EPA's Decision to Weaken Auto Emission Standards Delights SEMA, Automakers Euphoric over 'Vehicle Freedom'
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its intention to cancel its legal authority to limit carbon emissions from the automotive industry, a move that could substantially impact both the new car industry and the aftermarket.
If finalized, this decision would erase set limits on emissions from passenger cars and trucks, potentially reducing pressure to innovate cleaner technologies and slowing the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). The EPA's announcement aims to revoke a 2009 declaration that asserted greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to public health.
For the new car industry, the proposal could result in reduced regulatory burdens. Automakers would no longer need to meet Biden-era standards requiring 30% to 56% EV mandates by 2032 or comply with specific GHG emission caps, which were previously driving EV development and cleaner engines. However, this relaxation could lead to more consumer choice but potentially higher emissions, as manufacturers might produce more internal combustion engines without emission controls.
The aftermarket industry, which services and modifies vehicles post-sale, could see mixed effects. On one hand, there might be a potential increase in demand for repairs on older, less efficient vehicles. On the other hand, slower EV adoption would decrease demand for EV-focused aftermarket components and specialized services.
Economic and broader impacts include higher long-term costs for consumers and businesses due to increased fuel and maintenance expenses over a vehicle’s lifetime and higher trucking costs, potentially harming job growth. Repealing emission standards would likely increase greenhouse gas pollution and related health harms.
The rollback faces a complex path, subject to public comment, legal challenges, and could take years before implementation. Some arguments supporting the rollback cite contested scientific reports challenging the severity of climate change, while critics highlight the potential environmental and public health harm.
The American market remains crucial for major automakers, especially as China's market favors its own products and global EV efforts take sales from everyone else. The Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) is generally supportive of the EPA's plan, unlike the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which is reviewing the announcement and supports revising emissions rules to reflect current market conditions.
The move could potentially encourage a shift in the automotive industry towards hybrid powertrains and away from all-electric vehicles, due to financial considerations and current market conditions. John Bozzella, the organization's president and CEO, stated that the vehicle emissions regulations finalized under the previous administration aren't achievable and should be revised. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stated that the proposal could "amount to the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States."
[1] Alliance for Automotive Innovation. (n.d.). Fact Sheet: EPA's Proposed Rule to Revise Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Light-Duty Vehicles. Retrieved from https://www.autoalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Fact-Sheet-EPA-GHG-Proposed-Rule-March-2023.pdf
[2] Environmental Defense Fund. (2023). EPA Proposes to Cancel Clean Car Standards. Retrieved from https://www.edf.org/news/epa-proposes-cancel-clean-car-standards
[3] Union of Concerned Scientists. (2023). EPA Proposes to Cancel Clean Car Standards. Retrieved from https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/epa-proposes-cancel-clean-car-standards
- The decision by the EPA to withdraw its authority to limit carbon emissions from the automotive industry could significantly alter the landscape of the new car industry and the aftermarket, potentially hindering the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) in the science of environmental-science and climate-change.
- This proposal would eliminate established limits on emissions from passenger cars and trucks, possibly lessening the motivation for innovators in the technology sector to develop cleaner vehicles and engines, impacting the business and environmental-science of the auto industry.
- For consumers, the reduction in regulatory burdens could lead to more choices in vehicle selection, although it might result in higher emissions, as manufacturers might produce more internal combustion engines without emission controls in the sports of consumer lifestyle.
- The aftermarket industry may experience a mixed impact, with an increase in demand for repairs on older, less efficient vehicles on one hand, but a decrease in demand for EV-focused aftermarket components and specialized services on the other.
- The financial implications of repealing emission standards could include increased long-term costs for consumers and businesses due to higher fuel and maintenance expenses, as well as increased trucking costs that may potentially harm job growth.
- The rollback of emission standards, subject to public comment, legal challenges, and years before implementation, has been criticized by some as worsening environmental degradation and public health issues, while others argue that it's based on contested scientific reports on the severity of climate-change.
- The move could prompt a trend in the automotive industry towards hybrid powertrains and a departure from all-electric vehicles, in response to financial considerations and current market conditions, as and the rush into sports-betting goes on.
