US President Joe Biden (78) wants to make his country’s auto industry greener – also with a view to the competition in Europe and China. By 2030, half of all new vehicles sold in the US are expected to have an alternative drive system, according to an executive order signed by Biden on Thursday (local time). The three big manufacturers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis with US brands like Jeep agreed to the goal.
In his speech to the White House with a number of electric cars in the background, Biden described them as “a vision of the future that is now looming, a future of the automotive industry that is electric, battery-electric, plug-in hybrid-electric, fuel cell- electric “. The Democratic president, who likes to describe himself as a “car fanatic,” added: “The future of the auto industry is electric and there is no going back. The question is whether we go ahead or fall behind.”
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By 2030, 50 percent of the new cars sold in the country are to have an alternative drive – according to the order, this includes all-electric cars as well as hybrids and fuel cell vehicles. The President’s order will enable the US to “advance the future of the electric car, overtake China and tackle the climate crisis,” said the White House. “We have to make sure the future is built in America,” Biden said in his speech. In the past, research into battery technology was funded by the US state, but America’s economy has not reaped the fruits. “And now the market belongs to China.” He wants to change that.
Many representatives of Biden’s Democratic Party had called on the president to take further measures. They wanted a mandatory requirement for electric car sales or an end date for new gasoline sales. In California and other countries this is only allowed until 2035. But Biden did not want to go that far – even under pressure from the powerful UAW auto union, which is resisting job and wage cuts in the course of the planned industry restructuring.
The president’s 50 percent target is not legally binding. It also applies to battery-powered electric cars as well as cars with fuel cell and hybrid drives.
Tesla excluded – bonus for unions
The same vehicle groups include a commitment from industry giants General Motors to ford and Stellantis (Chrysler, Opel, Fiat, Peugeot). They are aiming for such cars to also make up 40 to 50 percent of sales in the US market by 2030. General Motors is the first major auto company to announce a complete exit from the internal combustion engine business by 2035. Even Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota, Volvo and Hyundai pledged support to that Electric car to help achieve a breakthrough. Environmentalists, on the other hand, voiced criticism and accused the government of relying on voluntary commitments from an unreliable industry. “In contrast, New Year’s resolutions for losing weight work like legally binding contracts,” commented Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign.
Tesla boss Elon Musk (50) tweeted on Thursday morning: “It’s strange that Tesla wasn’t invited.” One possible explanation: Biden presented his auto policy as an ally of the union, the preface was given by Bernie Ricke, secretary of the UAW auto union in Detroit. “We need automakers and other companies to keep investing in America,” said the president, “not to take advantage of our public investments and then expand the production of electric cars and batteries abroad.” The companies must “expand their partnership with the UAW, continue to pay good wages and support local communities across the country.”
Tesla has so far resisted unionization of its employees. Biden’s decree now provides for staggered subsidies: $ 7,500 basic grant for the purchase of an electric car, plus $ 2,500 for vehicles made in the USA and a further $ 2,500 if they are produced in unionized plants – which, as things stand, would exclude Tesla.
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The pure electric car manufacturer dominates the battery vehicle market in the USA. However, according to data from the International Energy Agency, only 2 percent of new cars sold in 2020 were electrically powered. For comparison: In China it was 6, in Germany 13, in Norway 75 percent.
500,000 charging stations – but hanging in the US Senate
Biden’s regulation also provides for new standards for reducing exhaust emissions. They mean a tightening compared to the loosening of the requirements under Biden’s predecessor in office Donald Trump. At the same time, however, they are likely to be less strict than under Trump’s predecessor and Biden’s party colleague Barack Obama. In 2012, it stipulated that the fuel consumption of cars would be reduced by 5 percent annually by 2026. Biden, on the other hand, is calling for an efficiency improvement of just 3.7 percent in each case – based on the model of an agreement between the state of California and several automakers – in the same period, as Reuters learned from people familiar with the matter. Trump had lowered the savings target to 1.5 percent annually.
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The current requirement means that the average consumption must be reduced to 5.9 liters of petrol per 100 kilometers by 2026. According to the Obama guidelines, the automakers should have reduced their fleet consumption to 4.3 liters by 2025. Immediately after taking office at the beginning of the year, Biden had instructed the EPA and NHTSA to revise the rules by July. However, this deadline passed without result.
The new goals are “ambitious, aggressive, but also feasible,” said Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg (39) in an interview with the television station CNBC. The big US car companies warn, however, that the ambitious electric car targets can only be achieved with a massive public sector investment offensive. Billions of billions are needed, for example for buying incentives, setting up a charging network and research. According to Biden, the government will have to raise $ 174 billion to promote electric vehicles, including $ 100 billion for consumer incentives.
Biden’s plan for investments in infrastructure, valued at one trillion dollars, includes 500,000 new charging stations in electric cars – more than twice as many as the current total in the EU and twenty times the number of fast charging stations in Europe. However, it was still open on Friday whether the plan, which was also supported by some members of the opposition Republicans, would actually be adopted by Congress. A resolution from the Senate was expected on Saturday.
ak / AFP, Reuters