Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said Tuesday that he would support Congress overturning the Environmental Protection Agency's new proposed rule limiting tailpipe emissions for vehicles, describing the effort as a "Trojan horse" to promote electric vehicles that could risk undermining national security.
In a statement, Manchin said the EPA is "lying to Americans" with "false claims about how their manipulation of the market to boost EVs will help American energy security."
LACK OF CHARGERS, RANGE ANXIETY, AND RELIABILITY FEARS MAKE DRIVERS WARY OF EVS
"In reality, this is a Trojan horse," Manchin said. "To meet these timelines will mean strengthening our reliance on minerals and technologies controlled by the Chinese."
Manchin said that the rules, combined with the administration's implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act's clean vehicle tax credits, will "only result in a more energy-secure and powerful China."
The Biden administration proposed strict new auto emissions rules last week aimed at shifting the market toward EVs, aiming for EVs to make up 67% of all new vehicles sold by 2032.
The guidance from the Biden administration includes four different emissions-limiting options for the EPA to choose from following a public comment period.
The proposed rule would not mandate or require automakers to sell a certain number of EVs, but would restrict the total level of emissions generated by each company’s total fleet of sold cars — essentially, another way of restricting internal combustion engine-powered vehicle sales.
Even the most modest option would effectively require at least 54% of new car sales in the U.S. to be zero-emissions vehicles by 2030, an increase of 4% compared to the administration's existing target, which already seeks to ensure EVs represent 50% of new cars sold by 2030.
By 2032, the new proposed rule would increase that target from between 64% and 67%, according to the administration.
Speaking to reporters to preview the new proposed rule earlier this month, administration officials touted the recent increase in both EV sales and public charging infrastructure, noting that since Biden took office, EV sales have tripled and public chargers have increased by 40%.
“By proposing the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks, we are delivering on the Biden-Harris administration’s promise to protect people and the planet, securing critical reductions in dangerous air and climate pollution and ensuring significant economic benefits like lower fuel and maintenance costs for families,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told reporters.
But there are major unknowns as to whether the auto industry can meet these ambitious targets — and along with Manchin, the proposed rule is almost certain to continue to generate some backlash from the auto industry.
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The Alliance for Automotive Innovation noted in a memo earlier this month that, while automakers are committed to electrifying their fleets and reaching net-zero carbon technology, a "clear-eyed assessment of market readiness is required."
"Even with positive EV sales momentum and product excitement, there are challenges to the electrification transition ahead," it read. "This requires a massive, 100-year change to the U.S. industrial base and the way Americans drive."