US automakers and the American Iron and Steel Institute have voiced their support for President Joe Biden's Aug. 5 executive order aimed at having half of all domestic vehicle sales be zero-emissions by 2030 and at developing long-term efficiency and emissions standards.
Biden signed the order at a White House event attended by automaker executives and labor leaders.
US automakers have shown their support for the push toward electrification, with the three largest US companies -- Ford, General Motors and Stellantis -- sharing Aug. 5 voluntary pledges to achieve sales of 40% to 50% of annual US volumes of electric vehicles by 2030.
"Our recent product, technology, and investment announcements highlight our collective commitment to be leaders in the US transition to electric vehicles," Ford, GM and Stellantis said in a joint statement. "This represents a dramatic shift from the US market today that can be achieved only with the timely deployment of the full suite of electrification policies committed to by the Administration in the Build Back Better Plan, including purchase incentives, a comprehensive charging network of sufficient density to support the millions of vehicles these targets represent, investments in R&D, and incentives to expand the electric vehicle manufacturing and supply chains in the United States."
The current bipartisan infrastructure bill introduced in the Senate includes a $7.5 billion investment to build out a national network of electric vehicle chargers, the first-ever national investment in EV charging infrastructure, but lower than Biden's initial proposal of $15 billion.
In a fact sheet, the White House said this action on EVs is being taken as the US has fallen behind other countries in the race to manufacture both electric vehicles and batteries. The current US market share of EVs is one-third of that of China's market, according to the White House.
There are currently only about 2 million EVs on US roads today and only 2% of cars sold in 2020 were fully electric, according to data from the International Energy Agency.
In addition to the call to increase EV production, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were also expected to announce new fuel efficiency and emissions standards building on an agreement between the State of California and five automakers: Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, BMW and Volvo. Full details of the changes were not yet available the afternoon of Aug. 5.
Biden's executive order also lays out a schedule for development of fuel efficiency and multi-pollutant emissions standards through at least model year 2030 for light-duty vehicles and for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles starting as early as model year 2027, according to the fact sheet.
Source : https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news