The Biden administration on Monday hiked U.S. fuel-efficiency standards on vehicles to their highest level ever, raising the bar for auto manufacturers even as the Democrats’ incentive-laden climate package teetered on the verge of collapse.
The final rule unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency sets the 2026 fleetwide average standard for passenger cars and light trucks at 40 mpg by the model year 2026, well above the Trump administration’s target of 32 mpg and also surpassing the Obama-era 2025 standard of 36 mpg, based on Real World Label Value estimates.
EPA administrator Michael Regan said the standards would fight climate change by slashing U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by 3 billion tons by 2050 while saving consumers during the same period between $210 billion and $420 billion on fuel costs.
“The final rule for light-duty vehicles reflect core principles of this administration: We followed the science, we listened to stakeholders, and we are setting robust and rigorous standards that will aggressively reduce the pollution that is harming people and our planet – and save families money at the same time,” Mr. Regan said.
He said he was optimistic that the industry could meet the ambitious levels, even though the auto industry has tied such efficiencies to enhanced electric-vehicle tax credits and other federal support in the $2 trillion Build Back Better plan.
Electric-vehicle sales account for less than 4% of the market share today, but under the final rule, the EPA foresees sales of EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles reaching 7% in the model year 2023 on the way to nearly 17% in 2026.
Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, all but doomed the package Sunday by announcing his opposition, but Mr. Regan suggested that President Biden could still deliver on “equities in terms of tax credits [and] clean-energy opportunities within Build Back Better.”
“That’s not to say that we’re not going to continue to fight tirelessly for those incentives that are in the Build Back Better proposal,” Mr. Regan said. “But nevertheless, we believe that we proposed a rule that’s doable.”
Proud to kick off the week with the @EPA in D.C. to support their announcement of historic greenhouse gas pollution rules for passenger vehicles. Together, we’re accelerating the transition to an all-electric future — with #EV charging designed for all: https://t.co/y0833nWA5P pic.twitter.com/pXS7U6Y2Js
— Volta Charging (@VoltaCharging) December 20, 2021
Less confident was John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, who stressed the importance of federal support in meeting the EPA’s model year 2023-26 fuel-efficiency goals as well as the EV targets.
He noted that the EPA final rule for greenhouse-gas reductions is even more stringent than the rule proposed in August, “requiring a substantial increase in electric vehicle sales, well above the four percent of all light-duty sales today.”
“Achieving the goals of this final rule will undoubtedly require enactment of supportive governmental policies — including consumer incentives, substantial infrastructure growth, fleet requirements, and support for U.S. manufacturing and supply chain development,” said Mr. Bozzella in a statement.
“Collaboration between industries across the economy and government will be essential to achieving our shared goals for a cleaner transportation future that benefits all communities and enhances U.S. economic competitiveness.”
He added that the auto industry is on track to invest $330 billion in electrification by 2025, and “continues to make significant progress improving fuel economy and reducing GHG emissions.” …snip…
On the other side were critics who blasted the EPA’s tougher standards as tone-deaf, given Mr. Manchin’s defection and worries about rising inflation.
“Senator Manchin’s statement destroying the so-called Build Back Better agenda indicates there is little appetite for these kinds of policies in Congress, let alone the country as a whole,” said Power the Future Western director Larry Behrens.
“It’s clear that President Biden is not willing to let American families choose for themselves because they might just choose to not buy into the green agenda.”
Anthony Watts, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute, raised concerns about auto safety and reliability, saying the standards would incentivize manufacturers to use lighter materials such as high-temperature-resistant plastic instead of metal.
“These additional CAFE standards are going to put pressure on manufacturers for being able to meet mileage specifications, and they’re going to have to lighten and cheapen the way the cars are built,” Mr. Watts said.
“From my perspective, this compromises safety and reliability, and to what end? China continues to produce tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide even though the United States has gone through reductions over the last 10 years.”
Read rest at Washington Times
Wow, 40 MPG for fleet economy by 2026. Impressive when you just impose arbitrary standards which you (the government) do not have to burn a single calorie to implement. Easy peezy, right? Why not get more aspirational with all the mandates. How about we openly DEFY gravity by 2045?
Keep it up Biden and soon your changes for reelection will be as a snowball in hell
Green Energy mandates cause considerable inflation . You won’t hear that from the socialists and their lap dog media. Production facilities in Europe have shut down due to unprecedented energy costs. That leads to shortages, which in turn drives prices for essentials higher. Aluminum smelters and ammonia producers are just two. If you can actually find what you need, pay up….way up.
Using Politics not science they used the same thing when they banned DDT its all about Politics not Science
What a load of riubbish.
Fuel prices will rise due to changes required in formulations and vehicle prices will also rise in response to high investment to make them run leaner.
This is a con job to benefit EV’s.
Europe is still the world leader in fuel efficiency. These days, they’re running on fumes, downhill.