Michigan Is Suing Oil Companies For 'Suppressing' EVs

The state alleges that BP, Chevron, Exxon and others have acted as a "cartel" that's "suppressed innovation" around EVs.

Michigan Lawsuit Top

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Patrick George

By: Patrick George

Jan 25, at 10:25am ET

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a federal antitrust lawsuit accusing major oil companies and an industry group of colluding to "suppress" renewable energy and electric vehicle competition.
The suit names BP, Chevron, Exxon, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute, alleging they acted like a cartel to restrain trade and block clean energy alternatives.
Michigan claims this alleged conspiracy has kept energy prices high and limited affordable EV options for consumers.

The American auto industry is in the middle of a pivot back to gasoline-powered cars after more than a decade of chasing a mostly electric future. Some observers say it's short-lived, driven by new tariffs and shifting regulations under the Trump administration. Others blame market forces and the fact that many electric-vehicle choices haven't been on par with consumers' needs.

But the State of Michigan is attempting to hold another group responsible for the downturn of EVs and renewable power in general: the oil industry.

Michigan's attorney general Dana Nessel on Friday filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell Oil and the American Petroleum Institute, alleging that the petroleum giants and their trade association "have unlawfully colluded to reduce innovation and output (and thereby increase prices) in the Michigan transportation energy market and the Michigan primary energy market."

The 126-page lawsuit alleges that the oil companies committed a "conspiracy" that has kept energy prices artificially high in the state and dependent on fossil fuels, while also working to undermine the American EV market.

The state is seeking a jury trial and unspecified financial damages tied to what Michigan consumers and the state government have allegedly overpaid for energy. It's also seeking a repayment of fossil-fuel industry profits.

"For decades, defendants have conspired with each other to forestall meaningful competition from renewable energy and maintain their dominance in the energy market," the lawsuit said. "They have done so as a cartel, agreeing to reduce the production and distribution of electricity from renewable sources and to restrain the emergence of EV and renewable primary energy technologies in the United States."

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InsideEVs has reached out to the oil companies named in the lawsuit. We will update this story if they respond to our request for a comment.

"These baseless lawsuits are a coordinated campaign against an industry that powers everyday life, drives America’s economy, and is actively reducing emissions," an attorney for the American Petroleum Institute told the Detroit Free Press. "We continue to believe that energy policy belongs in Congress, not a patchwork of courtrooms.”

While Michigan's lawsuit is wide-ranging in its claims around energy sources and prices, it specifically blames an oil industry "conspiracy" for decades of slower growth around EVs, charging infrastructure and cheaper electricity.

Alpitronic EV Chargers

Photo by: Alpitronic

Among other things, the state accuses the oil companies of slow-walking charger growth at their fueling stations; deliberately delaying their own hybrid and battery technology development that they once helped pioneer; driving "misinformation" campaigns with “thinktanks, blogs, and ideologically sympathetic media outlets” that have undermined EV adoption and spread false narratives about renewable technology.

"But for the conspiracy, EVs would have reached scale years earlier and Michigan and its consumers would have avoided billions of dollars in overcharges on transportation energy," the lawsuit alleged.

Michigan has some of the highest electricity costs in the U.S. It remains home to much of the American automotive industry, which is now delaying, repurposing or outright cancelling many of the EV investments that have been underway for years. Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have all announced a slower EV rollout than they projected at the outset of the decade, and have more recently touted "consumer choice" as the reason for renewed investments back to fossil-fuel powertrains.

That shift comes amid a second Trump administration that has been overtly friendly to oil and gas interests. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump vowed to "unleash American energy" and eliminate what's been called an "EV mandate" instituted by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.

Trump has since rolled back strict fuel economy rules, sought to cancel federal EV charger funding and eliminated EV tax credits. Trump's own cabinet is also extensively staffed with officials who have strong ties to the fossil-fuel industry.

But Michigan’s lawsuit goes further, including claims of technology and climate data suppression that stretch back decades—and have since left people in that state without viable energy alternatives.

"Drivers in Michigan continue to rely on gasoline not because it is superior or cheaper, but because cleaner alternatives have been restrained," the lawsuit said. "Defendants’ conspiracy [...] denied the State and Michigan consumers meaningful choices, raised switching costs, and eliminated competitive price pressure."

While Nessel has said that this lawsuit is the first of its kind to target oil companies with antitrust laws, other states have sued the industry on climate-related grounds in recent years as well. Maine, Connecticut, New Jersey and other states have all filed litigation in recent years against various oil companies, typically alleging that the energy giants have misled and deceived consumers about the climate damage caused by fossil-fuel power.

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Update: “This lawsuit is baseless as demonstrated by multiple related court dismissals," attorneys for Chevron said in an email. "Federal and state courts have dismissed lawsuits seeking climate-related damages in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and South Carolina. This lawsuit also ignores the fact that Michigan is highly dependent on oil and gas to support the state’s automakers and workers.”

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

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