The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation plans to hold a hearing on Jan. 14 to discuss global warming regulations and mandated technologies that have driven up the cost of vehicles. The hearing will be livestreamed on the committee’s website and YouTube.
The hearing, Pedal to the Policy: The Views of the American Auto Industry on the Upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization, will review the cause of increased costs and how they impact affordability and choice in the automotive market.
Scheduled testifiers include Mary Barra, General Motors CEO; Antonio Filosa, Stellantis CEO and executive director; Lars Moravy, Tesla vice president of vehicle engineering; and Jim Farley, Ford Motor Co., president and CEO.
“Americans have been clear that they are hyper-focused on affordability – and so is this committee,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), committee chairman, said when he announced the hearing. “This hearing will examine how government interference continues to make vehicles expensive and out of reach for American customers and how we can restore competition and choice.”
The average new car sold for $20,356 in 2000. The price had modestly risen to $24,296 in 2010. By 2020, the average price had doubled, and it now exceeds $50,000.
Congress is preparing for the upcoming surface transportation re-authorization.