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Yesterday's ambition: US President Biden in front of an electric off-road vehicle at the White House in 2021
Photo: Al Drago / Bloomberg / Getty Images
US President Joe Biden reportedly wants to postpone the transition to electric cars. Less stringent emissions limits are planned, the New York Times wrote at the weekend, citing people familiar with the project. The Washington Post and Reuters also report. Manufacturers should no longer be required to quickly ramp up sales of electric cars.
The topic is also important in the US election campaign. The major manufacturers warned of the loss of jobs if, in their view, the requirement for electric cars was imposed too quickly. This is tricky for Biden, who wants to be re-elected in November. His challenger Donald Trump repeatedly made disparaging comments about the “electric car madness,” whose supporters should “rot in hell.”
The car manufacturers united in the AAI industry association had called on the government to lower the targets for the sale of electric vehicles. They argue that electric technology is still too expensive for many US consumers. In addition, more time is needed to develop the charging infrastructure. The major US manufacturers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis had also warned that they would not be able to convert their fleets quickly and profitably. The UAW union, which supports Biden's re-election, also called for a correction.
It's better to only have 50 percent electric quota
A spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the draft final rule was under review, according to Reuters. The authority is committed to a solution that is “easily achievable, ensures a reduction in air and climate pollution and offers economic benefits for families.” According to the news agency, a new draft is expected in March.
Manufacturers support Biden's previous goal of increasing the share of electric cars in new car sales to 50 percent by 2030. The EPA recently discussed a higher ambition of 67 percent by 2032, which the government is now apparently distancing itself from. It does not want to impose this quota on companies, but rather achieve it indirectly through emissions targets: on average, new cars should only emit 82 grams of CO₂ per mile driven (a good 50 grams per kilometer). In principle, it is up to them which technologies the manufacturers use to achieve their goals. In practice, the EPA estimates that this can only be achieved with two-thirds of electric cars.
Binding requirements currently only apply until 2026, when CO₂ emissions should fall to 171 grams per mile. Biden put this rule, which was welcomed by the industry, into effect in 2021. The decision was seen as a return to the emissions regulations issued by his predecessor Barack Obama, which Trump had since repealed.
Several US states for combustion engines
The industry association AAI called the EPA's more extensive proposals "neither reasonable nor achievable." It could cost US automakers around $14 billion in fines if they fail to meet the stricter CO₂ targets. The e-car pioneer Tesla is demanding that we go further. A market share for electric cars of 69 percent by 2032 and 100 percent by 2035 must become binding. Environmentalists are also calling for stricter regulations. Several large US states such as California, New York and Virginia are already stipulating that combustion engines be phased out by 2035, similar to the European Union.
When it comes to electric vehicles, the USA lags behind Europe and especially China, where almost 30 percent of vehicles sold in January were electric cars or plug-in hybrids.
At
Ford, for example, only
four percent
of total sales are currently made
up of electric cars,
at
General Motors
it is
three percent
.
Most recently, both companies reduced their production of electric cars citing weak demand for the expensive pick-ups. At the same time, Ford explained that the “ultimate competition” of the future revolves around smaller, cheaper electric cars – which the company is only just developing.
ani/ahh/Reuters