The only thing constant is change. Nothing highlights this more than the change from one presidential administration to another.
What does the new administration mean for the US convenience retail industry, whose business model is built to a large part around the vehicle and mobility?
President Trump issued numerous executive orders on January 20 laying out his goals and changes (actual and possible) to various programs affecting EV’s and EV charging.
Pause funds disbursed through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (this includes funds for EV charging in the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI) and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program (CFI))
Within 90 days all agency heads shall submit a report to the Director of NEC and OMB regarding their policy change recommendations to be in line with this executive order
Considering the elimination of … subsidies and other … government imposed market distortions …. This might include CAFE standards and California’s independent rules and regulations in regards to the Clean Air Act
Renegotiate the USMCA with Canada and Mexico, which might affect vehicle manufacturing and import/exports, and use tariffs – possibly at a 25% rate starting February 1 - to incentivize movement on negotiation
President Trump tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to run a new advisory group to help reduce the size of the federal government, although Ramaswamy has since left to run for governor of Ohio.
The most recent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) and greenhouse gas tailpipe regulations issued by President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set very stringent tailpipe emissions which de facto pushed EVs and alternative fuels.
Most analysts believe that EVs would have to comprise 67% of sales by 2032 to satisfy the requirements. The Trump administration could roll these back, but enacting such changes takes time. During the first Trump Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency took more than three years to change the CAFE provisions, and the Biden
Administration then took another three years to change them again. In addition, other programs like California’s low carbon fuels standard (LCFS) and Advanced Clean Car rule (see below) could mitigate the impact a change in CAFE would have on the market.
One executive order, “Unleashing American Energy,” states that “It is the policy of the United States” to “eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate.”
This is just a snapshot of everything that Donald Trump is laying down. For the full details visit The C-Store EV Perspective on the Trump Administration | NACS
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