Biden’s plan to boost EV sales draws praise from industry groups

President Joe Biden has drawn praise from industry groups for his executive order to state that half of all new cars sold by 2030 should be zero-emission vehicles, either electric vehicles or hybrids.

The American Chemistry Council said Biden’s executive order will expand opportunities for manufacturers of lightweight, durable plastics to contribute to vehicle “lightweighting.” Plastics make up about 50 percent of today’s cars by volume. Lightweight polymer solutions will help automakers further reduce vehicle emissions, improve fuel economy and battery range, and support U.S. leadership in advanced mobility and materials manufacturing. Electric and hybrid electric vehicle batteries will continue to shed weight to improve range with help from lightweight plastic battery packs.

“We look forward to strengthening our partnership with America’s automakers and helping build out the nation’s electric fleet and infrastructure that will drive down greenhouse gas emissions, save money at the pump and create highly skilled, good-paying U.S. jobs,” Joshua Baca, vice president for plastics at the American Chemistry Council. “And we’re pleased that President Biden’s Executive Order calls for ‘expansion of the full domestic manufacturing supply chain,’ which includes the companies that create the modern plastics that will play an essential role in enabling electric vehicles.”

Officials from the South Coast Air Quality Management District in Southern California also commended the move.

“Emissions from heavy-duty mobile sources are the top cause of our air quality problems in California and are also causing poor air in other parts of the country. As the lead petitioners for the Clean Trucks Plan, we are pleased to see the Executive Order signed today that aims to reduce criteria pollutants from heavy-duty trucks and other vehicles as quickly as possible and move the nation towards a zero-emission future,” Wayne Nastri, executive officer for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, said. “We look forward to additional actions from the administration that further focus on reducing criteria pollutants such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) from mobile sources, a precursor to smog, and the largest contributor of air pollution in California.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited Michigan following Biden’s executive order to tout the initiative and meet with the big 3 automakers. In one of her stops, she toured the Magna Electronics facility in Holly, Mich., with U.S. Rep Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). She touted the support that the Biden plan has from the big three automakers.

“(The announcement from The Big Three) is amazing,” said Granholm to reporters in Holly. “What that means for us is that all of the stuff that the vehicles have inside of them, like what Magna produces, we want to be made in America. We want supply chains to be made in America. I’m really proud to be here with Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin. She has been the champion for supply chain in this country.”