New Mex­i­co denies automak­ers’ push for EV man­date pause as rules are chal­lenged

New Mex­i­co reg­u­la­tors denied auto­mo­tive deal­ers’ request to pause a man­date that would put a quo­ta on the num­ber of elec­tric vehi­cles sold.
The 4–1 deci­sion by the mem­bers of the state Envi­ron­men­tal Improve­ment Board comes as the New Mex­i­co Auto­mo­tive Deal­ers Asso­ci­a­tion pur­sues to chal­lenge the man­date before the state Court of Appeals, accord­ing to the Asso­ci­at­ed Press.
In an effort to curb emis­sions and mit­i­gate cli­mate change, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D‑NM) has pushed for more elec­tric vehi­cles.
How­ev­er, car deal­ers and oth­ers are con­cerned that the man­dates for zero-emis­sion vehi­cles will neg­a­tive­ly affect rur­al com­mu­ni­ties that lack elec­tric vehi­cle charg­ing infra­struc­ture. Repub­li­cans in the leg­isla­tive minor­i­ty have called the move “imprac­ti­cal,” con­sid­er­ing the long ranges peo­ple have to dri­ve in New Mex­i­co — the fifth-largest state by area.
Nava­jo Nation Pres­i­dent Buu Nygren told the out­let of his con­cerns about the afford­abil­i­ty of …