Biden to set target of 50% electric vehicles share in 2030

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US President Joe Biden will announce Thursday his goal of reaching 40% - 50% electric vehicle sales share by 2030, the White House said in a statement.

The president will announce new actions amid his Build Back Better agenda and the bipartisan infrastructure deal, "positioning America to drive the electric vehicle future forward, outcompete China, and tackle the climate crisis," it said.

He will sign an executive order that targets making half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emissions vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or fuel cell electric vehicles, in addition to long-term fuel efficiency, emissions standards and cutting pollution.

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation are also advancing smart fuel efficiency and emissions standards that would deliver $140 billion in net benefits, save 200 billion gallons of gasoline and reduce around 2 billion metric tons of carbon pollution, it said.

Noting that the US market share of electric vehicle sales is one-third that of the Chinese market, Biden's new investments will include installing the first-ever national network of electric vehicle charging stations, delivering consumer incentives, expansion of domestic manufacturing supply chain, and innovation of clean technologies.

The White House noted that there has been a dramatic change in the electric vehicle market since 2010 as battery pack costs dropped 85% and electric models available to US consumers expanded to more than 40% last year.

Some major automakers, along with the United Autoworkers (UAW) labor union released a separate statement via the White House showing support for Biden's steps.

"Today, Ford, GM and Stellantis announce their shared aspiration to achieve sales of 40-50% of annual US volumes of electric vehicles (battery electric, fuel cell and plug-in hybrid vehicles) by 2030 in order to move the nation closer to a zero-emissions future consistent with Paris climate goals," it said.

Other major automakers supporting Biden's plan included Ford, BMW and Volkswagen of Germany, Honda from Japan and Chinese-owned Volvo from Sweden.