- Trump refuses to repay automakers for EV-related spending.
- Rollback removes key EV incentives from future planning.
- Ford and GM support looser fuel economy requirements.
The Trump administration is rolling back fuel-economy standards in the United States, encouraging car manufacturers to build more combustion-powered vehicles and reducing their impetus to build EVs. It’s a move that’s been a long time coming.
While companies like Ford, Stellantis, and GM have thrown their support behind the new “common sense” rules, they shouldn’t expect any handouts from the government to offset the billions they invested in EVs under Biden-era regulations.
Read: Trump Admin Pushes Fuel Economy Shakeup And The Impact Could Be Huge
During the recent CAFE standards announcement at the White House, a reporter from the Detroit Free Press asked President Trump whether automakers deserved compensation for those investments, given that they were made under policies assuming continued federal support for EV sales.
“No, I’m not doing it,” President Trump quickly replied, triggering laughter among those standing behind the Resolute Desk. “Nope, no, I’m not letting them recoup, they’re going to do just fine. You know how they recoup? From this point forward they’ll do very well.”
During the same presentation, the President suggested that thanks to his controversial tariffs, Stellantis, Ford, and GM are all coming back to the United States.
“The people that are up here from Stellantis and Ford and General Motors, great companies … they wouldn’t be here today if we didn’t have tariffs,” Trump claimed.
“They’d be building their plants in Mexico and other places. They’re leaving Mexico and they’re leaving Canada. They’re leaving because they ripped off our country, they took our businesses away from us. And now because of tariffs they’re all coming back, so it’s a great thing,” the president added.
Ford CEO Thrilled With Changes
According to Ford chief executive Jim Farley, previous CAFE standards “was totally out of touch with market reality,” claiming that “we were forced to sell EVs and other vehicles.”
More: Ford’s CEO Applauds Trump’s CAFE Rollback, Says They Were Forced Into EVs
He noted that Ford wants to give customers the freedom to choose, noting “we have a lot of EVs and a lot of hybrids at Ford, but now customers get a chance to choose what they want, not by what we force on them.”
Farley added that the rollback will allow it to “offer more affordability on our popular models, and we’ll be able to launch new vehicles built in America that are more affordable because of this rule change.”
Source: Detroit Free Press
