Surprise! Joe Biden is running away from his push for electric vehicles – arguably his most important climate program — as fast as his 81-year-old legs can carry him. Common sense and sinking polls in Michigan have broken through Biden’s climate panic; it’s about time.
You can also thank BYD, China’s leading manufacturer of electric vehicles, for Biden’s backpedaling. More on that shortly.
The New York Times, favored errand boy for the Biden White House, delivered the head-spinning turnaround on Sunday of a holiday weekend, under the radar. In essence, Biden has extended the timetable for lowering tailpipe emissions several years into the future, a backtracking sure to infuriate the climate lobby and especially climate-obsessed young voters. The president’s standing with that latter cohort is already shrinking; a recent poll showed Donald Trump running ahead of Biden with registered voters under the age of 35.
The Times reported that the president plans to “relax” the EPA’s proposed emissions limits, which aimed to eventually eliminate gas-powered cars. White House climate czar Ali Zaidi claims the goal of cutting U.S. emissions in half by 2030 will still be met. Not likely.
Proposed last year, the EPA projected its new rules would mean that “EVs could account for 67% of new light-duty vehicle sales” by midyear 2032.”
At the time, the EPA celebrated the tripling of EV sales during Biden’s presidency and the building of 130,000 charging stations. That sounds impressive except that electrics represented less than 8% of all new car sales last year and the U.S. will need an estimated two million charging ports by 2030.
The shortage of charging stations and inconvenience of the whole charging process have slowed the growth of EVs; so has the high price. Last month, according to Cox Automotive, “the average price paid for a new EV was $50,789…” Even with the generous tax credits handed out by Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, electrics are still more expensive than old-fashioned gas guzzlers, which on average retail for about $34,000.
Consumers have balked, leaving dealers’ lots overflowing with unsold cars. Reports of cold weather hindering charging operations and battery lives being drained by sub-freezing temperatures have further squelched enthusiasm. Having spent billions to comply with Biden’s decree, Detroit automakers are losing buckets of money on the unpopular cars. Ford, for instance, lost $36,000 on each EV it produced late last year.
Those issues have not swayed a White House consumed by climate alarmism. What has gotten their attention is the political risk of losing Michigan, a critical swing state. A recent Fox News survey shows Trump leading Biden 47 percent to 45 percent in the Wolverine state. The Real Clear Politics average of Michigan polls shows Trump ahead by 5 points.
Biden faces two hurdles in Michigan. The state has a large Arab-American population, estimated to account for roughly 5% of voters, which is angry about Biden’s support for Israel in its battle against Hamas. Arab-Americans are threatening to vote “uncommitted” in the Democrat primary on February 27 to signal Biden that he has not earned their support.
Biden’s other problem is wavering backing from autoworkers in Michigan, who have historically supported Democrats. As many as one third of that group turned out for Trump in 2016 but then defected to Joe Biden four years later. The UAW leadership has officially endorsed President Biden for the upcoming election – after winning concessions on the EPA tailpipe rule — but Trump is again wooing the rank-and-file, apparently with some success.