‘The American Public Is Not Ready’: Ex-Automotive Executive Says Hitting Biden’s Electric Vehicle Goals By 2030 Isn’t Going To Happen

The green energy movement is making understandable waves in American and worldwide politics. World leaders are having to make hard and fast decisions about emissions goals head of potentially devastating global warming, but how many of these goals are actually realistic?

A Platform of Progressivism

Joe Biden ran on a platform of extremely progressive policies, including green energy. Investing in the future of our country and the world through emissions cuts and green energy project goals is one of the big messages of his campaign, and it’s one that resonated particularly with young voters.

Since becoming president, Biden has kept to his promise to push for new developments in green energy. The historic infrastructure bill that the administration passed included funds set aside to invest in green energy projects, and Biden himself has pledged an ambitious goal to cut American emissions: to have 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.

An Ambitious Goal for the U.S.

This is an extremely ambitious lift from where the country is currently at. As of 2023, the electric vehicle share of the total U.S. car market was only 7.6%. This number is up from 5.9% in 2022, but it’s still far from the 50% goal that Biden wants to hit in only six short years.

The announcement was met with combined anticipation and derision from voters and politicians alike. Many liberal voters believed that the goals were lip service from the Biden administration, and conservative voters were upset that Biden was pushing them to adopt a technology that simply doesn’t have the power to replace gas cars.

Commentary from Bob Lutz

This conflicting public opinion has led the former leader of one of the three top U.S. automakers to share his take on America’s attempt to transition to electric vehicles. Bob Lutz was an executive at General Motors, Ford and Chrystler, and had a blunt opinion.

In a recent episode of the Cats Roundtable podcast, Lutz said, “The government fuel economy rules…are such that they basically cannot be met without broadscale electrification. What we’re seeing is electrification tat could occur naturally, because there’s a lot to be said for electric vehicles.”

Not a Moral Opposition

Lutz went on to explain that he and the major auto companies are not opposed to electric vehicles on moral or economic grounds. As can be seen with Tesla, there is a market for electric cars in this country, and they can be a very lucrative business arm.

The problem that Lutz sees with the current trajectory of electric vehicle research and development is that it’s being pushed by governments for environmental reasons. Rather than allowing the technology and the market to develop naturally as it might do if given time, governments are pushing accelerated development to appease environmentalists.

There’s Not Enough Infrastructure In Place

Lutz explained that he personally believes that there’s not enough electricity-generating infrastructure in the U.S. to support Biden’s goal of new electric vehicle sales by 2030. Building the infrastructure for electric vehicles would require a greater investment than has currently been allocated.

Additionally, at the end of the day, Lutz believes that there’s currently not enough demand for electric vehicles. The technology is still immature, as far as efficiency and accessibility. Many people cannot afford the initial investment for electric cars, and the infrastructure isn’t there to make it a worthwhile investment over a gas car.

The Public Needs Time to Catch Up

He explained, “The regulation is way ahead of the public. The American public is not ready for the broad adoption of electric vehicles. There are maybe 10%-12% of people who really want an electric vehicle…but the remainder still want internal combustion.”

While these facts are excellent signs for a newly emerging industry, it means that Biden’s goals of new vehicle sales by 2030 are, quite simply, not realistic. Biden’s plan has seen positive momentum in the United States, with the number of electric vehicle models available having double during his term, but it’s still not enough.

Investments from the Private Sector

The private sector has even begun to invest in the development of electric car technology. Private businesses and individuals have committed more than $120 billion in domestic electric vehicle and battery investments since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed into law.

This is in tandem with sweeping emissions cuts that were proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in April of 2023. The proposed plan was deemed the “most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks” and is designed to avoid nearly 10 billion tons of CO2 emissions by 2055.

“The Transition is Just Not Going to Happen”

Despite these positive developments, Lutz and other car manufacturers and experts are skeptical of the accelerated timeline. “This transition by 2030 is just not going to happen. Everybody will continue to make a lot of internal combustion vehicles, which sell.”

Lutz believes that governments in both the United States and Europe will have to repeatedly push their transition deadlines as it becomes clear that their unrealistic standards cannot be met. Time needs to be given to allow the market and the public to catch up, which cannot be forced.

Electric Vehicles Are Still Great!

Despite his bleak outlook on the transition guidelines, Lutz finished the interview by encouraging people who are interested in electric vehicles to seek them out. They’re good transportation, good for the environment, and he believes that if you can afford it, there’s no reason not to make the transition unless you’re regularly making long trips for a living.

The benefits are wide for transitioning to electric vehicles, and the impact of continuing to drive an internal combustion engine is becoming more and more clear as the years go by. Many of us are going to have to make big changes in our lives to help save the planet, and transitioning to electric vehicles is one step that average Americans can make to reduce our personal carbon footprint.