According to senior administration officials, President Biden will set a goal for 50 percent of new American cars to be electric, hybrid or hydrogen-powered by 2030. This is a goal that he will outline in an executive order later today. His administration will also propose new standards for fuel economy and emissions that will almost erase Trump's rollbacks of Obama-era rules that covered cars manufactured through 2025.Biden will also sign an executive orders that entrusts the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with developing aggressive long-term rules that support his 2030 goal. These rules include both medium- and heavy-duty trucks.Read a tweet by the President on Wednesday night.Electric vehicles are the future. I am not exaggerating when I say that. Keep checking back for more news tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/riIClqPYnw President Biden (@POTUS) August 5, 2021The global shift away from internal combustion engines will not be as radical as some of the other approaches. While the European Union proposed a ban on new gas-powered passenger cars by 2035, France countered with a phaseout of hybrids that still burn fossil fuels. The United Kingdom is aiming to end the sale of new combustion engine vehicles by 2030. China expects all new cars to be hybrids by 2035, with 50 percent being plug-in hybrids, battery electric or hydrogen-powered.California is the state that has been leading in environmental regulation at the state level and will ban new cars from 2035.The NHTSA's proposed rule will lock in an average increase of fuel economy of just under 4 percent each year, and an overall fleet average of 52 miles per gallon, according to Reuters. This is for 2026 model-year cars. The Obama-era rule required automakers to increase their fleets' average fuel economy by five percent every year. This goal was to achieve a fleet average of 54 MPG in 2026 model-year vehicles. This was drastically reduced by the Trump administration during a climate crisis or a pandemic of respiratory viruses. It had to be no less than 1.5 percent yearly increases and a target of 40 MPG. Despite the fact that the Obama-era rule was not being followed by automakers, the EPA did not stop it from doing so.The EPA will instead propose a rule that would require emissions reductions to be proportional with fuel economy gains. This is because fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions are inextricably linked. Before final rules can be proposed and approved, the two rule proposals will go through a lengthy public comment period of at least six months.The Big Three Detroit Automakers are aboard, mostlySome major automakers have already endorsed the Biden administration's proposals. They will each announce their own goals to electrify their fleets later today. Biden will be joined by representatives from General Motors and Ford and Stellantis (the company created when Fiat Chrysler merged into Frances PSA Group). Also, leaders of the United Auto Workers union will be there.However, Reuters reported that the three Detroit automakers only committed to a shared goal of 40% to 50% of all new car sales being powered by plug-ins by 2030. According to a press release, they are also asking the government to help them big time. Not only on electric vehicle incentives, but also to increase the supply chain and manufacturing of electric vehicles in the United States. Although the Biden administration has been pushing for electric vehicle adoption in bipartisan infrastructure bills, some of their proposed investments (like charging stations), have been cut in negotiations.GM stated that it wants to become carbon neutral by 2040, and that eliminating tailpipe emissions by 2035 from its vehicles is merely an aspiration. Globally, the automaker will make 40% of its vehicles all-electric by 2020. Stellantis previously stated that more than 40% of its North American sales would be electric vehicles in 2030.Although the automakers of Detroit have made huge investments in electric cars, they weren't as united during the Trump administration.Ford, along with Volkswagen, Honda and BMW, made a deal to continue aiming for a very strict target after the EPA, NHTSA and EPA tried to reverse Trump's Obama-era standards. GM and what was then Fiat Chrysler joined the fight by the Trump administration over California's right to establish its own emission standards. Toyota and the automakers have claimed that they participated in the court bid because they believe it should be up the federal government to establish these standards. They have since dropped the fight against GM after the 2020 election and Stellantis earlier in this year. Bidens EPA is already working to restore California's emission regulation authority.Only 2% of all-electric vehicles are currently sold in the US. However, they have seen a sharp rise in sales as the used and new car markets get hotter. According to Kelley blue Book, more than 100,000 fully-electric vehicles were sold in America in the second quarter 2021. This was largely due to the success of Teslas Model 3 sedan, and Model Y SUV SUV. Hybrid vehicle sales increased by 200 percent year-over-year, with more hybrid vehicles sold than 250,000.
