Biden to sign order aiming for half of new vehicles to be electric by 2030

President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order Thursday setting a national goal for electric and other zero-emissions vehicles to make up half of new cars and trucks sold by 2030, senior Biden administration officials said.

Aiming to show buy-in from the auto industry, Biden will be joined at the White House by Ford and GM executives, along with leaders from the United Auto Workers. In addition to setting the 50 percent-by-2030 goal, the executive order will also kick off the process to replace former President Donald Trump’s more relaxed tailpipe and emissions standards with stricter ones, officials said.

The 50 percent goal, while nonbinding and largely symbolic, aims to set federal expectations for automakers to rapidly make the transition from gas-burning cars and trucks to electric ones, a key component of Biden’s climate change strategy. Transportation accounts for the largest share of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Auto companies appearing alongside Biden will make their own announcements about plans to sell 40 percent to 50 percent zero-emissions vehicles by 2030, officials said. Some automakers have made similar pledges already; GM has said it will sell only electric vehicles by 2035.