Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The Alliance for Automotive Innovation exhibits strategic policy engagement that is broadly misaligned with policy pathways for delivering the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. Despite generally supporting tax incentives for zero-emission vehicle production, the association has opposed state-level zero-emission vehicle sales targets, and has advocated to weaken GHG emissions standards for light-duty vehicles. The Alliance has also opposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: The Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s top-line messaging on climate policy is very limited. While the industry association has expressed its commitment to a net-zero carbon transportation future in May 2022 comments on California’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, it is unclear whether it supports governmental 2050 carbon neutrality targets in line with the IPCC. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation also has not stated an explicit position on the Paris Agreement.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: The Alliance for Automotive Innovation has high negative engagement with both federal GHG emissions standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards. In March 2025, the Alliance endorsed the Transportation Freedom Act, a policy that would repeal and weaken GHG emissions standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles in addition to Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards. Prior to this rule, the Alliance advocated to significantly reduce the stringency of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA’s) proposed GHG emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles in July 2023 comments to the agency, and advocated to maintain off-cycle credits, A/C credits, and multiplier credits that would further weaken the stringency of the standards. The comments also challenged EPA’s legal authority to enact the proposed rule. The association was further unsupportive of the standards in a May 2023 oral testimony to the EPA.
The Association advocated to review and weaken Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards for passenger cars and light trucks in response to a May 2025 Request for Information issued by the Department of Transportation. In October 2023 comments to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Alliance advocated to weaken proposed CAFE standards and maintain A/C and off-cycle flexibilities that would weaken the stringency of the proposal. The association also advocated to weaken the standards in its September 2023 oral testimony to NHTSA. John Bozzella, the CEO of the Alliance, further opposed the standards in statements in a June 2024 Politico article and a June 2024 Reuters article.
Positioning on Energy Transition: The Alliance for Automotive Innovation has both positive and negative positions on the transition of the energy mix. In early 2025, the association supported congressional action to repeal the Advanced Clean Cars II rule using the Congressional Review Act in an April 2025 letter to the House of Representatives and a February 2025 letter to the House and US Senate, and CEO John Bozzella supported the repeal of the ACC II rule in May 2025 statements. The Alliance appeared to advocate against granting the California Air Resources Board a waiver of preemption for the policy in February 2024 regulatory comments. The Alliance advocated for Maryland to opt out of ACC II in March 2025 regulatory comments, appeared unsupportive of the rule as Illinois considered adoption in October 2024 regulatory comments, and CEO John Bozzella advocated for Vermont to pause enforcement of the rule in April 2025 statements. The Transportation Freedom Act, which the Alliance endorsed in March 2025, would also repeal authority for states to enforce the Advanced Clean Cars II and Advanced Clean Trucks rules.
The Alliance has consistently advocated for tax credits for the production of electric vehicles, batteries, and refueling infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles. In March 2025 regulatory comments, the association supported the 45W tax credit for commercial clean vehicles. Immediately following the 2024 presidential election, the Alliance issued a letter in October 2024 to the federal government advocating to preserve tax credits for clean vehicle production that were put in place by the Inflation Reduction Act. CEO John Bozzella supported Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for electric vehicles (45X and 30D) in April 2025 statements reported in Politico.