White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged questions Thursday about whether the Biden administration is rethinking its proposed electric-vehicle mandate in the face of weak consumer demand.
Pressed about Ford’s EV market share for 2023 being 3.6% and General Motors just 2.9%, Ms. Jean-Pierre cited an outdated and misleading statistic to suggest there were no intentions to back away from a potential EPA rule requiring up to 60% of new vehicles sold by 2030 to be electric.
“We have seen 51% of an increase in EV sales. That’s the numbers, and that’s across the board,” she told reporters.
The figure is from auto analytics firm Motor Intelligence, which said in November that EV sales in the U.S. rose 51% in the first half of 2023.
While it’s true, EV sales have climbed steadily in recent years — increasing from less than 70,000 in 2017 to more than 800,000 in 2022, according to Kelley Blue Book — they only account for a fraction of the industry.
EVs made up a record 7.9% of all auto sales in the third quarter of 2023 and were less than 6% in all of 2022, according to Cox Automotive. Based on recent yearly trends, it would take more than two decades to achieve the Biden administration’s proposed 60% threshold.
Presented with the notion that more than 96% of car buyers last year rejected EVs based on the latest figures from Ford and GM, Ms. Jean-Pierre repeated her 51% statistic and touted its effects on combating climate change.
“That’s pretty important, as we talk about climate change [and] clean energy. That’s important, that we’re seeing such a boost in electric vehicles,” she said.
Automakers and dealers have warned the administration that its proposed EV mandate is misguided amid demand failing to meet expectations and carmakers slashing EV production.
GM’s 2023 EV sales marked an increase of 93% from 2022 but only sold half of the company’s goal.
Ford’s EV sales were up 18%, partly from the F-150 Lightning. But Ford said it will slash production of the all-electric pickup by roughly half this year due to slower-than-expected demand.
Nearly 4,000 individual car dealerships across the country urged President Biden in November to pump the brakes on what they called his “unrealistic” EV proposal.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.