The American auto industry is entering a new phase as the Trump administration continues to dismantle major parts of the Biden administration’s strategy to move consumers toward lower-emission vehicles.
The change does not mean electric vehicles are disappearing. Instead, federal incentives and regulations have shifted, while automakers continue to invest in gasoline-powered trucks, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, EVs, and newer technologies designed to combine electric propulsion with gasoline engines.
Biden’s Auto Strategy Was Built Around Emissions Standards
The Biden administration did not enact a law requiring Americans to purchase electric vehicles. Its strategy relied primarily on emissions standards, fuel-economy rules, tax incentives, and investments in EV manufacturing and charging infrastructure.
In March 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized emissions standards covering passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032.
The standards were written as performance-based requirements rather than mandates specifying which technology manufacturers had to use. EPA said automakers could determine how best to meet them, including through gasoline-powered technology, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles.
At the time, however, EPA projected that the standards could result in EVs accounting for as much as 67% of new light-duty vehicle sales in 2032, depending on the compliance strategies manufacturers selected.
The Biden administration also expanded federal consumer incentives for qualifying EVs and other clean vehicles.
The push encountered resistance from within the auto industry. In 2023, The Dallas Express reported that more than 3,000 auto dealers had urged the Biden administration to reconsider its EV strategy, citing concerns about affordability, charging infrastructure, and consumer demand.
Trump Administration Takes a Different Approach
President Donald Trump has reversed much of that strategy. The Dallas Express previously reported on the administration’s changes to federal fuel-economy standards, which were intended to give automakers greater flexibility in producing gasoline-powered vehicles.
One of the most consequential changes occurred in February 2026, when EPA finalized a rule rescinding the 2009 greenhouse-gas Endangerment Finding and repealing subsequent federal greenhouse-gas emissions standards for highway vehicles and engines.
EPA said the action eliminates future federal obligations specifically related to greenhouse-gas emissions from highway vehicles and engines, while emphasizing that regulations covering traditional pollutants such as smog- and soot-forming emissions remain in place.
The administration also moved to change how federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards treat electric vehicles. In June 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized a rule addressing the agency’s interpretation of its CAFE authority.
The policy shift has also been reinforced by Congress.
The federal new, used, and commercial clean-vehicle tax credits ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
That means consumers buying a qualifying EV today generally cannot receive the federal purchase credits that were available under the previous system.
EVs Are Not Going Away
The end of federal consumer credits does not mean the end of electric vehicles.
EVs remain on sale from virtually every major automaker, and manufacturers have already invested heavily in battery technology, electric drivetrains, factories, and charging systems.
Tesla remains a major player, while Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Rivian, Lucid, and others continue to offer electric models.
The market, however, is becoming less dependent on a single technology.
Hybrids are an important part of that transition.
A conventional hybrid combines a gasoline engine with an electric motor and battery. A plug-in hybrid can operate on electricity for part of a trip and use gasoline when additional range is needed.
For consumers who want improved fuel economy without relying exclusively on charging infrastructure, hybrids provide a middle ground.
Gasoline Trucks Remain a Powerful Force
Despite years of investment in electrification, Americans continue to buy large numbers of gasoline-powered trucks and SUVs.
Ford’s F-Series remains one of the country’s dominant vehicle lines, while the Chevrolet Silverado, Ram pickup, Toyota Tundra, and GMC Sierra continue to compete heavily in the pickup market.
Ram has also returned the HEMI V-8 to portions of its lineup after previously moving toward its Hurricane inline-six engine.
Stellantis has continued to offer gasoline-powered Ram trucks while developing electrified products, demonstrating the industry’s increasingly mixed approach.
The market is therefore not simply moving from gasoline to electricity. Automakers are maintaining multiple powertrains because consumers have different needs for towing, hauling, commuting, fuel economy, range, and price.
What Is the Most American-Made Car?
“American-made” is also more complicated than the name on the grille.
Cars.com’s 2026 American-Made Index evaluates vehicles based on factors including where they are assembled, U.S. and Canadian parts content, the origin of available engines and transmissions, and U.S. manufacturing employment.
The 2026 rankings put the Tesla Model 3 at No. 1, followed by the Tesla Model Y, Jeep Gladiator, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Honda Ridgeline.
Tesla has now held the top position for six consecutive years.
But that has not always been the case.
Tesla first reached No. 1 in the American-Made Index in 2021, when the Model 3 displaced the Ford Mustang.
Earlier rankings were dominated by traditional automakers, demonstrating how the American manufacturing landscape has changed.
The 2026 Top Five American-Made Vehicles
According to the latest Cars.com American-Made Index, the top five are:
- Tesla Model 3
- Tesla Model Y
- Jeep Gladiator
- Jeep Grand Cherokee (and Grand Cherokee L)
- Honda Ridgeline
The list is not a sales ranking. It measures the vehicles’ contribution to the U.S. economy based on manufacturing and sourcing factors. A vehicle can be considered American made even when its manufacturer is headquartered outside the United States.
What Comes Next?
Gasoline engines remain essential to America’s truck and SUV market. EVs remain a significant technology with an established manufacturing base. Hybrids are expanding, while plug-in hybrids offer another option between conventional gasoline vehicles and fully electric cars.
Automakers are also developing range-extender and other hybrid technologies that use electric motors for propulsion while retaining a gasoline engine to provide additional range or generate electricity.
The American market now has competing technologies — and automakers are betting that consumers will decide which ones succeed.
For buyers, the result is a broader question than whether the future is electric or gasoline.
It may be both — with hybrids and other technologies filling the space between them.
