WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 2, 2024) – Responding to an active effort to convince President-elect Trump to retain the Biden-Harris Administration’s tailpipe rules and forgo a key campaign promise to halt electric vehicle mandates, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) today urged the incoming Administration to stay the course and reject widely unpopular electric vehicle mandates.

SEMA’s letter follows a New York Times report that several of the nation’s largest automakers are requesting that President-elect Trump keep the Biden-Harris Administration tailpipe emissions policy that would eliminate consumers’ vehicle choice by mandating electric vehicles.

“It is disheartening to hear that some within the automotive industry are seeking to largely keep the Biden Administration’s tailpipe rules in place,” the letter says. “On behalf of SEMA’s members, we support your stated goal of a “Day 1” end to EV mandates. As you are well aware, such mandates stifle the innovation and ingenuity that makes our nation great.”

“EV mandates are the antithesis to what drives America. Whether these mandates arrive in the form of tailpipe emissions standards that can only be achieved through the sale of EVs or waivers that enable some states to impose their own standards on other states (as is the case of California’s standards that as many as 16 states can adopt), they all destroy consumers’ freedom to choose what vehicles they want – or need – to drive. While EVs are a part of the solution for reducing carbon emissions for mobile sources, mandates rob our nation’s innovators of the opportunity to develop new technologies and solutions that meaningfully reduce emissions in a way that doesn’t hurt consumers and small automotive businesses. They harm our economy, threaten to stifle interstate commerce, and place millions of jobs at risk.”

Read the full letter here.

About SEMA
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) serves as a leading voice for the worldwide car culture, representing over 7,000 member companies that create, buy, sell, and use specialty-automotive parts that make vehicles more unique, attractive, convenient, safer, fun, and even like new again. Business member benefits include product development resources, market research, networking, education, legislative advocacy, and more. The Association organizes the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nev., and actively supports the career and business opportunities that the aftermarket generates. The industry contributes nearly $337 billion in economic impact to the U.S. economy, supports 1.3 million jobs nationally, and generates $52.3 billion in parts sales annually. For more information, visit www.sema.org.