On Wednesday, Apr 12, 2023, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, is set to announce new regulations intended to bring EV market share to roughly 67% in the U.S. by 2032.
The rules are a huge step forward for electrification and represent an improvement from President Biden’s plan for 50% EVs by 2030. The new rules could introduce federal guidance close to California’s “Advanced Clean Cars II” (ACC II), which aims for 68% of EVs by 2030 and 83% by 2032.
The California ban also limits the sales of vehicles that use only combustion engines in 2035. California purposefully set a target lower than what the state could achieve, despite the EPA’s laws not extending that far into the future. with the intention of getting other “Section 177” states and even the federal government on board to make the rules to be “a floor, not ceiling.”
Additionally, the proposed regulations lag behind popular opinion. According to a recent poll, a majority of US voters are in favor of mandating that all new vehicles sold beginning in 2030 be electric. Roughly 55% of respondents said they “strongly” or “somewhat” agreed with the idea, while only 35% disagreed. This is one reason to question a 2035 goal of 100% EV sales.
On the other hand, a number of smaller companies or sub-brands want to be all-electric by 2030. To illustrate, Alfa Romeo, Lotus, Bentley, Cadillac, Mini, and Rolls-Royce have all made commitments to push the effort of ending all combustion vehicles. However, it takes roughly seven years to complete the vehicle development cycle. So, if they haven’t already, automakers should start preparing for these new EPA regulations immediately.
To prevent the worst effects of climate change, the International Energy Agency, IEA, claims that by 2035, all new passenger car sales must be electric globally.
