Auto industry seeks to soften Biden vehicle emissions proposal

"EPA’s standards cannot be met without substantially increasing the cost of all vehicles, reducing consumer choice and disadvantaging major portions of the U.S. population and territory," said the group representing nearly all major automakers except Tesla. The group said the EPA proposal "substantially underestimates the cost of batteries while overestimating the availability of consumer and manufacturing tax credits." Environmentalists are pressing the Biden administration not to soften the proposal.

The trade group representing nearly all major automakers wants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to soften its proposal to sharply cut vehicle emissions through 2032 saying it is "neither reasonable nor achievable." The EPA, which declined to comment immediately, said the proposed 2027-2032 standards would cut emissions by 56% compared to the existing 2026 requirements.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota Motor and others recommended "adopting requirements for 40 to 50% (electric, plug-in electric and fuel vehicles) in 2030 with continued increases through 2032." The group called the proposal a "de facto battery electric vehicle mandate."

The automaker group sought major changes and argued it should align with President Joe Biden's August 2021 executive order that set a target of 50% of vehicles by 2030 as EVs or plug-in hybrids. "EPA’s standards cannot be met without substantially increasing the cost of all vehicles, reducing consumer choice and disadvantaging major portions of the U.S. population and territory," said the group representing nearly all major automakers except Tesla.

The group said the EPA proposal "substantially underestimates the cost of batteries while overestimating the availability of consumer and manufacturing tax credits." Environmentalists are pressing the Biden administration not to soften the proposal. Some say the EPA should have proposed tougher rules.