TRUMP EMISSIONS UNDO
In a signing ceremony at the White House on Thursday, President Trump officially signed three resolutions:
- One blocking California's authority to ban the sale of light duty gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
- Another preventing California from phasing out the sale of medium and heavy-duty diesel vehicles.
- And a third overturning California’s rules on reducing tailpipe emissions from trucks.
Before the signing ceremony ended, California attorney general Rob Bonta held a press conference announcing a challenge to the resolutions in court.
Seventeen other states, which account for approximately 30% of the U.S. auto market, had adopted California’s rules.
Sources: GM, AP, NBC
GM CHANGES LANES
In 2023, GM's CEO Mary Barra said the automaker plans to move to all-electric sales by 2035.
On Tuesday, that changed when General Motors announced a $4 billion investment to increase production of new gas-powered light and medium duty trucks and SUVs while on-shoring Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox production–both currently built in Mexico.
A 2023 plan to build electric trucks at GM's Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan by 2027, will now see new gas-powered full-size SUVs and light-duty pickups being built there.
GM still plans to start production on the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt EV by the end of this year, but it will do so while adding the production of the gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox to the Fairfax Assembly line.
At its Spring Hill, Tennessee plant, GM will add the gas-powered Chevrolet Blazer where it is building the Cadillac Lyriq and Vistiq electric vehicles, and the gas-powered Cadillac XT5.
Source: Reuters, Reuters
FEE THE PEOPLE
If you live in California, expect to pay more to the dealer to process the paperwork.
In a departure from a bipartisan agreement to lower cost for Californians, the senate here has instead voted in favor of Senate Bill 791. The bill will increase the fee dealers can charge for document processing. The current cap sits at $85. The new rule will allow dealers to charge as much as 1% of the purchase price with a cap at $500.
Source: CalMatters, SB 791, NADA
CR SAYS NO
Consumer Reports had urged Republican lawmakers to kill the federal EV registration fee.
To boost electric vehicles sales, the previous administration chose to forego charging a federal registration fee to be collected by states and leave in place a registration fee for gas-powered light-duty vehicles and trucks. This fee averages out to about $85 per car.
The current administration, seeking to recoup the lost revenue to bulk up the federal road maintenance funding, has proposed a $250 fee on EVs and a $100 fee on plugin hybrid vehicles. This works out to roughly three to seven times owners of gas vehicles pay.
According to reporting by Reuters, Chris Harto, senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports said the EV fees were "punitive taxes designed to confiscate fuel savings from consumers who just want to save money for their families."
The bill was passed by the Senate as written, and on Thursday, signed by the president.
Source: CR Advocacy, Reuters
MINNESOTA TWINS EV FEE
According to the Minnesota House of Representative website, funding to maintain Minnesota's public roads is generated by three sources:
A motor fuels tax of 31.8 cents per gallon on both gasoline and diesel.
Motor vehicle sales taxes
Motor vehicle registration taxes.
Representative Natalie Zelenznikar representing the Fredenberg Township has authored HF189, a bill that proposes increasing the current registration surcharge on electric vehicles to $150, up from $75.
The bill as written will:
- double the surcharge on the purchase of all-electric vehicles;
- direct annual transfers from the General Fund to the Highway User Tax Distribution Fund based on vehicle registration count
- establish indexing of the surcharges and transfers, based upon changes in the tax rate on gasoline
The surcharge is in addition to the base registration fee of $10 plus 1.575% on MSRP.
The intent of the increase is to make up for the pending shortfall as fully electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid vehicles, which require zero fuel or a reduced quantity of fuel, continue to creep further into sales of conventional gas-powered and diesel light-duty cars and trucks.
The bill also imposes increases on the following surcharges:
$75 for plug-in hybrid vehicles
$30 for fully-electric motorcycles
$15 for plug-in hybrid motorcycles
Nick Haeg, Senior Associate, Electric Vehicles of Fresh Energy, a Minnesota-based clean energy advocacy group says, “According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s November 2024 report on options to address the highway user tax distribution funding gap, electric vehicles already contribute sufficient tax revenue through higher sales tax and tab fees to offset the lost gasoline tax revenues from internal combustion vehicles they replace.”
Sources: KIMT, MN.GOV, HF189, MN 168.013, Fresh Energy
RARE EARTH EFFECTS
The curb to access and processing of rare earth metals by China is affecting automakers differently.
Some, like Ford, have been caught flatfooted and are finding it difficult to maintain supplies. The issue has forced Ford to pause production at one of its factories.
One automaker is doing better, but only slightly. Stellantis Europe COO Jean-Philippe Imparato has told Automotive News quote, "We're all fine for June." The COO continues with the COO stating some "tough hours" have been had working through the issue.
Meanwhile, Hyundai, along with Kia, have amassed a stockpile large enough to continue producing electric and electrified vehicles without interruption for the rest of the year.
Sources: Automotive News, Automotive News, Reuters
THIS CADDY AIN'T IQ
Cadillac will have another option for Tesla conquest sales with it’s recently revealed performance EV, the Optiq-V SUV.
With its 519 horses and 650 lb-ft of torque when using ‘Velocity Max’ mode, the SUV will be capable of 3.5 seconds zero-60. The power specs will take some range out of the battery. Cadillac notes only 275 miles of range. Expect about 220 in the winter.
It arrives sporting a revised design colors and trims specific to call out its V-series cred.
Will it arrive with a NACS port you ask? Of course it will!
Pricing has been set at $67,300.
Source: Cadillac
TESLA UP CHARGES
Telsa has updated its website with revised specs and pricing for the Model S and Model X. Along with the revisions is a $5,000 price hike.
The consensus of EV media is that while the changes are subtle, the price bump is not.
A few of the refinements include a small bump in range to 410 miles from 402—most likely from revised wheel designs and improved aero.
The 2026 cars also get a new 'Frost Blue' color; revised suspension and tuning to improve ride and handling; camera updates featuring a new front camera and weather hood for rear camera; interior tweaks including dynamic lighting, decreased NVH from previously mentioned aero updates and improved Active Noise Cancellation.
New pricing for the Model S is $84,990 and the Model X at $89,990.
Sources: Tesla, Electrek
