Historic crackdown on gas cars will ensure that two-thirds of vehicles will be electric, hybrid by 2032 after Biden admin finalizes new rules

The Biden administration finalized its crackdown on gas cars Wednesday, with the Environmental Protection Agency announcing drastic climate regulations meant to ensure more than two-thirds of passenger cars and light trucks sold by 2032 are electric or hybrid vehicles.

The EPA rule imposes strict limits on tailpipe pollution, limits the agency says can be met if 56% of new vehicles sold in the US are electric by eight years from now, along with 13% that are plug-in hybrids or other partially electric cars.

That would be a huge increase over current EV sales, which rose to 7.6% of new vehicle sales last year, up from 5.8% in 2022.

The rules unveiled Wednesday are a scaled-down version of regulations proposed last April and withdrawn after backlash from the auto industry, but still represent the most aggressive attack on internal combustion of any country in the world.

The new rule slows implementation of stricter pollution standards from 2027 through 2029, before ramping up to near the level the EPA preferred by 2032.

“Our final rule delivers the same, if not more, pollution reduction than we set out in our proposal,’’ EPA Administrator Michael Regan told reporters, adding the rules would prevent more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions over the next three decades and provide nearly $100 billion in benefits including lower health care costs, and more than $60 billion in reduced annual costs for fuel, maintenance and repairs.