EV Rules: Reactions To Biden’s Executive Order

• by E4TP Contributor
• August 6, 2021
• 3 min read

President Biden’s order to make half of new vehicles sold in 2030 electric in the States was met with praise and negativity.

Biden’s plan to fight climate change needs EVs

• Biden’s Bid To Cut Emissions
• Positive Reactions To The Order
• Some Had A Different Opinion

Biden’s Bid To Cut Emissions

As we reported yesterday, the US took major steps in its bid to slash greenhouse gas emissions through an executive order that targets combustion engine vehicles directly.

The move was backed by the biggest US automakers and Democrats who have applied pressure on Biden to follow in the footsteps of California and other countries taking the electric pledge.

Well, he did it, alongside a new vehicle emissions standards proposal that would seek to cut pollution through to 2026, starting with a 10% stringency increase from 2023.

Once signed, Biden would jump into an electric vehicle which proceeded to do laps of the grounds.

Positive Reactions To The Order

Biden’s 50% target was hailed by many automakers occupying the space. The same automakers have stressed the importance of US government aid to meet these new standards.

“The biggest thing that’s happening here is there’s a realisation, on the part of both labour and business now, that this is the future. We can’t sit by,” Biden said to reporters outside the White House.

In a joint statement, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis (parent company of Chrysler) said they aspired “to achieve sales of 40-50% of annual US volumes of electric vehicles… by 2030.”

Senator Gary Peters of Michigan praised the current president for not setting a hard deadline on the complete ban of gas-powered vehicles, stating: “Flexibility is important … but at the same token you need to set ambitious goals.”

Foreign brands in Hyundai, Nissan and Toyota all shared their own statements, citing Biden’s words as a rallying cry of sorts.

BMW, Honda, Ford, Volvo and Volkswagen, said that they all believe in this end goal as long as the federal government takes “bold action” to “build consumer demand.”

Still, this order was met with some level of doubt.

Some Had A Different Opinion

An order of this size was always going to come with some level of doubt amongst some.

Many, like the Safe Climate Transport Campaign, have criticised the White House’s non-binding targets, suggesting that car brands can go back on their word at any time.

Dan Becker, director of the campaign’s exact words were: “Voluntary pledges from auto companies make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight look like a legally binding contract.”

Tesla fans quickly jumped to Twitter to question why the American automaker — arguably the company behind the current electric boom — was not in attendance.

Even Elon took to Twitter to ask the same thing:

Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 5, 2021

The absence of a union at Tesla was said to be the reason for this snub, as confirmed by White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

What did you make of Biden’s announcement/his belief that EVs are the future? We want to hear what you have to say over on our social media.

E4TP Contributor

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