News

The North American automotive industry is undergoing a transformation driven by the electric vehicle (EV) transition, post-pandemic supply chain shifts, and increasing US protectionism. As the largest vehicle supplier to the US, Mexico faces both opportunities and risks in this evolving landscape. With 42% of its passenger vehicle production tied to US automakers and nearly 70% of its total output destined for the US, Mexico’s automotive industry is particularly vulnerable to the recently announced 25% tariffs on Mexican auto imports.

“Daniel Sperling, director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis and former CARB member, said the Advanced Clean Fleets rule was intended to facilitate the transition but ultimately became unnecessary and politically problematic.” Read more here...

The pressure is on for California to meet its clean-vehicle goals. In less than two years, 35% of vehicles sold must have zero tailpipe emissions. And by 2035, all light-duty vehicles sold must be zero emissions. 

Widespread adoption of electric vehicles—combined with a shift in travel modes towards more walking, cycling, and transit use—can help ease the climate crisis, improve quality of life, and save Americans money. A key to shifting travel modes to less automobile use is making biking, walking, and transit safer and more convenient by redirecting infrastructure investments and making urban areas more compact.

The TRB 103rd Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, DC from January 7th through 11th, 2024. Many ITS-Davis representatives will be participating in the meetings, sessions, and exhibits. Their presentations with session number, title, date, time, presentation topics, and authors are listed here: ITS-Davis at TRB 2024. 

In an effort to curb emissions, governments in major vehicle markets are proposing and adopting requirements that electric vehicles (EVs) make up a certain percentage of new vehicle sales in coming years. This week the Government of Canada announced EV sales targets of 60% by 2030 and 100% by 2035 for light-duty vehicles, similar to the goals the United States announced last year of 50% by 2030 and 67% by 2032.

On the path to global transportation sustainability, electric vehicles (EVs) are making inroads, but larger cars with bigger carbon footprints are hampering climate progress. The right policies can correct our course.

Biofuels are an important tool to help decarbonize our transportation system, and their role will likely grow in coming years. New tax credits authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act are being finalized; these would offer significant incentives for the biofuel alternatives to conventional jet fuel, so-called “Sustainable Aviation Fuels” or SAF. But it’s not always clear how sustainable these fuels truly are, or whether they offer a significant GHG advantage over petroleum.

Watch recording here: https://youtu.be/TxjJXaTa2fA