Half Of American Cars Sold May Be EVs By 2030 — Now These Car Stocks Are Spiking

The Biden administration revealed its new target Thursday: it wants half of American cars sold by 2030 to be electric vehicles. 

What Happened: In an effort to combat climate change, the Biden administration is trying to give an extra boost to American auto makers to reduce their emissions and produce more EVs.

The president signed an executive order Thursday that rolls back the Trump administration’s emission standards and replaces them with standards similar to those set during the Obama presidency.

The executive order technically doesn’t have any permanent teeth and could be rolled back — as occurred Obama’s target — after Biden leaves office. O

bama’s fuel efficiency standard mandated a 5% annual cut to greenhouse gas emissions, which Trump rolled back to 1.5%. Around that time in 2019, California set its own emission standards at 3.7%.

Why It’s Important: American carmakers have been slow to adapt to electronic cars until the past few years, when their actions have been much swifter. General Motors GM and Ford FORD — which both had increasing stock prices Thursday — have been producing more EVs, and more electric vehicle manufacturers have entered the market.

Honda HMC and Tesla TSLA are also seeing stock prices spike. 

What Else To Know: The president is trying to push America ahead of one of its biggest competitors, China, which is one of the biggest producers of EVs.

“Today, the President will announce a set of new actions aimed at advancing these goals and increasing the impact of his proposed Build Back Better investments – positioning America to drive the electric vehicle future forward, outcompete China, and tackle the climate crisis,” according to the White House. 

Biden likely has the wind in his back with his decision, as voters in both Republican and Democratic-leaning states support the federal government in its efforts to create a 100% clean energy grid, according to Third Way polling.

Photo: Unsplash photo by John Cameron.