Vermont’s state government abruptly halted enforcement of its electric vehicle mandate law, making it the latest state to back off such a law as consumers continue to prefer gas-powered cars.
Vermont governor Phil Scott (R.) issued an executive order Tuesday directing the state’s Agency of Natural Resources to pause enforcement of the plan. Under the now-paused law, beginning later this year, automakers would have been forced to ensure EVs were a certain share of total car sales, a percentage that would incrementally increase every year until 2035, when a complete mandate would take effect.
According to the most recent industry data, EVs account for about 12 percent of new car purchases in Vermont. That is far short of the law’s initial requirement forcing 35 percent of model year 2026 cars sold in the state to be electric.
“We have to be realistic about a pace that’s achievable,” Scott said in a statement.
“It’s clear we don’t have anywhere near enough charging infrastructure and insufficient technological advances in heavy-duty vehicles to meet current goals,” he continued. “We have much more work to do, in order make it more convenient, faster, and more affordable to buy, maintain and charge EV’s. When we do, it’s more likely everyday Vermonters will make the switch.”
Scott’s action represents a significant loss for climate activists who have made EV mandates a centerpiece policy of their broader agenda to boost green energy nationwide and fight global warming. It also makes Vermont the latest state to roll back a statewide EV mandate: Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware have also withdrawn or modified plans to mandate EVs.
The governor’s decision is a setback for California, whose 2022 Advanced Clean Cars law makes it possible for states to mandate EVs. The 1970 Clean Air Act allows California to obtain a federal waiver to issue vehicle emissions regulations that are stricter than federal emissions standards and for other states like Vermont to adopt those regulations.
In December, the Biden administration issued a waiver green-lighting California’s Advanced Clean Cars rules, which a dozen states have adopted.
The House recently passed a bill to revoke that waiver, but the Senate has yet to take it up. The Trump administration said in February that it would support revoking the waiver.
“Governor Scott did the right thing by standing up for Vermont’s drivers and protecting vehicle choice with his order delaying the state’s unachievable gas vehicle ban,” John Bozzella, the president and CEO of auto industry group the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said in a statement to the Washington Free Beacon.
“Governors in Connecticut, Minnesota, and Maine—that were part of an earlier California EV sales requirement but declined to join the ACC II program—and recently governors in Virginia and Maryland also opted out of these wildly unachievable EV mandates too. Why? They understand what is happening in their states,” he continued. “Not enough customers and insufficient charging for these unachievable EV sales requirements.”
Bozzella added that Vermont wasn’t ready for an EV mandate and that other governors should follow Vermont’s lead and “stand up for vehicle choice and pull their states from the gas vehicle bans too.”
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