Ford Faces Relaxed Emissions Rules With EPA Pivot

While many automakers and industry lobby groups have been battling proposed stricter emissions rules in recent weeks, Ford maintains that it’s more concerned with the potential arrival of cheap Chinese EV rivals. Regardless, this lobbying has seemingly had an impact on the way the Biden Administration is approaching this topic. In fact, as Ford Authority reported just yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was reportedly set to soften its own targets amid criticism from various parties, and now, it seems as if that’s precisely what’s now set to happen with proposed emissions rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to the Associated Press.

In what represents the final rule proposed by the EPA, the agency has dialed back its ambitions in that regard. Rather than requiring that 67 percent of all new vehicles sold by 2032 be fully electric, that target will now come in at 56 percent, coupled with at least a 13 percent mix of plug-in hybrids, partially-electric vehicles, and more efficient ICE models.

Regardless of this change, the EPA remains adamant that it will still be able to reach its emissions reduction goals set forth in the original proposal, which aims to slash fleetwide emissions by 50 percent compared to projected 2026 levels, cut greenhouse gas emissions by 7.2 billion tons by 2055, and generate around $100 billion in annual net benefits, including $62 billion in reduced fuel, maintenance, and repair costs.

“We designed the standards to be technology neutral and performance-based to give manufacturers the flexibility to choose which combination of pollution control technologies are best suited for their consumers,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “There is absolutely no (electric vehicle) mandate – there are multiple choices that the industry can make to comply with this technology standard. Let me be clear, our final rule delivers the same, if not more pollution reduction than we set out at proposal.”

We’ll have more on these newly proposed rules soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.