Joe Biden wants carmakers to produce 40 per cent EVs by 2030

The United States Government wants automotive manufacturers to commit to 40 per cent of all new car sales being electric by 2030 in a bid to reduce emissions.

According to Reuters, the Joe Biden administration is asking carmakers to voluntarily pledge to meet the target.

The news follows recent plans from California to phase out the sale of new internal combustion engined vehicles by 2035 – similar to what is proposed in the EU.

A spokesperson for American trade union United Auto Workers said initial reports of the pledge asking for 50 per cent of new car sales to be EVs was inaccurate, saying it had "agreed to 40 per cent EVs by 2030 – [but] the UAW is still in discussions and has not reached agreement at this point".

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The Ford F-150 Lightning will be the first all-electric pick-up truck when it is released next year

As a part of last month's Stellantis EV announcements, Jeep outlined its plans for 70 per cent of its vehicle sales to come from electrified models by 2025 but didn't specify what portion would be full-EVs, while both Dodge and Ram aimed at rolling out fully-electric vehicles by 2024.

Ford and General Motors are also taking different approaches towards an electric future, with the former aiming for 40 per cent of vehicles worldwide to be based on an electric platform by 2030 while GM wants to end sales of light duty ICE vehicles by 2035.

The Biden administration's plans to speed up the introduction and uptake of EVs comes off the back of the Donald Trump's rolling back on emissions regulations – including reducing Barack Obama's required five per cent annual increase in fuel efficiency down to 1.5 per cent.