President Joe Biden drives an electric Cadillac Lyriq through the show room during a tour at the Detroit Auto Show in 2022. | Evan Vucci/APPresident Joe Biden’s new rule that will juice sales of electric vehicles is drawing praise from environmentalists, a powerful union and even the carmakers who will have to build and sell the cars., leading to a mounting inventory of new models on car dealers’ lots that has prompted some car makers like Ford, GM and Mercedes to walk back production targets.
“You’ve listened to what is happening in the auto market,” John Bozzella, head of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said at the rollout event Wednesday with EPA Administrator Michael Regan and White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi. “I was not as grumpy about it as I was about the power plant rule,” Whitehouse said. “I think they’ve put a pretty solid push on it for EVs and supplemented by the IRA’s incentives, that should lead to a good outcome.”
In an interview this week, Zaidi said the initial version of the rule was crafted during two years when the world was experiencing supply chain challenges, and the administration adjusted it based on feedback. EPA has said the tailpipe rules did not mandate a type of vehicle, and car makers could meet the lower emissions threshold with a far smaller number of electric vehicles and improvements in gasoline- and diesel-powered engine efficiency, though at a higher cost.“Policies that support investment in and growth of U.S. manufacturing in strategic sectors like energy and automotive are important for Georgia’s future and driving much of the extraordinary investment you are seeing in our state,” Sen.