EPA's Tailpipe Emissions Rule Threatens Freedom, Reliability, Security

Amanda Eversole
Posted July 11, 2023

Breaking News: Together, API and more than 100 organizations that represent the transportation sector are urging the Biden administration to reverse course on its proposed tailpipe emissions standards for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. EPA’s proposal would effectively require two-thirds, or 67%, of new light-duty vehicles and 40% of medium-duty pickups and vans to be electric vehicles (EVs) by 2032.    

Reality Check: Today there are 260 million passenger gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles on the road and only 3 million EVs. 

Why You Should Care: EPA’s proposal serves as a de facto ban that will eliminate choice, distort the market and restrict consumer choice, while being potentially more costly to taxpayers. 

Consumer Concerns on Costs and Charging: At the end of 2022, the average price of an EV was $61,488, compared with $49,507 for all passenger cars and trucks, according to Kelley Blue Book. Meanwhile, just yesterday, Axios reported that a “growing mismatch between EV supply and demand” is a sign that consumers are “still wary about purchasing one because of price or charging concerns.” 

Dig Deeper: In a letter to President Biden, API and allied organizations outlined major concerns with the EPA’s proposed rule and the need to preserve access to affordable, reliable and efficient transportation.

3 Reasons Why EPA’s Rule Threatens Consumer Freedom, Energy Reliability & National Security:

• Ignores Reality of What Americans Want to Drive: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), there are about 260 million internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) on the road today, and EIA projects over 140 million ICEV sales will occur between 2023 and 2032. Further, EIA projects there will be about 269 million ICEVs in the fleet in 2050 along with 47 million battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. As such, energy and carbon reduction policies should consider opportunities to address emissions from the existing and future fleet.

• Fails to Harness Reliable Ways to Cut Emissions: Many vehicle and fuel technologies can be deployed to meet America’s diverse transportation needs and achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Improved crop yields, innovative biofuel and refined product processing, and manufacturing efficiencies tied with carbon capture each represent ways for current liquid and gaseous fuels to continue to accelerate emissions reductions. All of this can occur while allowing new zero-emission vehicle, and specifically battery electric vehicle, technologies to advance. This is better than government picking winners and losers.

• Risks National Security by Depending on Unstable Supply Chains: Around two-thirds of the world’s lithium and cobalt – essential for electric cars – is processed in China, according to Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. China is also the source of nearly 60% of aluminum, also used in EV batteries. Pursuing a broader range of emissions-reducing transportation pathways can help guard against an over-reliance on foreign adversaries and volatile global supply chains.

EPA Should Partner with Affected Industries Instead of Bulldozing Ahead with a Bad Rule:

• In the past, industry has worked with EPA on numerous regulatory programs to successfully reduce emissions across the transportation sector.
• API urges the Biden administration to reconsider these new proposals from EPA. Working as one, we can pave the way for emissions reductions from a variety of vehicle and fuels technologies and strategies while meeting America’s diverse transportation needs. (Read API’s official comments to EPA here for more details.)
• API and the more than 100 organizations signing the letter stand ready to work with the Biden administration to improve these rules. Please click here to read the full letter.