Senate Votes to Block California 2035 Electric Vehicle Rules

The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to bar California's landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 that has been adopted by 11 other states representing a third of the U.S. auto market.

The vote sends to President Donald Trump the measure to repeal a waiver granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under former President Joe Biden in December, allowing California to mandate at least 80% electric vehicles by 2035.

The vote is a win for General Motors, Toyota, and other automakers that heavily lobbied against the rules and a blow to California and environmental groups that say the requirements are essential to ensuring cleaner vehicles and cutting pollution.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, representing GM, Toyota, Volkswagen , Hyundai, Stellantis, and others, praised the vote.

"The fact is these EV sales mandates were never achievable," the group's CEO John Bozzella said. "In reality, meeting the mandates would require diverting finite capital from the EV transition to purchase compliance credits from Tesla."

Tesla did not immediately comment.

This is the latest in a series of actions underway in recent months taking aim at electric vehicles.

A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday would end a $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles, impose a new $250 annual fee on EVs for road repair costs, and repeal vehicle emissions rules designed to prod automakers into building more EVs.

If upheld by the courts, the rule will make it easier for automakers to delay or cancel some EV production.

California's rules require 35% of light-duty vehicles in the 2026 model year to be zero-emission models. Automakers say it is impossible for them to meet that figure given current EV sales, which are 10% or lower in some states adopting the rules.