Albuquerque – Despite days of strong opposition at public hearings, members of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's hand-picked Environmental Improvement Board voted to advance her electric vehicle mandates late Thursday. The California-style requirement forces 4 out every 10 new cars sent by out-of-state manufacturers to New Mexico be an EV starting as early as 2026, with escalation triggers to follow.

“This is nothing more than a blatant end around from Governor Lujan Grisham’s unelected puppets to circumvent the will of the people to implement a failing green agenda,” said Larry Behrens, Communications Director for Power The Future. “If New Mexicans want an electric vehicle today, they are free to buy one, Yet, because of their high price tag and unreliability, they make up less than 1 percent of cars in the state. New Mexicans are rejecting the Governor’s EVs, so she has no choice but to force them on us."

Last summer, Power The Future uncovered that only 0.8 percent of the cars in New Mexico are electric with the highest percentage of ownership centering around Santa Fe and Northeast Albuquerque. Additionally, public documents show that despite using tax dollars to buy an EV fleet, state employees drove EVs for less than 1 percent of their travel.

The Albuquerque Journal advocated against the adoption of the Governor’s rule this week.

Power The Future is a 501c4 non-profit dedicated to fighting for American energy workers.