The US car market is preparing for an electric shock – Business – Kommersant

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published a series of measures proposed by the Joe Biden administration to combat climate change and move to greener modes of transport as soon as possible. Measures that are already called the most aggressive, in fact, are forcing manufacturers to switch to the production of electric vehicles. In this case, we are talking not only about private, but also about commercial transport.

Minus 10 billion tons of CO2 emissions, more than double the total U.S. carbon emissions in 2022, thousands of dollars in maintenance savings, and reducing the country’s dependence on oil imports by about 20 billion barrels. All this is promised to American citizens by the EPA and the administration of President Joe Biden. All you have to do is accept the offer. package of measureswhich includes new (and much more stringent) requirements for vehicles in the country.

Since Joe Biden became president of the United States, the number of electric vehicles on the country’s roads has tripled, and their lineup has doubled, the EPA said. The number of electric vehicle charging stations is growing just as rapidly – there are already about 130,000 of them, and this number has grown by 40% since 2020.

Now the authorities have set themselves (and the population) a specific goal: by 2032, two-thirds of the cars sold should be equipped with an electric motor.

The task is unusually ambitious, given that in 2022 the share of electric vehicles in the total number of vehicles sold, according to Counterpoint Research, was only 7%. And the previous goal named by Mr. Biden was a 50 percent share of electric transport by 2030.

The US authorities intend to stimulate a massive transition to electric transport mainly through tightening requirements for manufacturers. This includes phased reductions in CO2 emission limits for both private cars and commercial vehicles, from delivery vans to school buses and heavy trucks. Manufacturers will be able to fulfill these requirements only by switching to the production of exclusively electric vehicles.

In addition, the authorities intend to set at the legislative level a requirement for a minimum share of electric vehicles from models produced by concerns.

The authorities have not forgotten about the citizens either. Next week, the U.S. Treasury Department is due to publish new rules on electric vehicle tax credits, which could save future owners up to $7,500.

Nevertheless, the citizens themselves do not like the desire of the authorities to transfer everyone to electric vehicles. According to the latest survey Gallup, the majority of Americans (61% of those surveyed) do not believe that switching to electric vehicles can really help solve the problem of climate change. 43% said they “may think” about buying an electric car in the future, and 41% are not going to switch to them at all.

In any case, the measures proposed by the Joe Biden administration must go through public hearings, during which these measures can be adjusted.

Kirill Sarkhanyants