Nebraska is suing electric truck makers, alleging they are illegally colluding to limit the availability of semi-trucks with conventional internal combustion engines in favor of electric models.
The legal complaint in State of Nebraska v. Daimler Truck North America was filed on Nov. 19 in Lincoln County District Court in Nebraska.
Nebraska Attorney General Michael Hilgers said the lawsuit is needed because several heavy-duty truck manufacturers signed a California-sponsored pact called the Clean Truck Partnership.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB), a state agency that oversees California’s climate change and air pollution control program, unveiled the Clean Truck Partnership in July 2023. Under the pact, internal combustion semis will be phased out over time, a move Nebraska and its allies say will raise the cost of doing business nationwide.
The CARB said at the time that the agreement, which includes Ford Motor Company and General Motors Company, was needed to meet California’s emission reduction objectives.
“The unprecedented collaboration between California regulators and truck manufacturers marks a new era in our zero-emission future, where we work together to address the needs of both the trucking industry and the Californians who deserve to breathe clean air,” CARB chair Liane Randolph said last year.
Under the Clean Truck Partnership, vehicle manufacturers agreed to refrain from opposing future electric truck mandates and to limit the production of diesel-powered semi-trucks, even if a court rules the agreement unlawful. Other states are also adhering to the principles outlined in the agreement.
Plaintiffs in the new lawsuit argue that the defendants—Daimler Truck North America, International Motors Inc., Navistar Inc., Paccar Inc., Volvo Group North America, and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association—are collaborating to restrict access to conventional diesel trucks.
Apart from Nebraska, the plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are Energy Marketers of America and Renewable Fuels Nebraska.
Nebraska is one of 17 states that is separately suing California over its electric truck mandates. Only zero-emission trucks may be sold in California as of 2035. All trucks operating in the state must be zero-emissions by 2042. That lawsuit, State of Nebraska v. Cliff, was filed in May in federal court in California.
In the new legal complaint, Nebraska argues that the U.S. automotive industry is misguidedly trying to “pacify” the all-electric movement, while at the same time prioritizing its economic well-being. This has caused the industry to lose billions of dollars by producing zero-emission vehicles even while the conventional internal combustion engine market remains profitable, according to the complaint.
“The apparent solution to this problem is to eliminate consumer choice and pass on the costs to consumers,” the complaint states.
“Eliminating diesel-powered semi-trucks is practically impossible to accomplish and would impose enormous costs on Nebraska and Nebraska companies,” Hilgers said in a Nov. 19 statement. “That is why Nebraska sued California officials from issuing an anti-democratic regulation to eliminate diesel-powered semis in their state.”
He said this is why the state is also participating in the federal multi-state litigation against California regarding its “anti-democratic regulation to eliminate diesel-powered semis in their state.”
Companies, such as the four defendants named in the state lawsuit, “are working together to try to dictate national policy to Nebraskans and Americans,” Hillgers said at a press conference on Nov. 19.
The internal combustion engine logistics industry is “under assault right now” by California, the federal government, and these companies, he said.
The Epoch Times reached out for comment to the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association but did not receive a reply by publication time.
This article by Matthew Vadum appeared Nov. 20, 2024, in The Epoch Times.