The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed sharp emissions cuts that it estimates would result in 60% of new vehicles by 2030 being electric and 67% by 2032.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, representing General
Motors , Toyota Motor , Volkswagen AG ,
Hyundai Motor and others, said automakers will
struggle to meet those targets because of problems with the
supply chain for EV batteries, motors and chargers as well as
consumer resistance.
The EPA proposal, if finalized, represents the most
aggressive U.S. vehicle emissions reduction plan to date,
requiring 13% annual average pollution cuts and a 56% reduction
in projected fleet average emissions over 2026 requirements.
The automaker group warned the proposal could have
"significant impacts to automakers, workers, consumers and
ultimately the availability of vehicles that meet the needs of
individuals, families and businesses across the country."
In August 2021, major automakers agreed to a goal of
producing between 40% and 50% EVs or plug-in electric hybrids by
2030. President Joe Biden signed an executive order establishing
a 50% goal.
"In that context, EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas
standards for 2027-2032 represents a significant movement of the
country’s electrification goal posts – not by a little, but by a
lot," the automaker group wrote.
Environmentalists are pressing the Biden administration not to soften the proposal. Some say EPA should have proposed tougher rules.
The automaker group noted EVs represented about 6% of new light-duty vehicles sales in 2022, up from about 3 percent in 2021 and 2 percent in 2020.
"These proposed rules effectively require an additional
10-fold sales increase in a mere eight years," the automaker
group wrote. "EPA is also proposing the most stringent criteria
pollutant regulations ever, premised on largely the same levels
of zero emission vehicles."
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and
David Gregorio)
