WiReD.

Here Comes the Flood of Plug-In Hybrids.

New US emissions rules mean more plug-in hybrid cars are on the way. The electric vehicle tech is clean—but has a catch.

Last week, the Biden administration made it official: American cars are really going electric.
The US Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule, long in the works, that will require automakers selling in the United States to dramatically boost the number of battery-powered vehicles sold this decade, putting a serious dent in the country’s carbon emissions in the process. By 2032, more than half of new cars sold must be electric.

Automakers will have more leeway in choosing how to reach the government’s new tailpipe emissions goals, thanks to changes made between when the rules were first introduced in draft form nearly a year ago and now. One big, important shift: Plug-in hybrids are part of the picture.

In the draft of the rule, auto companies could only meet the gradually ratcheting zero-emissions goals by selling more battery-electric cars. But after lobbying from automakers and unions, which both argued that the EPA’s proposals were unrealistic, manufacturers will now be allowed to use plug-in hybrids to meet the standards.

There will be a lot of these things on the road. But the technology has a climate hitch: It’s only as emission-free as its drivers choose to be...
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