Clean
Car Standards
Acting
Head Of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Resigns. According
to the Detroit Free Press, “Heidi King, the acting head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has resigned, the U.S. Department of Transportation confirmed Wednesday. The deputy administrator of the nation’s top traffic safety watchdog, King
was awaiting Senate confirmation to permanently lead the agency. Her resignation is effective Aug. 31, according to the U.S. DOT. The department did not say why King was leaving. James Owens, U.S. DOT deputy general counsel, will replace King as deputy administrator
and will serve as the agency’s acting administrator, the U.S. DOT said. NHTSA oversees vehicle safety recalls and fuel efficiency regulations. King was appointed deputy administrator of NHTSA in 2017 after holding positions related to public safety and risk
assessment. President Donald Trump nominated the economist and research scientist to the top position at the agency but her nomination was never confirmed by the Senate.” [Detroit Free Press,
8/14/19
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House
Democrats Push Automakers To Join California Agreement. According
to Politico, “Eight senior House Democrats are asking 14 automakers to sign onto an agreement reached between California and four other major car companies last month to boost their average vehicle fuel efficiency to 50 miles per gallon by 2026. Their push,
led by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and joined by the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee, Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), follows a similar effort from 30 Senate Democrats last week and seeks to bring more automakers
into the agreement, which serves as an alternative to the Trump administration’s plan to freeze federal standards. ‘While not on par with the Obama Administration standards, this agreement brings our transportation sector closer to the goals of the current
standards while providing greater certainty for industry,’ the House lawmakers wrote. ‘We encourage all automakers to come to the table and work towards pragmatic solutions that will better protect the planet while preventing years of litigation and economic
uncertainty.’ The agreement inked between California and Ford, Volkswagen, Honda and BMW North America emerged ahead of the release of the Trump administration’s final rule, which is expected to hold vehicle fuel efficiency standard steady and revoke California’s
power to set its own mileage standards.” [Politico, 8/15/19
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DOJ
Downplays Role of NHTSA Penalty Rule In Auto GHG Finding Fight. According
to Inside EPA, “The Justice Department (DOJ) is urging a federal court to disregard states’ claims that language in a final National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rule scaling back penalties for fuel economy exceedances proves EPA’s threshold
decision to weaken vehicle greenhouse gas standards is final and ripe for suit. ‘The cited NHTSA rule addresses a different regulatory program under a different statute,’ DOJ says in an August 13 legal filing in State of California, et al. v. EPA, et al. The
suit, brought by states and environmental groups in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, challenges EPA’s threshold April 2018 determination that existing vehicle greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards are ‘not appropriate’ and
should be eased. That finding reversed a January 2017 decision in the waning days of the Obama administration to retain the current standards without change. EPA’s determination, which concluded a ‘mid-term review’ of the Obama rules, was a legal precursor
to the administration’s planned rollback, which proposed to freeze fuel economy and GHG standards at their model year 2020 stringency through MY26. Thus, any court decision to scrap or remand the finding could at minimum pose new hurdles to the broader attempt
to revise the GHG and fuel economy requirements.” [Inside EPA, 8/14/19
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EPA
EPA
Steel NESHAP Requires Certification Of No Vehicle Mercury Switches. According
to Inside EPA, “EPA’s proposed first-time mercury air toxics rule for integrated iron and steel manufacturing would require facility owners to certify that their scrap steel is unlikely to contain mercury switches from discarded vehicles, but the rule’s emissions
limits appear weak enough to trigger potential pushback from environmentalists seeking strict controls. The proposal, signed by EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler Aug. 6 ahead of its upcoming publication in the Federal Register, amends a prior 2003 national
emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) rule for the integrated facilities that did not address mercury emissions. Environmentalists in 2005 petitioned the agency to reconsider the original NESHAP, urging it to set hard limits on emissions
from the facilities. In the rule, EPA sets mercury standards for existing and new integrated iron and steel plants. For existing plans, it sets the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) limit at 0.00026 lbs of mercury per ton of scrap processed. EPA
relies on an existing voluntary industry program that collects mercury switches to allow plants to meet the limit. The Clean Air Act requires MACTs for existing plants be based on practices already in effect at the least-polluting 12 percent of plants.” [Inside
EPA, 8/14/19
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Electric Vehicles Losing The Race To SUVs And
Trucks. According to Michigan Radio,
“Next time you’re at the mall or grocery store, look around. You won’t see many, if any at all, electric vehicles. Maybe a few hybrids. But you’ll see lots of pickup trucks and big SUVs, which by comparison still merit the derogatory phrase, gas guzzlers.
Transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in the U.S., and 60% of those emissions come from sedans, crossovers, SUVs, and pickups – the vehicles most of us drive every day. So cleaning up those vehicles is an important task for the auto industry.
Automakers say, they’re on it. The push to electrify passenger vehicles is on In 2017, pickup and full size SUVs accounted for about 47% of U.S. sales. Electric vehicle sales? Just a tad over two percent. That’s about double EV sales in 2016, but still. The
auto industry is, in fact, spending huge sums on electrifying vehicles. Globally, about $90 billion in the next few years, according to Reuters. Mike Abelson is GM’s vice president of EV charging and infrastructure. He says GM, Ford, and other automakers will
be introducing dozens of new electric vehicles in just a few years. ‘Customers will have a lot more choice in the next few years amongst electric vehicles,’ says Abelson, ‘and obviously we and others are working very hard to make sure the infrastructure is
in place so people are comfortable buying electric vehicles.’” [Michigan Radio,
8/15/19
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Rise Of Electric Cars Threatens To Drain German
Growth. According to the Wall Street
Journal, “Concern is rising in Europe’s automobile heartland about the economic impact of the industry’s move to electric vehicles from gasoline-powered cars. Officials and executives in Germany fear the country’s big car companies and rich ecosystem of suppliers
and service providers are insufficiently prepared for the transition, and that their leadership may not be assured in an electric-car world, threatening jobs, tax revenue and even growth. Assembling electric cars isn’t as complex or labor intensive as making
traditional vehicles and relies partly on imported technology. At the same time, China has made rapid forays in electrification and is shaping up as a potentially formidable competitor in the field. The trepidation is particularly acute in the city of Stuttgart,
hub to one of the country’s biggest automotive clusters at the heart of the nation’s dynamic south. It comes as Europe’s largest economy is showing signs of weakness amid a chill in global trade. ‘We are very concerned,’ Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Baden-Württemberg
state’s economics minister, told The Wall Street Journal last week as she toured local suppliers. ‘The competition with the U.S. and China is getting harder all the time. Our goal must be to keep production and jobs in Baden-Württemberg.’” [Wall Street Journal,
8/15/19
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Norway’s Electric Car Revolution Spearheaded By
The Richest. According to Bloomberg,
“The perks of owning an electric car in Norway -- one of the world’s largest markets for electric cars -- are mostly enjoyed by the richest. That’s according to a study released by Statistics Norway on Thursday, revealing that the likelihood of buying an electric
car in Norway is almost double if you belong to the richest cohort of the population. Much of the success of electric vehicles in Norway is owed to generous tax incentives and exemptions from various fees. The surge in electric car sales even resulted in a
shortfall in automobile taxes of about 3 billion kroner ($335 million) in this year’s budget.” [Bloomberg,
8/15/19
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Audi’s E-Tron Becomes First Electric Car To Win
Top Safety Award. According to The Verge,
“Audi’s first all-electric car, the E-Tron SUV, has been named a top safety pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). It’s the first battery-electric car to earn that distinction, beating out previous ones that fell short, like Tesla’s Model
S or the Chevy Bolt. The agency released a handful of videos of the E-Tron being smashed up at its test facility, which you can see above and below. The E-Tron earned ‘good’ ratings across the board in the IIHS’s ‘crashworthiness’ categories, which is the
best distinction the organization offers. The IIHS also found that the E-Tron’s ‘Pre Sense Front’ automatic emergency braking system performed well, avoiding a crash in the 25 mile per hour test. (The E-Tron slowed to 1 mile per hour before impact in the 12
mile per hour test.) The Model 3 hasn’t been fully tested by the IIHS yet, though the organization recently announced that it’s currently in the process of putting the car through its paces. (A spokesperson says they have four Model 3s currently undergoing
or awaiting testing.) The IIHS also hasn’t tested the Model X. Tesla questioned the nonprofit organization’s ‘methods and motivations’ after the Model S didn’t receive the top safety pick distinction back in 2017. A good rating from the IIHS is a boon for
the E-Tron, which has had a rocky rollout. The vehicle’s unveiling was delayed after Audi’s CEO was arrested for his alleged involvement in the broader Volkswagen Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal.” [The Verge,
8/14/19
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Auto
Manufacturers
Chevrolet Is Betting Its EV Future On This Electric Compact Crossover.
According to Jalopnik, “As part of a declaration of intent to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chevrolet
released these images of the Menlo model ahead of its official unveiling early next month. Menlo is the Chinese-market name for the Bolt-based electric compact crossover, which will likely be called Bolt EUV here in the U.S. market. To be quite honest, I like
the Menlo name a lot better. The Menlo was developed in response to China’s newly stricter emissions standards, but is an extension of the Bolt platform, which is also used by the all-electric Buick Velite 6 wagon-ish model in China. The Menlo will certainly
change a bit before it reaches the U.S. market. For one thing, I imagine the Chinese-spec 150-horsepower electric motor will be swapped out for a more powerful piece. The current Velite 6 gets around 187 miles of city driving, and the same is assumed for the
Menlo. American buyers would likely balk at anything less than 200 miles of range these days, so the electric batteries will need to be upgraded as well. Don’t forget that GM promised 20 all-new electric vehicles launched by 2023, and this would seem to be
the first of them. I don’t know exactly how we got here, to a place where crossovers are considered cool, and maybe cool enough to offset the nerdiness of an EV platform.” [Jalopnik,
8/14/19
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States
Colorado Could Decide On Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate This Week.
According to CBS Denver, “Colorado could adopt California’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandate as early as this week. It would require auto
manufacturers to sell tens of thousands of additional electric vehicles. The mandate is aimed at helping the state comply with a new law that requires a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Gas burning vehicles are among the biggest contributors
to carbon pollution. Supporters and opponents of the mandate came out in force as the Air Quality Control Commission took up the issue. If adopted, 6-8% of all new cars sold in Colorado would have to be electric by 2025. Right now, 3% are electric. ‘What this
will do is incentivize the automakers to bring more models and to do more marketing and we think that will further turbo charge the market,’ says Will Toor, head of the Colorado Energy Office. Toor says the state is already number four in the country for electric
vehicle sales. Supply, he says, isn’t keeping up with demand. ‘I had to sign-up to order a vehicle from out-of-state and it was going to be a six month wait for the vehicle. We hear stories like that all the time,’ said Toor. Tim Jackson, head of the Colorado
Auto Dealers Association, tells a different story.” [CBS Denver, 8/14/19
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Fayetteville & PWC Plan To Keep Their Electric Car Chargers Free.
According to the Fayetteville Observer, “Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Public Works Commission have no plans to start making electric
car owners pay for the power they consume when they use one of the eight public charging stations the city and the PWC operate, officials said. A state law enacted last month permits anyone who has an electric vehicle charging station to bill people for how
much power they use to charge their car batteries. Prior to the new law, station owners could charge access fees or hourly rates to use the stations, but they were prohibited from billing customers specifically for the amount of electricity consumed. Some
charge station owners, including the city and the PWC, allow people to use them for free. ‘I wouldn’t be in favor of charging at this point,’ Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin said Tuesday. The city has four ChargePoint brand charging stations downtown. One,
off Maxwell Street at, The Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum, is free to use. The city’s other three stations are in the Franklin Street parking deck. Electric car drivers pay to park in that deck like the drivers of gasoline-powered
vehicles, but they don’t pay extra to use the charging stations. Colvin said he wants to see the electric vehicle market grow further before the city starts making drivers pay for the electricity.” [Fayetteville Observer,
8/14/19
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Chad Ellwood
Research Associate
202.448.2877 ext. 119