--- title: "Biden to Propose Extreme Car Pollution Limits to Drive Up EV Sales" description: "President Joe Biden wants to impose strict emissions regulations on automakers to ensure EVs make up the majority of new car sales by 2030." date: "2023-04-12" modified: "2023-04-12" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/biden-strictest-car-pollution-limits-ev-sales" categories: - "Environment" - "Pollution" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "evs" - "pollution" - "the digest" --- # Biden to Propose Extreme Car Pollution Limits to Drive Up EV Sales ![President Joe Biden wants to impose strict emissions regulations on automakers to ensure EVs make up the majority of new car sales by 2030.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Colossal Crackdown President Joe Biden's administration is aiming for as much as 67 percent of new passenger cars sold to be EVs by 2032, [*The New York Times* reports]() — and it'll be imposing some of the strictest car pollution limits in the world on automakers to get there. The exact details of those limits will not be announced by the Environmental Protection Agency until Wednesday, but according to the *NYT*'s sources, they are intended to "accelerate the transition to a zero-emissions transportation future, protecting people and the planet" by ensuring the total amount of vehicles automakers sell don't surpass a tight emissions limit. The absolute minimum is for EV sales to account for *at least* 54 percent of all new cars sold by 2030, which would still be a drastic step up compared to the meager 5.8 percent of sales [EVs achieved last year](). ## Industry Change If the regulations go through — they'll almost certainly face plenty of legal opposition — it'll be the US government's most aggressive climate regulation yet, the *NYT* notes. But the lofty goal poses, among other things, a steep challenge for the automotive industry. "This is a massive undertaking," John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, told the *NYT*. "It is nothing short of a complete transformation of the automotive industrial base and the automotive market." While it's true that most automakers already offer EV models, likely few of them were anticipating such a comprehensive transition in less than ten years. Fewer still will be optimistic that EV sales will match up to gas-powered car sales. "Everyone who's watched this movie knows that the market is fickle," Drew Kodjak, executive director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, told the *NYT*. "What if there's a market downturn?" he added. "What if the battery minerals don't pan out? Without these firm standards that have a clear trajectory on timing, none of the players can be sure that this will happen." ## Saving Face It's not just the automotive industry that will need to play catch up, though — the nation's infrastructure will need a heavy-handed tune-up, too. Getting ahead of the problem, the Biden administration already announced a $5.5 billion [plan to build around 400,000 charging stations]() along federal highways last year. But aging power grids will also need a facelift, to account for the influx of EV owners topping off both at designation stations or at home. Nevertheless, Biden is likely banking on this move — whether it's successful or not — to put him back into the good graces of environmentalists after he [recently approved a controversial oil drilling project in Alaska](). **More on the EV switch:** *[US Postal Service Buying 66,000 Electric Vehicles, Plans to Only Buy EVs By 2026]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()