WEST ST. PAUL, Minnesota - The Minnesota Auto Dealers Association (MADA) today heavily criticized the Walz Administration for pushing ahead with its plan to impose California Car rules on Minnesota.

“The administration has mischaracterized the implications of this rule and misled the citizens of Minnesota on its real effects,” stated MADA President Scott Lambert.

“Minnesota does not have an air quality problem like California’s. The California Rule will limit the choices of vehicles Minnesotans demand, and the price of all new cars will go up,” said Lambert in a rebuke of the governor’s claims.

“The California Rule puts California bureaucrats in charge of Minnesota industry, and they will impose an artificial supply mandate on the Minnesota marketplace and put Minnesota on track for an outright ban on the sale of combustible engine vehicles.”

A decision of this magnitude warranted a solution authorized by the Minnesota Legislature. However, adoption of the California Car rules never would have passed since surveys show Minnesotans of all political stripes overwhelmingly reject this approach to addressing climate change.

“Incentives and infrastructure are the proven way to get more electric vehicles on the road,” concluded Lambert. “But the governor has done nothing regarding infrastructure and the California Rule is a pure supply mandate that does not address how to increase demand.”