U.S. to Set Electric-Vehicle Sales Target of 50% by 2030

August 05, 2021

Print This Article Share it With Friends

by Ben Foldy and Katy Stech Ferek (Wall Street Journal) General Motors, Ford and Stellantis executives with union leaders are expected to join President Biden in announcing voluntary targets -- Auto makers including General Motors Co. , Ford Motor Co. and Jeep maker Stellantis NV will aim to make electric vehicles account for 40% to 50% of their U.S. sales by 2030, according to people familiar with the matter, who said the targets would be announced at the White House on Thursday.

Other auto makers are expected to separately make similar announcements regarding sales targets for electric vehicles as consumers begin warming to EVs and as auto manufacturers lay heavy bets on the new technology, the people said.

“This industry’s going to spend $330 billion over the next five years on electrification alone,” said John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the lobbying group for auto makers and suppliers, at a conference Wednesday. “Even in Washington, D.C., that is real money.”

Even so, the sales targets are predicated on increased support from federal and local governments such as increasing the availability of charging and providing purchase subsidies, the people said. Federal lawmakers are proposing up to $7.5 billion for states and municipalities to build electric-vehicle charging stations as part of the infrastructure bill moving through the Senate.

Along with the electric-vehicle targets, auto industry officials expect the White House to announce rules mandating a 3.7% annual increase in fuel efficiency for the next two years. The White House and other federal officials declined to comment on the fuel targets. READ MORE

Fuel-Efficiency Standards Are Set to Get Tougher. The Question Is by How Much. Auto industry pushes for middle ground as environmentalists seek aggressive mileage targets (Wall Street Journal)

Biden pushes for electric vehicles to make up half of U.S. auto sales by 2030 (CNBC)

Biden wants half of US car sales to be zero-emission by 2030: The ambitious goal, to be outlined in an executive order, has been voluntarily agreed to by top US automakers. (Aljazeera)

Biden Sets U.S. Goal for Clean Cars to Be Half of 2030 Sales (Bloomberg)

FLOOR IT! President Joe Biden is calling for half of all new vehicle sales to be for zero-emission (Politico's Morning Energy)

Biden to strengthen vehicle mileage standards, set 50 percent EV goal (The Hill)

How Biden’s E.V. Plan Could Help Tesla and Squeeze Toyota -- A push to increase sales of electric vehicles favors companies that already have all-electric cars on the market and could penalize those that don’t. (New York Times)

Biden’s Electric-Car Ambitions Face Real-World Roadblocks: Auto makers want congressional moves on charging stations and tax incentives; consumer support also is needed (Wall Street Journal)

About 2 in 5 Voters Back Biden’s Goal of 50% New Electric Vehicle Sales by 2030. Just as Many Oppose It (Morning Consult)

Excerpt from Wall Street Journal: The Biden administration is expected to announce stricter fuel-efficiency standards for new cars and light trucks as early as this week, fulfilling a pledge to reset tailpipe-emission limits eased by former President Donald Trump.

The new standards are expected to raise the miles-per-gallon performance and lower the amount of tailpipe emissions that auto makers are required to meet as a fleetwide average for the next four years.

...

President Biden has pushed for stronger regulations on auto emissions as part of his campaign to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, which contribute to climate change. Earlier this year, he moved to restore California’s ability to set its own standards that exceeded those set by the federal government, a power that was eliminated by Trump in November 2019.

The new standards for fuel-efficiency standards and tailpipe emissions will be released by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department and are expected to apply to vehicles through the 2026 model year. Officials at both agencies declined to discuss their pending proposals. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: FLOOR IT! President Joe Biden is calling for half of all new vehicle sales to be for zero-emission vehicles by 2030, a move he will be backing with proposals for new federal tailpipe pollution standards through 2026 and even stricter requirements after that. It’ll be a major boost for climate action as Biden seeks to eliminate 50 percent of economy-wide emissions by 2030 and a second go at cleaning passenger vehicles after former President Donald Trump rolled back ambitious fuel economy standards introduced under the Obama administration.

Under Biden's plan, set to be rolled out in a new executive order, car makers would need to show a 13-fold increase in the current market share of zero-emission vehicles by the end of the decade. But the target isn't binding for buyers or manufacturers. Rather it's meant to set the course for where the market is heading over the next decade — which isn't thrilling environmentalists who are looking for more hard-and-fast rules.

EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will also propose twin rules to curb tailpipe emissions through 2026, which the White House predicts will reduce gasoline demand by 200 billion gallons and carbon emissions by 2 billion metric tons. Biden will also direct the agencies to work on additional fuel economy and emissions rules both for light-duty cars and medium to heavy-duty vehicles like buses and cargo trucks, but those rules would be for later in the decade.

Biden will be making the announcement today at the White House with representatives from Ford, General Motors, Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) and the United Auto Workers. (3:00PM ET)

Pro's Alex Guillén has more on the announcement here.

It’s a stark shift from Biden’s past support for the auto industry. As a senator, he opposed legislation that would have increased federal fuel economy rules between the 1980s and early 2000s, and often sided with the industry, with GM and Chrysler formerly having a major footprint in his home state.

But the president has been vocal lately pushing for greater EV investment, including joyriding in Ford’s new electric pickup and promising a boon for jobs under an electric transition. And with car companies altering their long-term strategies toward EVs, growing public pressure to reduce emissions and cheaper battery technology, the push for EVs is only accelerating.

Alex breaks down Biden's drive for an electric car future in the context of his past relationship with the automotive industry. READ MORE

Excerpt from The Hill: The Biden administration on Thursday will release short-term proposals to tighten the country’s vehicle mileage and pollution standards — a move that’s expected to increase the share of zero-emission vehicles on the market.

President Biden, meanwhile, will also direct officials to develop stronger long-term standards and will separately set a goal of making half of new vehicle sales zero-emission autos.

...

A fact sheet released by the White House did not specify how much the administration plans to raise short-term fuel economy standards by, but said it would “build upon the momentum” of an agreement between California and five automakers. The companies agreed to bring their fleets up to an average of about 51 miles per gallon by the year 2026.

The Obama administration had set fuel economy standards requiring fleets averaging nearly 55 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by model year 2025, while the Trump administration cut this down to about 40 miles per gallon by 2026.

...

In the short-term proposals, standards for fuel efficiency and pollution, set by the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are expected to work in tandem through 2026.

The EPA’s rule would take effect in 2023, while the Transportation Department’s rule would take effect in 2024.

The longer-term standards, which would deal with both fuel efficiency and multi-pollutant emissions, are expected to apply to not just light-duty automobiles, but also medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, as soon as model year 2027 and would go through at least 2030. READ MORE