Truck Makers Hesitant on Regulatory Rollbacks
The headline for this article might seem a little weird at first glance. “Why would trucking companies feel uneasy about the Trump Administration deciding to rollback emissions regulations for the Environmental Protection Agency?” But the reason why makes sense given the implications of America’s government.
Details
While Trump’s victory in 2024 secures a conservative future for the executive branch for the next four years, trucking companies are looking far beyond that. After all, since the start of the 21st century, the party in presidential power has swapped five different times.
With uncertainty as to who was going to win the 2024 election, truck makers were already working diligently to meet the 2027 NOx standards set by the EPA with the expectation that those regulations would become official. Now that they are not, the research and development the trucking industry has done is already finished, with the potential for 2027 models to meet the 35 milligrams per horsepower-hour requirements already.
Director of Marketing for Kenworth, Kyle Kimball, put the logic onto the table when asked about Kenworth’s future in powertrain development.
“Kenworth’s product portfolio complies with EPA 2027 Greenhouse Gas Regulations, and our product plans will not change unless regulation law is changed. Knowing the standards are still (by law) slated to change in 2027, our products will meet those standards and will be ready in the event any delays are realized. That said, and given the time frame needed for powertrain development, we plan for multiple outcomes and are prepared to comply with every regulatory scenario.”
Conclusion
Basic logic dictates that higher environmental emission regulations result in higher prices for trucks due to the supplies and labor that go into making the trucks more environmentally sustainable, so naturally trucking companies are hesitant to put these technologies into their trucks unless required by the executive branch. However, now that the technology has made great strides under the fear of the regulations becoming a reality by 2027, the powertrain builders can now work on making the technology more cost-efficient before fully introducing it to the market, and can minimize the impact the cost increase would have on demand when the political pendulum eventually swings the other direction and these NOx requirements eventually become official.
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