The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) is the first-ever winner of the Federation International Automobile (FIA) President’s Award for Excellence in Communications, honored for its groundbreaking, multi-year, multi-channel effort to protect vehicle choice in the U.S. by stopping EV mandates. The award was announced and presented earlier today at the FIA General Assemblies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
- For this new award, which recognizes outstanding communication efforts that inspire, inform, and engage, SEMA was selected from a global pool of entries from across FIA’s member clubs.
SEMA’s entry highlighted the strategies and tactics it deployed during its historic two-year national advocacy campaign to defend Americans’ right to choose internal combustion, hybrid, or electric vehicles. In response to California’s 2035 zero-emission mandate (adopted by 11 states), SEMA launched a multi-channel political, media, and grassroots campaign to protect vehicle choice. Through the Driving Force Action SuperPAC, digital activism, and direct congressional lobbying, SEMA mobilized 7,000 small businesses, 70 million automotive enthusiasts, and lawmakers from across the political spectrum. The effort resulted in President Donald Trump signing a bipartisan Congressional Review Act resolution repealing California’s Advanced Clean Cars II waiver, reaffirming technology neutrality and preserving automotive freedom nationwide.
“Congratulations to CEO Mike Spagnola and SEMA on being awarded the 2025 Excellence in Communication Award,” said FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. “SEMA’s commitment to advancing our shared mobility values and championing consumer choice is inspiring. Their project has shown what can be achieved through unity, and I look forward to continuing our work together and seeing the progress of this campaign.”
“SEMA is honored to accept this award on behalf of our members and the broader U.S. community of automotive enthusiasts and consumers, for whom we fought this battle,” said SEMA President and CEO Mike Spagnola. “Our fight was never about preventing electric vehicles from gaining a foothold in the market; rather, it was about our right to choose, our ability to innovate, and our belief that technology-neutral government policies are necessary to help the free market thrive. The American automotive aftermarket has long been a shining example of our nation’s engineering prowess, and we’re anxious to continue this work to help every small business, family, and automotive enthusiasts to live their best, most prosperous lives through the vehicles they choose.”
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