Nebraska Attorney General Michael Hilgers announced today that the state is filing an antitrust lawsuit against some of the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturers, accusing them of conspiring to limit the availability of diesel-powered semi-trucks as part of a larger push toward electric vehicles (EVs). The lawsuit claims that the truck makers are engaging in anti-competitive behavior that will ultimately increase costs for consumers and hurt the state’s economy.
The lawsuit, filed in Nebraska state court, targets Daimler, Navistar (a subsidiary of Volkswagen’s Traton), Paccar, Volvo Group North America, and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association. The complaint alleges that these companies have colluded to phase out medium- and heavy-duty internal combustion vehicles in response to California’s strict emissions regulations, which aim to eliminate the production of diesel-powered semi-trucks in favor of zero-emission electric alternatives.
Attorney General Hilgers argues that the industry’s shift toward electric trucks is being pushed in a way that severely limits consumer choice. “Eliminating diesel-powered semi-trucks is not only impractical at this stage but would also impose enormous costs on Nebraskans,” Hilgers said. “This coordinated action by manufacturers to limit availability of traditional trucks will drive up prices, reduce supply, and impose unnecessary financial burdens on consumers. This is a classic example of an antitrust violation.”
The lawsuit specifically takes issue with a 2023 agreement between major truck manufacturers and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Under this agreement, the manufacturers committed to meeting California’s stringent vehicle emissions standards, regardless of the outcomes of any legal challenges to California’s authority to impose such regulations.
In recent years, California has been at the center of the push for more stringent environmental regulations, including the requirement that a rising percentage of heavy-duty trucks be zero-emission. The California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved plans in 2023 to mandate an increasing number of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks in the state.
However, as California moves to implement these regulations, other states, including Nebraska, have raised concerns about the potential economic impact of such drastic changes. In May 2023, Nebraska, along with 15 other states, filed a lawsuit against CARB, challenging the agency’s “clean fleets” rule that aims to phase in zero-emission vehicles in medium- and heavy-duty fleets by 2036. These rules would also mandate that all medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in California operate as zero-emission vehicles by 2045, a goal that many believe could prove impossible without significant investment and technological breakthroughs.
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