In the latest installment of “As the Postal Service Turns,” 16 US states, 4 environmental groups and the United Auto Workers union have filed lawsuits seeking to block the US Postal Service’s plan to buy mostly gas-powered next-generation delivery vehicles, arguing that the agency failed to comply with environmental regulations. Reuters reports that three separate… Read more »
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Defense Production Act could boost domestic production of critical battery minerals
Shortages of battery materials represent a serious bottleneck that’s sabotaging environmental goals and costing consumers a bundle, and the supply crunch seems likely to be with us for some time. President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act in order to encourage domestic production of critical raw materials. Doing so added critical battery minerals… Read more »
NHTSA raises fines for automakers that violate fuel economy rules
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reinstated a previously-enacted increase in penalties for automakers whose vehicles don’t meet fuel efficiency standards for model years 2019 and beyond. Federal fuel efficiency requirements have proven to be an effective incentive for legacy automakers to begin selling EVs (they have also saved drivers millions of dollars… Read more »
USPS orders 50,000 new delivery vehicles, 10,019 of them electric
In the latest episode of the soap opera As The Postal Service Turns (a tawdry tale that has been covered extensively in this space), the US Postal Service has doubled the number of EVs it will include in its first order for Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDVs). The initial $2.98-billion order with Oshkosh Defense is… Read more »
USPS: We’ll order EVs if Congress provides funding
In the latest episode of “As the Postal Service Turns,” the future is looking a little greener. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy now says that the USPS is open to electrifying its fleet as long as Congress provides adequate funding. The saga so far: The postal service has been deliberating for a decade over plans to… Read more »
Former EPA exec Margo Oge explains the new federal emissions rules
The Biden administration has announced three major pro-EV initiatives in recent months—a revamping of the federal tax credits, an infrastructure funding package, and new EPA emissions standards. However, government programs are always complex, and they tend to undergo major revisions between the proposal and policy stages. To help us sort out how the new policies… Read more »
GM confirms California’s authority to set emissions standards, officially ending boycott
GM has agreed to recognize California’s authority to set vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. Well, isn’t that magnanimous of the company, to allow the state government to pass its own laws? For those of you who’ve just joined us: In 2017, major automakers asked the incoming US president to water down federal… Read more »
EPA’s new emissions rules—the best EV news from Washington in years
The US Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a set of new auto emissions standards, which the New York Times calls “the most significant climate action taken to date by the Biden administration, and [the] highest level ever set for fuel economy.” The story so far: In 2017, major automakers asked the incoming US president to… Read more »
BMW begins i4 deliveries in Germany, reveals hulking PHEV concept
BMW was an early EV leader with the innovative i3, but later seemed to lose interest. The i3 remains on the market, posting decent but unremarkable sales in Europe and getting an occasional upgrade. Now, after eight years, the next electric Beemer has arrived. BMW delivered the first units of its new i4 EV at… Read more »
Tesla lobbies to increase penalties for automakers who don’t meet fuel economy standards
In the arcane world of federal fuel economy standards, automakers that fail to comply with the US Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements can buy emissions credits from an automaker that has excess credits to sell. This has turned into a lucrative side business for Tesla, the only company that has sold substantial amounts of… Read more »