Texas Governor Greg Abbott has joined 15 other Republican governors in asking the Biden Administration to back off its plans for the adoption of electric vehicles. The administration wants two-thirds of cars sold by 2032 to be electric.
The White House says sales of EVs have tripled since Joe Biden took office and private companies have announced $150 billion in investments in EVs and the battery supply chain.
"There are now more than 166,000 public EV chargers across the country, and the U.S. has already set a new record by selling more than 1 million EVs so far this year," the Biden Administration wrote in a statement in December 2023.
Abbott joined the governors of Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming in signing the letter saying the federal government should "change course."
"While we are not opposed to the electric vehicle marketplace, we do have concerns with federal government mandates that penalize retailers and do not reflect the will of the consumer," the letter reads. "Even with deep price cuts, manufacturers’ incentives, and generous government funding, federal mandates on electric vehicles are unrealistic. The American customer should be able to decide what technology makes most sense for them, not the federal government."
The letter says states and the federal government must ensure they have the infrastructure available to meet the requirements of any mandate. For electric vehicles, the governors say the nation should first confirm it has grid capacity and reliability, charging stations, and battery production.
The letter says China currently accounts for 70 percent of vehicle battery production.
"Given China’s current action atop the global electric vehicle production, mandating electric vehicle use too quickly can also present a national security risk," the letter reads.
The letter closes saying the nation should let buyers decide.
"We request you remove your mandate that two out of every three vehicles be electric and instead provide a more realistic approach by allowing the free market to determine the direction and timing for the industry’s growth rather than the federal government," the governors write.
You can read the full letter at www.rga.org/ev-joint-governors-letter .