US EPA Issues Final Rule on Vehicle Tailpipe Emissions
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its finalized rule on vehicle emissions. It requires that, across an automaker's entire fleet, the vehicles' emissions are reduced 49 percent on average from 2027 to 2032.
This rule was initially proposed in the spring of 2023. At the time, the EPA estimated that the rule would result in two-thirds of vehicles sold in the United States being electric vehicles (EV) by 2032. Automakers would be required to reach increasingly stringent emissions milestones each year.
The EPA made changes following feedback from stakeholders. The phase-in benchmarks in the first few years in the final version are more relaxed than what was initially proposed. The final rule also differs from the original proposal in that hybrid and other gas-consuming vehicles can be used to meet the requirements.