Electrifying the Automotive Market

With concern over climate change on the rise, the transportation sector faces revolutionary changes. In the United States, the transportation sector generates 27 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, more than any other economic sector. Greenhouse gas emissions contribute to climate change by trapping heat in the earth’s atmosphere. Current transportation methods emit so many greenhouse pollutants because over 90 percent of the fuel used for transportation in the United States is petroleum-based, releasing emissions of carbon dioxide – a leading greenhouse gas – into the atmosphere. Around the world, electric vehicles, which do not rely directly on any fossil fuels, have made consistent inroads in the global automotive market. In 2021, the sale of electric vehicles doubled to 6.6 million globally, reaching nearly 9 percent of all car sales that year. Of the 250 million cars and trucks on the road in the United States, however, less than 1 percent are electric. In response, President Joseph R. Biden has pushed an ambitious new goal forward: he has proposed that half of all new cars sold in 2030 should be zero-emission vehicles. To achieve President Biden’s goal, the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Energy have announced a new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program. Under the new program, the federal agencies will build a network of vehicle charging stations to ensure all U.S. residents have access to electric vehicle charging. Moreover, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency late last year issued a final rule establishing more stringent greenhouse gas emission standards for certain motor vehicles. Even with these policy developments, electric vehicles face significant barriers to entry into the automobile market, including high up-front costs, inaccessible charging stations, and consumer hesitancy. In this week’s Saturday Seminar, we summarize research from experts exploring how regulation is shaping the future of electric vehicles in the United States