New EPA emission standards still in favor of suvs and pickup trucks
In fact, these new standards will come into force in 2023, but the EPA gives manufacturers a 4-year grace period to adjust to the new reality and focus their efforts on producing zero-emission electric vehicles. During these 4 years of grace, the EPA hopes that governments will improve their subsidy programs for the purchase of electric vehicles.
As they always do, these new standards have been segmented into two categories to reflect the realities of the industry. For example, cars do not receive the same requirements as pickup trucks, SUVs, and commercial and fleet vehicles. These also fall into the category of “light trucks”.
Considerable reductions
For example, cars should not exceed 211 grams of CO2 per kilometer, which is a marked drop from the 290 grams currently imposed.
For reference, a Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye currently deploys 368 grams of CO to the atmosphere.2 per kilometer. This model, which already greatly exceeds current requirements, would therefore be even more non-compliant if Dodge decided to market it as is in 2027. This would therefore force the manufacturer to pay an even higher carbon tax than it already does.
On the pickup truck and “light truck” side – what is included is anything that qualifies as an SUV, a rather controversial category of vehicle considering that a lot of SUVs are actually modified cars; we go from 418 grams of CO2 per kilometer, to 299 grams.
This is indeed a great improvement. The emission gap between cars and light trucks has also been reduced from 36% to 34%.
Still in favor of SUVs and pickup trucks
Although these new standards are intended to help commercial vehicles – which will still depend for a few years on large combustion engines – the new EPA standards are too much in favor of SUVs and pickup trucks, two types of vehicles that currently dominate. the vehicle fleet, and whose market share will continue to grow in the years to come.
However, while these standards push the industry in the right direction, the concern lies in the fact that some manufacturers will use them to their advantage to justify the presence of more SUVs and pickup trucks in their fleet of models. By marketing vehicles in this category, manufacturers do not need to develop engines as clean as for cars.
What the EPA and other environmental agencies need to do is separate the modern SUV from the “light truck” category. Let’s be realistic: a Honda CR-V is not a light truck!
