GM Is Pushing Hard to Tank California’s EV Mandate
Senate to vote as early as next week on measure to revoke the state’s emissions waiver
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May 17, 2025 at 9:00 pm
“We need your help!” GM said in an email it sent this past week to thousands of its white-collar employees. “Emissions standards that are not aligned with market realities pose a serious threat to our business by undermining consumer choice and vehicle affordability.”
GM, one of the biggest sellers of EVs in the U.S., is encouraging employees to use scripted talking points to lobby Senators. The goal is to nullify a 2022 California measure that would ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and trucks by 2035, a mandate that has since been adopted by 11 other states. The Senate could vote as early as next week to revoke a waiver that allows California to set its own stricter tailpipe-emissions standards.
GM set its own internal goal of ending sales of nearly all gas-only vehicles by 2035 and initially supported the California target, while advocating for a uniform national standard.
But the EV market has taken a turn. Three years ago, U.S. automakers couldn’t keep up with demand; now EV sales are beginning to sputter. Discounts are drying up, car buyers are seeking lower-priced alternatives and Congress is looking to roll back tax credits that for years have powered electric-vehicle sales.
Even in California, America’s EV market leader, sales are below the state’s own targets. Under the rule, in 2026, sales of zero-emissions vehicles should account for 35% of all vehicle sales. Right now, they account for 20% of the state’s automobile market.
EV sales fell 5% in April while the wider U.S. car market grew by 10%, according to estimates from research firm Motor Intelligence. Currently, EVs make up 7% of the U.S. market.
GM abandoned a self-imposed target to build 400,000 electric vehicles by mid-2024, and last year the company said it would delay plans for a new Buick electric vehicle and push back the opening of an EV truck factory. Ford and other automakers have similarly scaled back plans.
Meanwhile, GM says it continues to invest heavily in EVs and has launched a string of new electric models. A GM spokeswoman said the company has long argued that the U.S. should have a single emissions mandate and that any regulations should factor in market demand.
“GM believes in customer choice, and we continue to focus on offering the best and broadest portfolio of vehicles on the market,” the spokeswoman said.
She said GM’s email urging employee action went to workers in Michigan and affected states. In Michigan, staffers at some lawmakers’ offices noted receiving calls from GM employees.
The company is joined by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents automakers including Chrysler parent company Stellantis, Ford and Toyota, and called on Congress to “prevent the inevitable jobs and manufacturing fallout from these unachievable regulations.”
Supporters of the California waiver have argued that the state’s unique geography and climate warrant the special treatment that enables it to set stricter standards to reach its environmental goals.
A spokeswoman for the California Air Resources Board, a state regulator that sets the auto mandates, said the rules provide ample flexibility to enable car companies to meet them. Sales, for instance, are averaged over a three-year period, and manufacturers can use credits banked from prior years, she said.
Executives at EV makers Tesla and Rivian have said they believe electrification is inevitable.
“You can’t stop the advent of electric cars. It’s going to happen,” Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk told investors in January when asked about Trump’s ambitions to reverse the California waiver.
Asked if Senate Republicans would have the votes necessary to pass the measure, Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) said the Senate would vote on it next week and pass it.
“This is about an effort to eliminate every gas-powered vehicle in America,” said Barrasso, the No. 2 Senate Republican. “That’s completely impractical. It’s expensive beyond the affordability of most families.”
The turn against California’s mandate has been bipartisan. When the U.S. House passed a bill identical to the Senate’s earlier this month, 35 Democrats supported the legislation, including two from California.
Rep. Laura Gillen, a Democrat from New York, one of the states to adopt the mandate, said she supports the goal of reducing emissions but that the timeline is “out-of-touch with reality” and an undue burden on consumers facing a cost-of-living crisis.
“If everybody in my district went out and got an EV, the grid could not accommodate that,” Gillen said.
Barry Stoler, a dealer with Toyota and Lexus stores on Long Island in New York, said EVs are a tough sell even with the generous federal tax credits that Republicans have targeted for phasing out.
“If the factory doesn’t subsidize it and the government doesn’t subsidize it, the consumer can’t afford it,” Stoler said.
He sees no way automakers can meet the California requirements, and he worries about having fewer gas-powered vehicles to sell. “The customers just aren’t there,” Stoler said.
Write to Sharon Terlep at sharon.terlep@wsj.com and Lindsay Wise at lindsay.wise@wsj.com
