EPA releases new emissions rules: 60% EV by 2030, saves US trillions
The EPA is announcing expected new emissions rules today that will save Americans trillions of dollars in health and fuel costs, avoid nearly 10 billion tons of emissions, and result in an EV market share of about 60% by 2030 and 67% by 2032.
The rules are an improvement from President Biden’s previous commitment of 50% electric by 2030. But they’re also far ahead of what many automakers are planning, leaving millions of EV sales up for grabs come 2030.
On a press call in advance of the announcement, White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi noted that the auto industry has progressed significantly since Biden’s original executive order targeting 50% EVs was signed two years ago. The number of available EV models has doubled, charging stations have doubled, and total EV deployments have tripled.
As a result of the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Bill, there has been significant public and private investment into electric car infrastructure and manufacturing. Zaidi said this will enable the production of 13 million vehicles’ worth of batteries in the US in 2030 – more than enough to meet today’s targets.
The investment and spending from these laws enabled the EPA to set more stringent targets with today’s rules than it might have been able to otherwise. While today’s regulations are stronger than previous targets, projections for BEV market share have been continually increased in recent years, such that an additional increase from today’s estimate seems feasible.
The new EPA rules do not mandate a certain percentage of EV sales, but rather mandate rapidly decreasing average fleet CO₂ emissions. Between 2026 and 2032, fleet emissions will need to drop by an average of 13% per year, until reaching 82g CO₂ per mile by 2032. By comparison, the average new vehicle in 2021 emitted 347gCO₂/mi – about four times as much as the 2032 rule.
They also target emissions of several other pollutants such as NOx, PM2.5, VOCs, SOx, and so on, reducing each by about half in the long term.
Watch EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s formal announcement of the new rule below, at 11 a.m. EDT:
Automakers can meet these mandates with whichever technology they choose, whether battery electric vehicles or otherwise. However, it is likely that most automakers will lean heavily on BEVs as they emit nothing at the tailpipe and are more easily scalable than other technologies like hybrids, fuel cells, or attempting to wring more efficiency out of gasoline engines.
The new rules cover not only passenger cars but also medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, with additional targets specific to those sectors. These standards will result in greater deployment of “vocational vehicles” like electric delivery trucks, dump trucks, transit, school buses and more – EPA estimates 50% of these will be electric by 2032.
EPA calculated costs and benefits from the new rules and estimates that the benefits of the new standards would exceed costs by at least $1 trillion, potentially much more in optimistic scenarios. The average consumer will save $12,000 over the life of a vehicle, in addition to hundreds of billions of health and climate benefits and reduced dependence on foreign oil to the tune of tens of billions of barrels.
And most importantly, EPA says that these new guidelines should contribute to the goal of limiting global warming to “well below 2ºC,” which is important to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
In addition to these emissions guidelines, the regulations seek to establish a minimum warranty period for EV batteries of at least 8 years and 80,000 miles and to require onboard battery health monitors. They will also reduce the gap between passenger car and “light truck” (SUV/pickup) emissions requirements, which could reduce some incentive that automakers currently have to build bigger and deadlier SUVs.
While the EPA’s guidelines do not match California’s new ACC2 regulations which ban sales of new ICE cars by 2035, EPA does acknowledge that a number of states have or will adopt ACC2, and a number of other countries are targeting similar all-EV timelines. Regions representing about 25% of global auto sales have already adopted goals banning new ICE cars by 2035, which establishes the global trend towards electrification. EPA also acknowledged that the largest US automaker, GM, requested an all-electric by 2035 target, but still decided to limit its rulemaking to model year 2032, rather than 2035.
The proposed regulations will go up for public review in the Federal Register, where the EPA also seeks feedback on three additional alternatives. These alternatives are 10gCO₂/mi more or less stringent than the proposed standards, with “Alternative 1” being the most stringent of the three. You can probably guess which of those alternatives we as Electrek would prefer.
Electrek’s Take
Reading through these regulations is quite a relief for someone who has been advocating for stronger emissions standards for so long, especially through four years of lying incompetence with previous EPA leadership. It’s nice to read government speak plainly about the necessity of a regulation, how it will help, how it will be achieved, and that it is achievable, all supported with real science.
With so much of our political discussion these days centered around 140-character regurgitations vomited uncritically from one talking head to another, sitting down to dig into (*checks notes*) 1,475 pages (oh-god-I’m-not-sleeping-tonight-am-I) of competent regulation is actually a bit of a breath of fresh air.
Whatever, call me a nerd. I accept it.
Importantly, these regulations are a significant increase from current automaker commitments, so we will need to see updates on those coming soon. As I argued after NYTimes leaked the upcoming rules over the weekend, the auto industry is up for grabs with these new rules.
I estimated that there will be a gap of roughly 2 million electric vehicles between this new EPA regulation and current automaker commitments for 2030 (EPA included a similar table in their proposed rule today, with similar numbers). That gap will need to be filled, and the most likely companies to fill it are the EV-only brands who have jumped in cannonball-style, instead of testing the water one toe at a time like some incumbent automakers have.
Read more on how these new rules will upend the industry, and how they’re achievable, here.
While these rules may be challenged, they still give industry a baseline that they need to target, and that they need to start working on now given the length of car development timelines. Any company that isn’t ready to meet these guidelines will be in a tough spot if the rules do survive inevitable challenges, or alternately, if the rules get strengthened over time.
And they just might, because we think there’s a good chance nobody’s going to want a gas car well before 2035 anyway. So automakers better get to work, and a swift kick in the pants by government might be just the motivation they need to save themselves.
If I’m going to criticize, I would like to have seen the EPA just copy California’s ACC2, unifying emissions rules across the US. This last happened when current President Biden was Vice President back in 2012, when CARB and the EPA worked together on emissions targets.
CARB intentionally set ACC2 targets a little lower than what California is probably capable of in the hopes to bring other states along, perhaps with the hope that the whole nation might adopt these standards. And 2035 is achievable nationwide, so we should do it, especially since it’s necessary to keep warming to 1.5ºC. But maybe, when it comes time to propose 2035 rules (since EPA stopped at 2032), we’ll be ready to ratchet things up a bit more, just as today’s rules did from the previous 50% target.
The proposed rules lag behind public opinion as well. According to a recent poll, a majority of US voters support a requirement that 100% of new cars sold be electric starting 2030. The idea was “strongly” or “somewhat” supported by 55% of respondents, and opposed by just 35%. This is another reason we ask “why not sooner?” about a 2035 target for 100% electric car sales.
But despite our misgivings, these actions taken today are still enormously important, a huge step forward for EVs, for Americans’ health and pocketbooks, and for the climate. It’s great to see.
Featured Photo by Billy Hathorn
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Mercedes released a look at the powertrain technology of its upcoming electric CLA, and it includes tons of neat EV tech and some interesting options for battery technology and what looks to be the most flexible charging system we’ve seen yet.
We’ve already learned a fair amount about the CLA after first seeing the concept last year, and Mercedes released a few new specifics today regarding its powertrain.
In keeping with previous information we knew, the CLA is targeting extremely high efficiency of 12kWh/100km, which translates to just 193Wh/mi or 5.2mi/kWh. That’s more efficient than anything else on the road today – with Lucid’s Air Pure reaching 200Wh/mi, or 5mi/kWh. And just less than what Tesla is claiming the Cybercab will be capable of, at 5.5kWh/mi.
This is thanks to Mercedes’ new compact EDU 2.0 electric motor, which is part of its new Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA) which will underpin its upcoming electric vehicles. The drive motor will be 200kW on the rear axle, though all-wheel drive models will be available with an additional 80kW unit on the front axle. A two-speed transmission will ensure efficiency at high speeds and low.
For more efficiency in cold weather, the CLA will use an air-to-air heat pump which is able to capture heat from the motor, battery, and ambient air to heat the cabin. While batteries and motors don’t make nearly as much waste heat as inefficient ICE engines, it’s still good to be able to channel heat to wherever you need it.
Mercedes says that the CLA will come equipped with a choice of two different batteries, each with different chemistries.
The larger 85kWh model will be capable of an unnecessarily-high 750km (466mi) of WLTP range – though WLTP numbers are always higher than EPA numbers, so expect something in the high-300s in EPA parlance. This battery will add silicon oxide to the anode for higher energy density, a technology that has been pioneered by Sila Nanotechnologies, a company which Mercedes is a lead investor in.
The smaller battery will be 58kWh, and will use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry. LFP is a cheaper but lower energy density technology, with higher long-term durability and simpler sourcing of minerals (it uses no cobalt, whereas Mercedes says cobalt has been “reduced” in the larger batteries). However, LFP generally has slower fast charging and cold weather performance.
On charging: the “premium” battery will have an 800V configuration capable of up to 320kW charging speeds. Mercedes says this can add 300km (186mi) of range in 10 minutes, and also says that the car will have a broad charging curve, which means you’ll get high charge rates even if the battery isn’t close to empty. It didn’t specify if the smaller LFP battery will have the same charge rate.
This high charging rate allowed Mercedes to set a record traveling 3,717km (2,309mi) in 24 hours at the Nardo test track in Italy in a pre-production CLA. That’s an average travel rate of 96mph – including time spent charging.
We also learned something about Mercedes’ NACS adoption plans. While just about everyone has committed to transitioning cars to NACS, it has taken longer than expected (largely due to Tesla’s chaotic CEO firing the whole supercharger team for little reason), and few cars have native NACS inlets yet. Some brands can already charge at Superchargers with adapters, but Mercedes is still on Tesla’s “coming soon” page.
As a result of delays in onbaording automakers, some seem to have pulled back on their plans, pushing NACS ports to later model years. But Mercedes has a new and unique solution – it will just put both CCS and NACS ports on the CLA, right on top of each other.
Mercedes says “in the future, new entry-level models will be capable of bidirectional charging,” but isn’t clear whether this model will be capable of that.
Electrek’s Take
While this is short of a full release of specs, we’re excited by what we see here. Mercedes seems to confirm that they’re meeting the efficiency goals they set out, and we like that they’re offering a variety of options and taking advantage of some newer EV tech like 800V charging infrastructure.
The inclusion of both NACS and CCS is very interesting, again offering options to owners during the transition. That seems to be the big message from Mercedes here – we’re not going to just pick one tool, we’re going to use all of them.
But pricing and availability are obviously big questions, as is design.
The concept looks fantastic, but concepts always change on their way into production. The shape of the camouflaged test vehicle is very different – but looks to have some shrouding on the front and back to hide its shape, so we’ll have to wait until we see this thing unveiled for more.
And as for pricing – Mercedes says the CLA will be an “entry-level” car, but who knows what that means anymore these days. The base ICE CLA starts at around $44k currently, so lets see if they can hit that number.
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Daimler Truck North America has helped alcohol distributor Reyes Beverage Group deploy fully 29 zero-emission Freightliner eCascadia Class 8 electric semi trucks in its California delivery fleet.
Reyes Beverage Group (RGB) plans to deploy the first twenty Freightliner electric semi trucks at its Golden Brands – East Bay and Harbor Distributing – Huntington Beach warehouses, marking the first phase in the company’s transition to a fully zero emission truck fleet by 2039. An additional nine eCascadia Class 8 HDEVs are scheduled for delivery to RBG’s Gate City Beverage – San Bernardino warehouse before the end of 2024.
RBG’s decision to adopt the Freightliner eCascadia builds on its recent transition to renewable diesel and its ongoing idle-time reduction program. These electric vehicles (EVs) “go electric” will contribute significantly toward the company’s stated goal of reducing its carbon emissions 60 percent by 2030. These 2 trucks will save some 98,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually, and avoid putting nearly 700 metric tons of carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions into California’s air each year.
“We are excited to be among the first in our industry to adopt these electric vehicles,” explains Tom Reyes, President of RBG West. “This is a significant step toward our sustainability goals and ensuring compliance with state regulation as we transition our fleet to EV.”
Freightliner’s eCascadia electric semi trucks offer a number of battery and drive axle configurations with ranges between 155 and 230 miles, depending on the truck specification, to perfectly match customers’ needs without compromising on performance and load capacity. RBG’s Freightliner eCascadia tractors will rely on electric charging stations installed at each facility, allowing them to recharge to 80% capacity in as little as 90 minutes for RGB’s trucks, which feature a typical driving range of 220 miles as equipped.
Electrek’s Take
Food and beverage trucks operate everywhere – not just at the ports but in urban population centers, too. That means they’re pumping out harmful emissions right where a lot of people live and work, and that’s no bueno, making the electrification of these vehicles a no brainer for anyone who cares about the quality of life of the people who live and work near them.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Daimler Trucks.
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![Enwin Utilities adds $1 million Terex electric bucket truck to fleet [video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/enwin_MAIN.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
The Windsor, Ontario utility says it’s driving towards a more sustainable future after adding a dozen new electric vehicles to its fleet – including a state-of-the-art, 55-foot Terex electric bucket truck.
Based on a Class 7 (33,000 lb. GVWR) International eMV Series BEV, the Terex EV takes the eMV’s 291 kWh battery and adds the Terex Optima 55-foot aerial device and HyPower SmartPTO system to create a fully electrified utility service vehicle that can do anything its diesel counterparts can do while offering better, safer working conditions for utility crews.
“We’ve got 12 EVs,” said Gary Rossi, president and CEO, Enwin Utilities. That number represents fully 10% of the utility’s entire vehicle fleet. “Our centerpiece is our electric 55-feet bucket truck. It’s very quiet,” continues Rossi. “So (the truck) allows us, our crews, to communicate better. It’s not as loud in the community when they’re doing repairs in someone’s backyard.”
That notion is echoed by Terex, itself. The company says its HyPower SmartPTO (power take off), which replaces a mechanical PTO, avoids a loud idling engine while reducing workers’ exposure to toxic exhaust fumes.
The utility company says the new electric bucket truck cost it almost $1 million Canadian – but while that might sound like a lot, Rossi says the price is similar to what a similarly-optioned ICE version of the bucket truck would cost.
“It’s all about building Windsor’s future and literally plugging into the battery factory down the road that is being constructed and showing that Windsor is a leader on this front,” says Drew Dilkens, Mayor of Windsor. “I don’t own an internal combustion engine vehicle,” adds Mayor Wilkins. “I only own two electric cars. My wife and I, we made the change starting in 2019 and I can’t see myself ever going back.”
CTV News Windsor
Enwin says its commitment to clean energy extends beyond its vehicle fleet. The company recently unveiled a massive MW solar rooftop net metering facility at its Rhodes Drive headquarters with over 3,000 solar panels. The site, one of Canada’s largest solar installations, generates enough clean electricity to power 300 homes annually.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Terex; Enwin via CTV News Windsor.
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