Letters to the Editor: Why the Biden administration should ease its EV sales rule
To the editor: This was buried at the bottom of your editorial on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s coming (and perhaps revised) electric vehicle rules:
“Biden should ... focus on removing the barriers that are slowing EV adoption. Fixing the horrible state of the nation’s vehicle charging network or simplifying the confusing system of tax credits and rebates would make it easier and more affordable for Americans to give up their gas-guzzling car.”
Agreed. But that’s hardly an overnight proposition and precisely why the EPA ought to moderate the pace of its original electric-vehicle sales target in the coming years to about 50% by 2030 (if reports are accurate).
Even then, it’ll be challenging to achieve those EV targets when you consider the scale of the industrial base transformation, the massive amounts of capital required (funded by automakers from the sale of internal combustion vehicles — that’s Auto Economics 101) and the change in consumer behavior ultimately needed to succeed.
John Bozzella, Washington
The writer is president and chief executive of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which advocates for car manufacturers.
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To the editor: Your editorial misses the key point — industrial policy fails, always.
Production and consumption are defined by competition, tastes, technology and the cost of inputs, not regulations. Markets decide what and how much gets produced, bought and sold, and at what price. There are no shortcuts.
Public authority does not and never will have the information it would need to replace market functions or prescribe market outcomes. Neither does the L.A. Times.
Automobiles have indirect costs that we all want to avoid, greenhouse gas emissions included. If we use electronic road tolls to force these costs into every individual’s travel choices, the benefits of any trip that one chooses to take will always exceed the costs.
James E. Moore II, Los Angeles
The writer is a professor emeritus of transportation engineering at USC.
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To the editor: Biden’s reported plan to relax auto emission standards is more an admission that the proposed new rules are totally unrealistic and unachievable than it is an election year concession to organized labor.
Today, EVs account for 7% of new vehicle sales, and the administration’s current goal is 67% by 2032. There is no way we’ll get there.
EV sales have plateaued as early adapters are all in and the rest of the market is rejecting EVs because of price, charging difficulties and driving range anxiety. It has become more apparent that the government cannot force EVs on American car buyers.
Glynn Morris, Savannah, Ga.
