|
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is requiring electric
models to account for 60% of new delivery trucks and 25% of
long-haul tractors by 2032.
The American Petroleum Institute has filed its opening brief in
a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals lawsuit challenging the EPA’s
heavy-duty vehicle emissions standards.
“Americans overwhelmingly oppose the government telling them
what to buy and drive, but this administration’s relentless
pursuit of vehicle mandates does just that,” said API Senior
Vice President and General Counsel Ryan Meyers. “EPA’s misguided
effort to force electrification of America’s trucking industry
is contrary to law and threatens to disrupt the nation’s supply
chain, leaving consumers in the crosshairs.”
According to the brief, the mandate could create a massive shift
in the nation's trucking and logistics industries, will slow
down the transportation of essential goods, stress the electric
grid and raise prices for Americans.
Agricultural groups, including the Illinois Corn Growers
Association, have been vocal in their opposition to the EV
mandates.
“That’s very, very concerning to us as producers, but it is also
concerning for one, we lose these bushels, two, we lose that
demand for ethanol, but three, it really takes away options for
the consumers,” said Dave Loos, director of Biofuels.
Mike Kucharski, co-owner of JKC Trucking in Chicago, said the
heavy-duty mandate would be crippling to many truck companies.
“About 95% of trucking companies are small businesses operating
10 or fewer trucks, so complying with these mandates would push
many carriers out of business,” said Kucharski.
Kucharski added that fully electrifying the U.S. trucking fleet
would require a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure investment. |
|
