Overview
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the immediate end of off-cycle credits for automatic start-stop systems, saying the feature is widely disliked, while clarifying the technology is not banned.
- Standing with President Donald Trump, Zeldin labeled start-stop the “Obama switch” and repeated claims about battery harm that the Associated Press described as generally debunked.
- The move coincided with the administration’s broader repeal of the Endangerment Finding, the scientific basis for U.S. greenhouse-gas regulation.
- Start-stop, now found in roughly two-thirds of vehicles, has been shown in studies cited by the Society of Automotive Engineers to yield about 7% to 26% fuel-economy savings in suitable driving conditions.
- Automakers including Stellantis and Ford welcomed the deregulatory step as supporting consumer choice, while environmental groups signaled plans to challenge the decision in court.