PALO ALTO, U.S. -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday set a goal for half of all new cars sold in the country to be zero-emissions vehicles by 2030, freezing out builders of conventional hybrids as the White House aims to accelerate America's sluggish transition to electrics.
Biden's executive order covers passenger cars and light trucks powered by batteries and fuel cells, as well as plug-in hybrids. But it does not mention regular hybrids, which cannot be plugged in to recharge, posing a challenge to Japanese carmakers like Toyota Motor and Honda Motor, which have made them a specialty.
