Obama to Automakers: We’ll Count Electric Cars Double For Low Emissions Standards

To spur the switch to electric cars the Obama administration is proposing a “build one, get one free” rule for makers of electric cars. For each full electric vehicle they build, it could be used to count as two zero emissions vehicles towards the new low carbon emissions rules they have set.

In may, the Obama administration moved the deadline for low carbon cars closer to 2016. Under this proposed new rule each electric car would count two times when figuring the average fuel efficiency of a new-vehicle fleet, making the average easier to meet—if the automaker adds electric cars to its fleet.

But an environmental policy group in Washington would prefer to see regular old-fashioned gasoline vehicles built to be more fuel efficient.

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