API Insists Gasoline Cars Cheaper Option as EV Phase-In Looms

The American Petroleum Institute (API) issued a fresh statement of protest amid reports the Biden administration is moving forward with proposed emission standards for motor vehicles that the lobby group says constitute a de facto ban on new gasoline-fueled cars.

The lobby group, which counts about 600 member companies, highlighted the passage of the proposal would mean depriving Americans of “an affordable, reliable, and increasingly cleaner way to commute”.

“Reports that the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] is moving forward with a de facto ban on new gasoline-powered cars shows the Biden administration is significantly out of step with the American people”, API president and chief executive Mike Sommers said in a statement. “Don’t be fooled, a revised timeline won’t change the fact that EPA’s proposal would result in two out of every three new cars needing to be electric in just eight short years”.

Last year the EPA unveiled proposed emission standards for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles starting with the model year (MY) 2027, aimed at accelerating the transition to cleaner vehicles.

“Depending on the compliance pathways manufacturers select to meet the standards, EPA projects that EVs could account for 67 percent of new light-duty vehicle sales and 46 percent of new medium-duty vehicle sales in MY 2032”, it said in a statement April 12. “The proposed MY 2032 light-duty standards are projected to result in a 56 percent reduction in projected fleet average greenhouse gas emissions target levels compared to the existing MY 2026 standards. The proposed MY 2032 medium-duty vehicle standards would result in a 44 percent reduction compared to MY 2026 standards”.

The EPA said the average consumer would save $12,000 over the lifetime of a light-duty vehicle as clean technologies reduce fuel and maintenance costs.

Enforcing the standards would also curb oil imports by about 20 billion barrels, it said.

“Overall, EPA estimates that the benefits of the proposed standards would exceed costs by at least $1 trillion”, said the EPA statement April.

On July 5 the API submitted formal comments on the proposal warning the automobile industry would bump into infrastructure and supply chain challenges and the lack of consumer acceptance. The API also warned favoring electric vehicles would mean reliance on foreign sources for raw materials and critical minerals.

In the new statement, Sommers insisted, “The mandate would restrict Americans’ freedom to drive how they choose and restrict continued innovation in the automotive sector to one technology primarily sourced from China”.

“Liquid fuels provide customers of all economic backgrounds an affordable, reliable, and increasingly cleaner way to commute”, Sommers added.

“We will keep all options on the table if the agency moves forward with this ban”, Sommers said.

The API has also called on the federal road regulator to cancel a planned gradual increase in fuel efficiency requirements, which the API says effectively bans liquid-fuel vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing to raise the fuel economy standards for passenger cars at a rate of two percent a year and light trucks at a rate of four percent per year for models with year designations that fall under 2027–31. For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans with model years 2030–35, the planned increase is 10 percent per year.

Additionally, augural standards, or the levels of stringency that may be the maximum feasible in the future based on current information, are eyed for passenger cars and light trucks with the model year 2032 at respective rates of two percent and four percent year-on-year using prior-year standards as the basis of comparison.

Under the NHTSA’s vehicle identification number requirements, model year designations could be less than two years relative to the model’s calendar year of production, according to a rule interpretation on the agency’s website.

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