2024/02/13
President Joe Biden sits at the wheel of a Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicle as he visits the 2022 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
- Mandel Ngan/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS
WASHINGTON — A lobbying group for the oil and gas industry has launched a new television advertising campaign targeting the Biden administration’s promotion of electric vehicles in several battleground states.
One ad from American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers accuses Democratic President Joe Biden of “rushing to ban new gas-powered cars, no matter where you live or what you need.”
“They want to force you into an electric vehicle,” the ad continues.
Since he took office in 2021, Biden has been ambitious in setting targets for reducing emissions from vehicles with internal combustion engines. His administration's tougher emissions standards have been coupled new tax incentives for buying or leasing an electric vehicle. The ads make no mention of the 2024 presidential election or other candidates for the White House.
But the ad placement in key swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in an election year suggests that the oil and gas industry sees debate over the future of gas-powered cars as an issue that will engage voters.
The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers say the ads are part of a “major seven-figure” campaign. The ads call on voters to call the Biden administration and ask the Democratic president to “Stop the EPA’s car ban.”
The Biden campaign responded Monday to the ads.
“While (former President Donald) Trump had the United States losing the EV race to China, President Biden is keeping Michigan at the forefront of car manufacturing by investing in the future to ensure good-paying union jobs end up in America, not halfway around the world," said Alyssa Bradley, communications director for Biden's Michigan campaign.
The ads allude to two regulatory proposals by the Biden administration that would require dramatic improvements to vehicle fuel economy for new cars — and therefore dramatically decrease gas usage — within the next decade.
One proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency, beginning in model year 2027, would phase in strict emission requirements on all new vehicles sold. The average light-duty vehicle would need to emit only 82 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. For 2021, average emissions were 348 grams per mile.
Used vehicles would not be subject to any new requirements.
The proposed regulation does not specify exactly how automakers should achieve such reductions, but it does suggest that electric vehicles may need to make up 67% of all new vehicle sales to meet the lower emission targets.
Electric vehicle sales made up 7.6% of all new vehicle sales last year, according to Kelley Blue Book estimates. That was an increase from 5.9% in 2022.
A related proposal from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would require new light-duty vehicles to average approximately 58 miles per gallon by 2032.
The figure was 26 miles per gallon last year, a record high for the U.S. but less than half the 2032 goal.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the leading lobbying group for automakers in the U.S., has pushed back against the proposals. The rules are “neither reasonable nor achievable in the time frame provided,” it said in a public comment on the EPA proposal.
The EPA and DOT regulations are not yet final, but Biden is unlikely to back away from his emissions-reduction commitments and longstanding support for electric vehicles.
If Biden wins reelection, his administration will be able to follow through on enforcement of proposed regulations. By contrast, if a Republican challenger wins in November, they may reverse course on tougher fuel economy requirements.
Former President Donald Trump has denounced the regulatory proposals.
"The auto industry is being assassinated," the 2024 Republican front-runner said in a Sept. 27 speech at a nonunion auto supplier in Clinton Township, Michigan. "If you want to buy an electric car, that's absolutely fine. I'm all for it. But we should not be forcing consumers to buy electric vehicles they don't want to buy."
Bradley, the Biden campaign spokeswoman, rejected that notion.
"There is no EV mandate," she said.
"Donald Trump and his allies can’t run on the facts, so as usual, they need to lie to distract from his losing agenda of trickle-down tax cuts, closed factories, and shipping jobs abroad," Bradley added.
In a statement, the lobbying group said its ad campaign is aimed at “seven critical states”: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Ohio and Montana.
Of those seven states, Trump won all but Nevada in the 2016 presidential election. He only won Ohio and Montana in 2020.
Trump is returning to Michigan on Saturday for a campaign rally ahead of the state's Feb. 27 presidential primary.
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© The Detroit News
WASHINGTON — A lobbying group for the oil and gas industry has launched a new television advertising campaign targeting the Biden administration’s promotion of electric vehicles in several battleground states.
One ad from American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers accuses Democratic President Joe Biden of “rushing to ban new gas-powered cars, no matter where you live or what you need.”
“They want to force you into an electric vehicle,” the ad continues.
Since he took office in 2021, Biden has been ambitious in setting targets for reducing emissions from vehicles with internal combustion engines. His administration's tougher emissions standards have been coupled new tax incentives for buying or leasing an electric vehicle. The ads make no mention of the 2024 presidential election or other candidates for the White House.
But the ad placement in key swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in an election year suggests that the oil and gas industry sees debate over the future of gas-powered cars as an issue that will engage voters.
The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers say the ads are part of a “major seven-figure” campaign. The ads call on voters to call the Biden administration and ask the Democratic president to “Stop the EPA’s car ban.”
The Biden campaign responded Monday to the ads.
“While (former President Donald) Trump had the United States losing the EV race to China, President Biden is keeping Michigan at the forefront of car manufacturing by investing in the future to ensure good-paying union jobs end up in America, not halfway around the world," said Alyssa Bradley, communications director for Biden's Michigan campaign.
The ads allude to two regulatory proposals by the Biden administration that would require dramatic improvements to vehicle fuel economy for new cars — and therefore dramatically decrease gas usage — within the next decade.
One proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency, beginning in model year 2027, would phase in strict emission requirements on all new vehicles sold. The average light-duty vehicle would need to emit only 82 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. For 2021, average emissions were 348 grams per mile.
Used vehicles would not be subject to any new requirements.
The proposed regulation does not specify exactly how automakers should achieve such reductions, but it does suggest that electric vehicles may need to make up 67% of all new vehicle sales to meet the lower emission targets.
Electric vehicle sales made up 7.6% of all new vehicle sales last year, according to Kelley Blue Book estimates. That was an increase from 5.9% in 2022.
A related proposal from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would require new light-duty vehicles to average approximately 58 miles per gallon by 2032.
The figure was 26 miles per gallon last year, a record high for the U.S. but less than half the 2032 goal.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the leading lobbying group for automakers in the U.S., has pushed back against the proposals. The rules are “neither reasonable nor achievable in the time frame provided,” it said in a public comment on the EPA proposal.
The EPA and DOT regulations are not yet final, but Biden is unlikely to back away from his emissions-reduction commitments and longstanding support for electric vehicles.
If Biden wins reelection, his administration will be able to follow through on enforcement of proposed regulations. By contrast, if a Republican challenger wins in November, they may reverse course on tougher fuel economy requirements.
Former President Donald Trump has denounced the regulatory proposals.
"The auto industry is being assassinated," the 2024 Republican front-runner said in a Sept. 27 speech at a nonunion auto supplier in Clinton Township, Michigan. "If you want to buy an electric car, that's absolutely fine. I'm all for it. But we should not be forcing consumers to buy electric vehicles they don't want to buy."
Bradley, the Biden campaign spokeswoman, rejected that notion.
"There is no EV mandate," she said.
"Donald Trump and his allies can’t run on the facts, so as usual, they need to lie to distract from his losing agenda of trickle-down tax cuts, closed factories, and shipping jobs abroad," Bradley added.
In a statement, the lobbying group said its ad campaign is aimed at “seven critical states”: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Ohio and Montana.
Of those seven states, Trump won all but Nevada in the 2016 presidential election. He only won Ohio and Montana in 2020.
Trump is returning to Michigan on Saturday for a campaign rally ahead of the state's Feb. 27 presidential primary.
_____
© The Detroit News
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