CV NEWS FEED // The Biden administration Wednesday announced it has finalized plans to impose several stringent regulations on gas-powered vehicles in a move critics have long warned would amount to an “electric vehicle (EV) mandate.”
In a statement, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) called the regulations the “strongest-ever pollution standards for cars.”
The EPA clarified that it is “finalizing” the standards for “passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032 and beyond.”
“These standards will avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and provide nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society,” the EPA’s statement claimed. “The final standards deliver on the significant pollution reductions outlined in the proposed rule, while accelerating the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies.”
According to Biden administration EPA Administrator Michael Regan,
these strongest-ever pollution standards for cars solidify America’s leadership in building a clean transportation future and creating good-paying American jobs, all while advancing President Biden’s historic climate agenda.
>> OVER 100 LAWMAKERS TO BIDEN: WITHDRAW ‘EV MANDATE’ <<
FOX News reported that the Biden administration’s “most aggressive multi-pollutant emission standards ever finalized” come “as part of its broader efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming.”
In addition, FOX noted that “according to officials,” Biden’s newly announced regulations “are expected to ensure nearly 70% of all new car sales are zero-emissions within a few years.”
FOX explained:
Under the new regulations … automakers will be forced to rapidly curb the emissions of greenhouse gases [sic], hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from new passenger cars, light trucks, and larger pickups and vans beginning with model year 2027 vehicles.
…
When the tailpipe emissions rules kick in, automakers will be compelled to increase production and sales of EVs, plug-in hybrids, traditional hybrids and fuel cell vehicles. Under one “low cost” model EPA outlined in the rule, officials said automakers would be forced to ensure 56% of light-duty car sales are battery electric and another 13% are hybrid by 2032.
>> THOUSANDS OF CAR DEALERS STAND UP TO BIDEN’S ‘EV MANDATE’ <<
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-OK, took to X (formerly Twitter) to blast the regulations.
“Today, Joe Biden’s radical EPA finalized a new rule in their effort to ban gas-powered cars and force a national EV mandate,” Mullin wrote. “I introduced the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act to reject this nonsense and protect consumer choice and free market competition.”
The senator proposed the bill in June of last year, specifically aimed at stopping Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s state-level crackdown on gas vehicles.
Three months later, the Biden White House announced that it “strongly opposes passage” of the bill.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-AL, agreed with his Senate colleague.
“The free market is REJECTING EV cars,” Tuberville noted. “So, what do these idiots do? Try to mandate more EV cars.”
“These people have no idea what goes on in the real world,” Tuberville added.
Hertz, the largest car rental company in the country, announced in January that it was selling a third of its stock of EVs, citing low demand and high cost.
Last November, a coalition of 3,882 automobile dealers sent a letter to Biden urging him to withdraw his policies aimed at favoring EVs over the far more popular gas vehicles. The letter pointed out that battery-powered EVs “are stacking up” on their lots.
“With each passing day, it becomes more apparent that this attempted electric vehicle mandate is unrealistic based on current and forecasted customer demand,” the dealers wrote. “Some customers are in the market for electric vehicles, and we are thrilled to sell them. But the majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change. They are concerned about [EVs] being unaffordable.”
“[M]any people just want to make their own choice about what vehicle is right for them,” the dealers emphasized.
