US eases tailpipe rules, slows EV transition through 2030

The Biden administration has reduced electric vehicle adoption target in the US from 67% by 2032 to as little as 35% till the same period. The move comes after industry and autoworker backlash in the political battleground state of Michigan. Following which, the Environmental Protection Agency adopted a “technology neutral” regulatory scheme that allows automakers far more freedom to meet emissions standards with gas-electric hybrids.

The agency also embraced “advanced gasoline” technologies to save fuel, such as turbo-charging, lighter vehicles or stop-start ignition systems. However, EPA administrator Michael Regan told reporters the new rules would nonetheless achieve the same greenhouse-gas reductions as the original EPA proposal for a far more aggressive EV transition. “Let me be clear, our final rule delivers the same, if not more pollution reduction,” he said.

The EPA said that the new rules will help cut fleetwide tailpipe emissions by 50% over 2026 levels and reduces greenhouse-gas emissions by 7.2 billion tons through 2055. The EPA’s percentage targets for EV adoption are not mandates but forecasts of how automakers will change their fleets to meet regulations. The projection stated a wide range between 35% and 56% of all sales between 2030 and 2032 — rather than a specific target. This reflected flexibility and emphasized for automakers to pursue different pollution-cutting technologies.

Though the new regulations make things easier, but it will still be hard work to meet the targets given the relatively low levels of US EV and hybrid adoption now. EVs last year accounted for less than 8% of vehicle sales while hybrids, including plug-ins, accounted for about 9% of sales, according to Cox Automotive data.

Hybrid sales, however, have surged in recent months as EV demand slowed, suggesting the new regulations could set off a hybrid boom. Environmentalists and electric-vehicle makers such as Tesla have often blasted hybrids as a side-road on the way to an urgently needed transition to fully electric vehicles. However, the United Auto Workers, which has endorsed Biden’s re-election campaign, cheered the more flexible regulations. “By taking seriously the concerns of workers and communities, the EPA has come a long way to create a more feasible emissions rule that protects workers” building vehicles with internal-combustion engines, the union said.