The EPA’s new tailpipe emissions rule is a plan to eliminate gas-powered cars

The Biden administration is doubling down on its rush-to-green agenda that forces Americans to drive unaffordable, less reliable electric vehicles. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule for its tailpipe emissions standard—which mandates that two-thirds of all new vehicles be electric by 2032—only benefits the Chinese Communist Party. As Chairs Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Buddy Carter (R-GA) said, President Biden should abandon his radical agenda and let Americans choose what vehicle best suits their needs. 

Check out these highlights from a new piece by the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board:

Biden officials are stressing that the new auto greenhouse gas emissions standards they rolled out on Wednesday aren’t an electric-vehicle mandate. But the liberal press and climate lobby don’t buy it, and neither should Americans.

The Environmental Protection Agency somewhat eased CO2 emissions requirements through 2030 from its proposal last spring while maintaining essentially the same end-point for 2032. That means gas-powered cars can make up no more than 30% of auto sales by 2032. Make no mistake: This is a coerced phase-out of gas-powered cars.

[…]

EVs made up less than 8% of new auto sales last year, and more than half were Teslas. They accounted for less than 4% of General Motors and Ford sales. Foreign luxury auto makers such as BMW (12.5%), Mercedes (11.4%) and Porsche (10%) will have an easier time meeting the Biden mandates because their affluent customers can more easily afford EVs.

The average price of a new EV is roughly $50,000, and only two cost less than $40,000 as of December: the Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf. Some makers have slashed EV prices to boost sales, but they are also losing money. Ford ran an operating loss of $4.7 billion on its EV business in 2023, equivalent to $64,731 per EV sold. 

The companies are heavily subsidizing EVs with profits from gas-powered cars. This means middle-class Americans in Fargo are paying more for gas-powered cars so the affluent in Napa Valley can buy cheaper EVs. This cost-shift won’t be financially sustainable as the Biden mandate ramps up, and it may not be politically sustainable either. 

[…]

EPA claims the rule preserves “consumer choice” because hybrids and plug-in hybrids can help meet the standards in the early years. But auto makers will have no choice but to limit gas-powered, and increase EV, production to meet the mandates. The only “choice” Americans will have in the future is electric.

CLICK HERE to read the full piece.

NOTE:

• Energy and Commerce Republicans are leading to stop the Biden administration’s radical EV agenda, preserve people’s vehicle choice, and ensure America—not China—is leading. In May 2023, Chair Rodgers and more than 150 House Republicans sent a letter to the administration urging it to abandon its efforts to mandate EVs.  
• In December 2023, the House of Representatives passed the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act, led by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), to stop President Biden’s agenda to force Americans to drive electric vehicles by a bipartisan vote of 221-197.