US President, Joe Biden, has signed an executive order that calls for half of all new vehicles sold to be zero-emissions by 2030 as part of his Build Back Better plan. The administration is expected to announce the goals and actions required to move this forward. They will also be tightening pollution standards for cars and trucks to help reduce greenhouse gases.
The new executive order also sets a schedule for developing emissions standards through to at least 2030 for light-duty vehicles. For larger vehicles, this could happen as soon as 2027.
Joe Biden, US President, said: “The question is whether we will lead or fall behind in the race for the future. We used to lead in this technology and we can lead again but we need to move fast. The rest of the world is moving ahead. We’ve just got to step up.”
It’s important that the United States starts to adopt electric vehicles (EVs) because they accounted for less than two percent of all car sales in the country in 2020. Fortunately, sales are rising quickly and deliveries so far this year have been encouraging.
Plus, there’s the huge economical aspect to consider when it comes to the country’s motor industry. Many of the big manufacturers have brought out a selection of new models to help encourage the adoption of electric cars and vehicles.
Earlier this year, Ford showed the world its F-150 Lightning. This is an all-electric version of the F-150 which is the most popular selling car in the US. It’s expected to cost around the same as the combustion model and orders have flooded in since its unveiling.
A joint statement from Ford, GM and Stellantis, who are the three big players in the US motor industry, said they’re aiming to achieve up to 50 percent of all electric vehicle sales by 2030. This shows the manufacturers are ready for this and helping to push the need to drive electric.
The new measures from Biden’s plans are expected to deliver around $140 billion in net benefits over the life of the programme. Plus, it will save about 200 billion gallons of petrol and cut around two billion metric tons of carbon pollution. For the average consumer, this would translate into around $900 in fuel savings over the life of the vehicle in fuel savings.
This is all a big step for the US but when you compare it to the UK where all car and van sales are set to be zero emissions by 2030 or Norway where this will happen in 2025 it’s not quite as impressive. With proper government investments, the motor industry is primed and could help to electrify the country even faster.
