EVs will have to make up 67% of new car sales in the US by 2032, thanks to new EPA rule

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to unveil new sweeping regulations on Wednesday in Washington, intended to boost the sales of EVs in the US tenfold.

In 2022, just 5.8% of vehicles sold in the US were EVs, but the new rule would ensure that 54-60% of new vehicles sold would be EVs by 2030, and that percentage jumps up further to 67% by 2032. Previously, US President Joe Biden laid out a target of 50% of sales being made up of EVs by 2030, so the new proposed rules would up that even further.

The way this will allegedly be achieved is by requiring automakers to not exceed a certain emissions limit for the total number of vehicles they sell each year combined. That limit, although not disclosed in today's report, will apparently be so strict that it would force carmakers to ensure that two thirds of all vehicles they sold would be all-electric by 2032, according to unnamed "people familiar with the matter".

Previously, California banned the sale of new gasoline-powered cars after 2035. But that's just one state, and according to today's report, even car makers "that chafe against regulations" say they'd rather deal with one federal set of rules, than meet specifications from California (and possibly other states) that differ from the federal requirements. The new EPA rules may achieve that goal.

There is, however, a pretty substantial caveat here. What will be presented this week is a proposal from the EPA, which will then go through a public comment period and could be altered by the government before becoming final. Even if/when it does, it could be met with legal challenges, and even if it survives all of those, a future administration could undo or weaken it. It's also likely to become an issue in the US presidential campaign in 2024, so nothing is set in stone just yet.

That said, if everything goes well, this would make the US a leading force on the global stage in the fight against greenhouse gases generated by cars. The EU has already enacted standards that are expected to phase out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, while Canada and the UK have proposed standards similar to those in the EU.

It might not all be smooth sailing, as charging points are still severely lacking in the US. A recent report by S&P Global concluded that millions were needed, but so far the government's 2021 infrastructure law provided $7.5 billion to build a network of only about 500,000.

Furthermore, since apparently it takes fewer than half as many laborers to build EVs compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, layoffs are definitely going to sweep through the industry. Joe Biden, on the other hand, has repeatedly tried to present this massive change as an economic opportunity, emphasizing that many new jobs will be created in a "clean energy economy". As always, we'll have to wait and see what actually happens.

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