The US government is to end the special dispensation for low-volume car manufacturers to have their own generous targets for CO2. Instead they will have to sell electric cars, as part of wider proposals to slash vehicle emissions.
This American loophole has benefitted British manufacturers Aston Martin, Lotus and McLaren by allowing them to sell much higher-emitting cars on average than volume makers.
However, new proposals made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part a wider push for makers to sell on average two-thirds EVs by 2032 will end that special agreement, forcing the small-volume manufacturers (SVMs) to accelerate their EV sales in the country.
Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lotus and McLaren have all been able to negotiate their own, fairly gentle downward reduction in CO2 in recent years in recognition of the fact they sell high-consumption sports cars in the main.
