US automakers pledge huge increase in electric vehicles

By TOM KRISHER and AAMER MADHANI
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has announced a commitment from U.S. carmakers that electric vehicles will make up as much as half of their sales by the end of the decade. Auto executives and lawmakers joined Biden on the White House South Lawn Thursday as he signed an executive order on the voluntary commitment. The administration wants automakers to raise gas mileage and cut tailpipe pollution between now and model year 2026. The moves are big steps toward Biden’s pledge to cut emissions and battle climate change as he pushes to shift the nation away from internal combustion engines and toward battery-powered vehicles.