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Each quarter we track movements in US federal lobbying, channel by channel. This edition covers Automotive for Q2 of 2026, ranking the organizations, government entities, issues, and lobbyists whose disclosed spend moved most.

Central Themes in this Quarter’s Lobby Data

House and NHTSA Sync Up on Autonomous Vehicles Legislation

The House began advancing the SELF DRIVE Act and kicked off reviews for sweeping new federal autonomous vehicle rules, paralleling the American Automotive Policy Council's efforts with the House of Representatives and NHTSA to modernize safety standards for driverless technology. These moves appear closely aligned with the recent rise in automotive lobbying—particularly filings by the American Automotive Policy Council focused on clarifying federal versus state regulatory roles for AVs with NHTSA. Industry watchers suggest this could bring long-sought clarity for both manufacturers and tech firms operating in the space.

📎 Members of Congress Propose a New Bill to Regulate Autonomous Vehicles · Congress Formalizes Autonomous Vehicle Framework - act-news.com · Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Advances AV ... - NHTSA

Federal Rules for Autonomous Trucks Move to Forefront

With the passage of the BUILD America 250 Act and progress on the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, the push for a national regulatory framework for commercial AVs gained new traction this quarter. Increased lobbying spend by trade associations, including efforts by the National Auto Dealers Assn aimed at the Senate and the Dept of Transportation (DOT), reportedly targeted these very pieces of legislation, which may help break logjams caused by conflicting state-level rules for driverless freight. The industry is closely watching how harmonization efforts unfold in Congress and with federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which received input from both the National Auto Dealers Assn and the American Automotive Policy Council.

📎 House Passes Autonomous Vehicles Framework for Commercial Motor ... · 2026 US Autonomous Vehicles Guide: Navigating the Legal and ... - Dentons · The Department of Transportation’s 2026 Regulatory Agenda: Acceleration ...

Clean Vehicle Credit Rollout Spurs Industry Outreach to EPA, DOT

Lobbying to the EPA and NHTSA intensified notably this quarter, with the American Automotive Policy Council engaging both entities, timed with the rollout of new EV tax credits and regulatory programs under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Automaker groups—including the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and the American Automotive Policy Council—are said to be asking regulators such as the Department of Transportation for clear guidance on eligibility and implementation amid overlapping climate and vehicle rules. The rules’ complexity, especially on critical minerals and battery sourcing, represents a flashpoint for sector engagement.

📎 The Department of Transportation’s 2026 Regulatory Agenda: Acceleration ... · Navigating 2026 US Autonomous EV Regulations: Business Compliance Guide

USMCA Review Drives Trade Lobbying by Automakers

Auto manufacturers and trade groups, including the American Automotive Policy Council, boosted their spending on trade lobbying this quarter, with filings referencing preparation for July’s USMCA review and renegotiation rounds. Companies such as Honda and Nissan, along with the American Automotive Policy Council, reportedly increased outreach to the U.S. Trade Representative, highlighting sector concerns about possible changes to content requirements and North American sourcing rules. Policy shifts in this space could reshape supply chains and manufacturing costs significantly.

📎 USMCA 2.0: A Turning Point for North America’s Autos | BCG · Challenges and opportunities for the North American auto industry in ...

Section A: Lobbying Spend by Industry

How much each industry in this channel spent on federal lobbying in Q2 of 2026, compared with its average over the prior six quarters.

In Q2 of 2026, there was $25.2M worth of disclosed lobbying activity on Automotive, 15% lower than the recent quarterly average of $29.6M. This activity can be broken down by industry as follows:

↳ There was $18.6M worth of Auto manufacturers lobbying, roughly in line with the recent quarterly average of $18.2M.

↳ There was $2.7M worth of Truck/Automotive parts & accessories lobbying, 39% lower than the recent quarterly average of $4.5M.

↳ There was $1.7M worth of Auto dealers, new & used lobbying, 10% lower than the recent quarterly average of $1.9M.

↳ There was $1.1M worth of Automotive, Misc lobbying, 50% lower than the recent quarterly average of $2.1M.

↳ There was $555k worth of Auto dealers, foreign imports lobbying, 43% lower than the recent quarterly average of $974k.

↳ There was $470k worth of Car rental agencies lobbying, 74% lower than the recent quarterly average of $1.8M.

Section B: Lobbying Spend Trend

This channel's total disclosed lobbying spend across recent quarters, aggregated over all of its industries.

In Q2 of 2026, there was $25.2M worth of disclosed lobbying activity on Automotive. Across the 10 quarters shown, the channel's total disclosed spend has fallen over this period.

Organizations' Lobby Spend

The image below shows the organizations whose lobbying spend moved most from their six-quarter average.

The organizations whose spending moved most from their own recent quarterly average were as follows:

↳ General Motors accounted for $4.1M in disclosed lobbying, 30% lower than the recent quarterly average of $5.8M.

↳ American Honda Motor accounted for $1.6M in disclosed lobbying, 125% higher than the recent quarterly average of $718k.

↳ Enterprise Holdings accounted for $30k in disclosed lobbying, 96% lower than the recent quarterly average of $705k.

↳ Waymo LLC accounted for $1.2M in disclosed lobbying, 80% higher than the recent quarterly average of $688k.

↳ Auto Care Assn accounted for $0 in disclosed lobbying, 100% lower than the recent quarterly average of $475k.

↳ BMW of North America accounted for $50k in disclosed lobbying, 90% lower than the recent quarterly average of $523k.

Section D: Government Entities Lobbied

This section documents this quarter's most lobbied federal government departments.

By industry

The industry–entity pairings that moved most this quarter were as follows:

↳ Auto manufacturers directed $1.6M of lobbying toward U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), 66% higher than the recent quarterly average of $974k.

↳ Car rental agencies directed $146k of lobbying toward House of Representatives, 78% lower than the recent quarterly average of $676k.

↳ Car rental agencies directed $171k of lobbying toward Senate, 75% lower than the recent quarterly average of $674k.

By organization

The organization–entity pairings that moved most this quarter were as follows:

↳ Alliance for Automotive Innovation directed $376k of lobbying toward Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 7413% higher than the recent quarterly average of $5k.

↳ General Motors directed $0 of lobbying toward Natl Security Council (NSC), 100% lower than the recent quarterly average of $349k.

↳ General Motors directed $0 of lobbying toward Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 100% lower than the recent quarterly average of $347k.

Section E: Lobbying Issues

This section documents this quarter's most lobbied-on issues.

By industry

The industry–issue pairings that moved most this quarter were as follows:

↳ Auto manufacturers put $4.9M toward lobbying on Automotive Industry, 17% higher than the recent quarterly average of $4.2M.

↳ Auto manufacturers put $1.7M toward lobbying on Transportation, 46% higher than the recent quarterly average of $1.2M.

↳ Auto manufacturers put $722k toward lobbying on Energy & Nuclear Power, 41% lower than the recent quarterly average of $1.2M.

By organization

The organization–issue pairings that moved most this quarter were as follows:

↳ Alliance for Automotive Innovation put $1.6M toward lobbying on Automotive Industry, 100% higher than the recent quarterly average of $805k.

↳ Waymo LLC put $1.1M toward lobbying on Transportation, 102% higher than the recent quarterly average of $542k.

↳ Alliance for Automotive Innovation put $0 toward lobbying on Energy & Nuclear Power, 100% lower than the recent quarterly average of $514k.

Section F: Most-Active Lobbyists

The figure below lists the lobbyists who managed the most imputed lobbying value this quarter, alongside their firm or organization. Because a filing's value is split evenly across the lobbyists it names, these dollar figures are imputed rather than directly disclosed.

No lobbyist activity to report this quarter.

Section G: Organization Network

The header image for this edition maps how this channel's organizations (neutral nodes) connect to the federal entities they lobbied (colored nodes) this quarter. A link's weight is the filing value directed to that entity, and node size reflects total value; the House and Senate are excluded (nearly every organization lobbies them) so the specialized targets stand out.

The most widely lobbied entity this quarter was Dept of Commerce (DOC), which was lobbied by 14 organizations.

Methodology

Every figure in this report starts from one number: the disclosed value of each lobbying filing, which we take as the income a registrant reported plus any in-house expenses (income + expenses) on its quarterly US Senate and House LDA disclosure. Before totalling anything we clean the filings — applying each amendment over the original it replaces, removing duplicates, and setting aside non-standard records such as registrations and terminations — and map every filing to a lobbying channel and industry using the organization's CRP industry code.

How the money is divided. A filing's full value counts once toward the organization that paid it and that organization's industry, so the industry and organization rankings (Sections A–C) reflect whole dollars. But a single filing usually names several government entities, several issue areas, and several lobbyists at once, and the disclosure never says how the fee was split among them. Rather than credit the full amount to each — which would count the same dollars over and over — we divide a filing's value evenly across the distinct items it names. So a $200,000 filing that lists four agencies contributes $50,000 to each in Section D, and the same even split is applied across issues in Section E and across lobbyists in Section F. That way every section's totals trace back to the same underlying money without double-counting.

Reading the movements. A “deviation” compares the quarter's value to the average of the prior six quarters, so a rise or fall is measured against an entity's own recent norm rather than against the rest of the field. Section B takes the wider view: it sums every industry into one channel total and plots it quarter by quarter, with a fitted line showing the overall direction of travel. Source: US Senate and House LDA disclosures.