| Thanks for reading Hyperdrive, Bloomberg’s newsletter on the future of the auto world. Read today’s featured story here on BNEF.com. Trump Halts Effective Policy | Congestion pricing has become the newest political punching bag for Donald Trump, whose administration rescinded federal approval for New York City’s nascent program. Yet these fees are one of the most effective ways to cut down on polluting cars, and New York’s program is already showing positive results. The New York congestion fee was implemented on Jan. 5. Within the program’s first week, the number of vehicles entering the central business district of Manhattan fell 7.5% year-on-year. Over the month, it took 15% to 48% less time to cross bridges and tunnels into Manhattan’s congestion zone than it had in January 2024, and subway ridership increased by over 7% on weekdays and 12% on weekends, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.  Traffic on New York City’s Madison Avenue on Jan. 3. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg To date, New York is the only city in the US with a congestion-pricing plan, and fees for vehicles entering central business districts can bump up against significant opposition even in less car-centric countries. Yet congestion pricing can reduce vehicle kilometers traveled by up to 17%, studies from the University of Westminster, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management and Transportation Research show. That’s more than either vehicle-purchase restrictions or driving restrictions can do. Moreover, a 10% reduction in passenger vehicle kilometers traveled could result in a 7% decrease in the overall passenger vehicle fleet come 2050, BNEF analysis has found. In a letter to New York Governer Kathy Hochul, US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy explained he was rescinding permission because of how the tolls are implemented and used. An accompanying statement put the decision in a far more political light, calling the plan a “slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.” New York’s program is not yet dead in the water. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has sued the Trump administration in federal court, calling the program’s termination “unlawful” and asking the court to declare it “null and void.” Initial surveys suggest that New Yorkers are warming to the congestion fee. In a Morning Consult poll published Feb. 3, 59% of New Yorkers say Trump should allow congestion pricing in New York City to continue, and nearly half find that the pricing has led to less traffic in the city. Congestion pricing alone is no silver bullet. Policy carrots to boost alternative travel modes are critical to cutting hours spent behind the steering wheel and emissions, as are sticks like purchase restrictions for new vehicles, road-access limits and speed controls. Yet in the US, where more than 90% of passenger kilometers traveled are in private and for-hire vehicles, and urban rail systems lack both capital and expansion plans, congestion pricing could have a significant role to play. — By Siong-Hu Wong  A Nissan badge on an Aura vehicle displayed at the company's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg Nissan shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla to aid the struggling carmaker. The group believes the EV maker is interested in acquiring Nissan’s plants in the US, the newspaper reported, citing people it didn’t identify. The proposal envisions a consortium of investors with Tesla as the largest backer, but also includes the possibility of a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Industry to prevent a full takeover by the Apple supplier, the report said. Musk responded on X, writing: “The Tesla factory IS the product. The Cybercab production line is like nothing else in the automotive industry.”  A curtain draped over a Nikola electric truck before its unveiling in September 2022. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg Nikola’s bankruptcy included an unusual leader atop the customary list of biggest potential losers: the US Securities and Exchange Commission. And the agency’s chances of getting its $80 million claim fully paid might be dim. The debt reflects what’s left of a $125 million enforcement settlement that Nikola agreed to in December 2021. It’s unclear whether the company will have to pay the remainder when the bankruptcy is settled. - Read More: Nikola bankruptcy is clouded by Trump’s anti-EV measures.
| 
