U.S. president Joe Biden's administration was set April 12 to propose tougher greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and trucks sold in the U.S. that it claims could potentially lead to electric vehicles accounting for as much as 67% of all new sales in less than a decade.

The Detroit Free Press reports that, if that comes to pass, it would signal a remarkable transition in the American automobile market, given that electric vehicles accounted for about 6% of new sales last year, though that was a substantial increase.

Biden administration officials said if automakers embrace electric vehicles, those cars and trucks could account for 67% of new light-duty vehicle sales and 46% of new medium-duty vehicle sales in model year 2032. Many automakers already have, with General Motors, for example, aspiring to be "all-electric" by 2035.

The change is also being driven by states, led by California, looking for all new vehicles to emit zero greenhouse gases by 2035; worldwide efforts to battle climate change; and Biden's own initiatives, including those to encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles and spur domestic battery production and the installation of hundreds of thousands of charging stations.

According to a chart in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) documents, the proposed standards would cut carbon dioxide emissions overall by about 8% compared to taking no action by 2032, though it would go up to 47% if continued through 2055.

"It’s not simple, it’s not easy," Margo Oge, former head of EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, said of the potential for electric vehicles sales to top 60% of the market by the 2030s. "But is it doable? Yes it is."