US President Joe Biden has unveiled plans make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emissions vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid or fuel cell electric vehicles (EVs).
The move - backed by major automakers Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, along with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union - is part of the White House's proposed Build Back Better agenda, along with the bi-partisan Infrastructure Deal aimed at achieving the country's net-zero carbon emissions targets by 2050.
The United States is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new passenger vehicle sales by more than 60% in 2030, compared with vehicles sold last year, and to achieve 50-52% net economy-wide greenhouse gas emission reductions below 2005 levels in 2030.
Nearly the entire US auto market has supported the move, positioning themselves around the goal of reaching 40-50% EV sales share in 2030.
How viable that goal is remains to be seen, largely due to existing constraints on the supply of metals and minerals used to produce batteries, charging stations and vehicles.
Competition for lithium, cobalt, nickel,...