Updated April 12, 2023 at 1:35 PM EDT
top line
The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced two proposed rules designed to ensure that 67 percent of new passenger cars and 25 percent of heavy-duty trucks sold in the U.S. are fully electric by 2032, the latest Biden Administration’s push to reduce global warming emissions. pivoting to electric vehicles.
Key factors
The agency doesn’t mandate that a certain number of electric cars be sold, but it is setting stricter pollution standards for new cars and trucks with model years between 2027 and 2032, essentially pushing automakers to sell many more electric vehicles to comply with the new emission standards.
Emissions standards are based on the size and type of vehicle being built, and the EPA says most companies will have to produce 67 percent all-electric cars to meet the new rules, but the standards also allow automakers to find other ways to meet them. emission standards.
The EPA wants 67 percent of new light-duty vehicles, such as sedans and pickup trucks, to be electric, along with 46 percent of new medium-duty trucks such as delivery vans and 25 percent of heavy-duty vehicles such as buses and trucks. heavy trucks
The standards would mark a massive increase in electric vehicle sales: All-electric vehicles accounted for 5.8 percent of the 13.8 million new cars sold in the U.S. and less than two percent of new heavy-duty trucks sold in 2022, according to data from Kelley Blue Book. .
At a news conference Wednesday, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said increased consumer demand and the development of market-enabled battery technology made the administration’s goals a realistic standard.
Regan also said the administration was committed to bringing more electric vehicle manufacturing to the US and not relying on China, where most electric vehicle batteries are produced, for battery manufacturing.
Big Number
10 billion. That’s the number of tons of carbon emissions the Biden Administration predicts the new standards will avoid emitting through 2055.
What to watch out for
The proposed rules, which will be available for public comment and review, are likely to face legal challenges.
key fund
Although sales of electric vehicles in the US have increased in recent years, automakers will have to lean heavily on making and selling electric vehicles to meet these new EPA requirements. The federal government has pushed to increase electric vehicle sales in the past: The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law last year, expanded tax credits for the purchase of electric cars. But even then, the new standards fall short of some environmental recommendations. A 2021 International Energy Agency report found that countries would need to completely stop sales of new gasoline vehicles by 2035 to prevent global temperatures from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius. In 2021, the Biden Administration pledged to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Versus
Many automakers have argued that the transition to all-electric vehicles could come at a cost. Last week, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association representing major automakers, questioned whether proposed changes to the EPA were feasible and whether the market was ready for “a massive 100-year change to the American industrial base and the way Americans drive.” “. Some auto workers fear job losses, as electric vehicles require fewer workers to assemble vehicles than internal combustion engines. In the past year, both Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis have announced layoffs in the U.S. driven by the shift to electric vehicles: Ford cut 3,000 jobs in August and Stellantis cut more than 1,000 in February
Amazing fact
General Motors is going full tilt into the electric vehicle revolution, ramping up electric vehicle production as it aims to produce more than one million electric vehicles in North America by 2025. The North American automaker – American aims to manufacture only electric vehicles by 2035.
To read more
EPA Proposes Rules Aimed to Increase Electric Car Sales Tenfold, Reportedly (New York Times)
Hyundai aims to be a top three electric vehicle maker by 2030, and is investing $18 billion to get there (Forbes)
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