FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 18, 2024) — Attorney General Russell Coleman stood up for Kentuckians who drive gas and diesel-powered trucks and cars against the Biden Administration’s electric vehicle (EV) mandate. General Coleman and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey led a 25-state coalition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to block a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions rule.
The new rule imposes unworkable emissions standards on passenger cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty vehicles. The EPA is attempting to use the weight of the federal government and force manufacturers to produce more EVs so they account for nearly 70% of car sales in less than a decade. Last year, American EV sales were a measly 8.4%.
EVs account for less than 1% of vehicles operating in Kentucky, as of September 30, 2023. The forced transition to EVs would all but devastate the American economy, threatening jobs, raising prices and undermining the reliability of the electric grid.
“The Biden Administration is willing to sacrifice the American auto industry and its workers in service of its radical green agenda. We just aren’t buying it. Demand for EVs continues to fall, and even those who want to buy one can’t afford it amid historic inflation,” said Attorney General Coleman. “For the nearly 58,000 auto workers who clock in every day in Louisville, Bowling Green, Georgetown and more, we will keep fighting President Biden’s illegal mandates that put the American Dream farther out of reach.”
A Gallup poll released just this month showed fewer Americans said they would consider buying an EV than last year, with almost half (48%) saying they would not purchase one.
“Kentucky is an agriculture state, and EVs aren’t tough enough to keep up with our farmers,” said Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell. “We put a lot of miles on the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s vehicles to serve rural communities, and we can’t stop on the side of the road to plug in. The Biden Administration has it out for rural America, and I’m proud Kentucky is leading the fight to stop them.”
Amid shrinking consumer demand, Ford Motor Company lost about $4.7 billion on EVs last year and projects even worse losses this year. Ford employs nearly 13,000 Kentuckians at its Louisville facilities.
Attorneys General Coleman and Morrisey led the lawsuit, along with Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
Read the challenge from the attorneys general filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
In addition to this lawsuit, Attorney General Coleman has built a strong record of stopping the Biden Administration’s radical climate agenda. He led a national coalition that blocked another tailpipe emissions standard from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and joined 24 other states to block a mandate from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would have bullied businesses into tracking and reporting greenhouse gas emissions.