R-ID and Ted Cruz, R-TX.
>> ‘DEAD ROBOTS’: DOZENS OF EVS UNABLE TO CHARGE IN COLD CHICAGO WEATHER <<
Earlier this month, Hertz announced it was selling about 20,000 EVs and reinvesting in traditional gas-powered cars. The sell-off amounted to a third of the company’s EVs. Hertz is the nation’s largest car rental company. The company cited both the low demand and high cost of EVs in making its decision.
>> HERTZ SELLING A THIRD OF THEIR EVS DUE TO HIGH COST, LOW DEMAND <<
In a November 2023 letter to Biden, a coalition of nearly 4,000 car dealers pointed out that EVs were “stacking up” on their lots. “The majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change” away from gas vehicles, the dealers wrote. “They are concerned about [EVs] being unaffordable.”
As CatholicVote reported at the time:
The dealers specified several other key objections they found customers have to purchasing EVs. These include the inconvenience of charging EVs, the “loss of driving range in cold or hot weather,” and the “dramatic loss of range when towing.”
“And finally, many people just want to make their own choice about what vehicle is right for them,” they added.
>> THOUSANDS OF CAR DEALERS STAND UP TO BIDEN’S EV MANDATE <<
The NHTSA is part of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Secretary Pete Buttigieg heads the DOT. He has long been a proponent of the proliferation of EVs.
After gas prices began to surge months after Biden began his presidency, Buttigieg told Americans to buy EVs so they “never have to worry about gas prices again.” Critics heavily panned the remark.
“According to Kelly Blue Book, the average price of a new electric vehicle as of October of this year was $55,676,” The New York Post reported at the time. “By contrast, the average price of a new compact car was $25,240 — less than half that amount.”
