Toronto, Ontario — Oct. 18, 2019 — SEMA has sued the US Department of Transportation after the department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) failed to meet deadlines to implement a car replica law.
Back in 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface Transporation Act (FAST Act) was established to allow smaller automakers to sell up to 325 replica vehicles each year that resemble vehicles of at least 25 years ago. The deadline for the NHTSA to implement the law was Dec. 4, 2016.
Today, it has still not been recognized.
“SEMA warned NHTSA in 2018 that it would file suit if companies could not begin production of turnkey cars as authorized by the FAST Act,” said Christopher Kersting, president and CEO of SEMA. “SEMA has made every effort to work collaboratively with NHTSA for over three and a half years, although the agency has taken no action to implement the replica car law.”
According to SEMA, many companies had already taken to making capital investments and taking customer orders–expecting the replica law would meet its deadline.
“…companies have not hired workers, businesses have lost money, and consumers have been denied their rights to purchase replica cars,” stated Kersting.
So far, SEMA has filed a petition in a federal appellate court in an effort to compel the NHTSA to take action.
