Minnesota to Withdraw EV Mandate

Minnesota has agreed to entirely withdraw its EV mandate (Clean Cars rule), per a recently submitted Stipulation and Joint Motion sent to the United States District Court of Minnesota. 

The Clean Cars rule, which was adopted in 2020, aligned Minnesota’s vehicle emission standards to those set by the California Air Resources Board.

The motion that was filed on June 30 states:

• Defendants will not enforce the greenhouse gas emissions standards or the zeroemissions standards (Minnesota Rule Rules 7023.0250 or 7023.0300) for vehicles produced or delivered for sale or lease after model year 2025; 
• Defendants haveinitiatedstate notice-and-comment rulemaking to repeal Rules 7023.0250 and 7023.0300 by publishing a “Notice of Intent to Repeal Obsolete Rules” in the Minnesota State Register on June 29, 2026; 
• Defendants will make best efforts tofinalizethe repeal of Rules 7023.0250 and 7023.0300 by December 31, 2026. 
• After such repeal is complete, Defendants must engage in new notice-and-comment rulemaking to adopt any vehicle emissions standards as rules of the State.

In May, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison submitted a letter to the U.S. District Court initiating the process to dismiss Clean Fuels Development Coalition v. Kessler case (Minnesota Clean Cars Rule), litigation filed and led by NACS and the Minnesota Service Station & Convenience Store Association (MSSA).

“We are pleased to see that Minnesota has recognized it cannot defend mandating a single vehicle technology,” said NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor at the time. “That mandate undermined the state economy and was worse on environmental goals than common-sense alternatives. This is a win for the convenience industry and a competitive market that benefits consumers. We will keep pursuing similar outcomes in other states.”