The Obama administration finalized rules today that establish the first-ever greenhouse gas emissions regulations for vehicles, drawing cheers from environmentalists and state agencies but disappointment from a major auto industry group that was instrumental in creating the rules.

The rules, crafted jointly by EPA and the Transportation Department, establish more stringent fuel economy standards than what was created under a 2007 energy law. EPA is also using the Clean Air Act to regulate vehicle emissions for the first time. Automakers will have an average fleet-wide fuel economy of 34.1 miles per gallon by 2016 -- four years earlier than what the 2007 law mandated.

Environmental groups and many state agencies heralded the decision as a historic step toward cutting emissions, reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil and combating climate change.

But the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is taking issue with a portion of the rules involving electric vehicles.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said on a conference call today that the provision would incentivize production. According to the regulations, electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will be counted as having zero emissions for up to the first 200,000 or 300,000 of those vehicles a manufacturer produces, depending on the size of the automaker. After that, the administration will set a compliance value for these vehicles that reflects the greenhouse gases emitted at upstream sources, namely the power plant from which the vehicles get their electricity.

"This is supposed to be an incentive, but EPA has its foot on the brakes," alliance spokeswoman Gloria Bergquist said in an e-mail. "We are deeply concerned that EPA is finalizing a policy with upstream emissions accounting."

"This policy discourages electric vehicle production by making car manufacturers responsible for the energy mix of a country or state," she added.

Another point of concern for the alliance is the fact that the rules only apply for model years up to 2016. Bergquist said the industry needs more long-term certainty. "We want to make sure this isn't a dead-end in 2016," Bergquist told NationalJournal.com right before the rules were announced. But when Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was questioned in the call about planning for standards in 2017 and beyond, he was dismissive. "Our people have been working 24/7 to get this rule out," he said. "Anything post-2016 will come after people get a good week of sleep and have a good opportunity to clear their heads. People have not been focused on post-2016."

Jackson said that, generally, the administration wants to continue on the same path of fuel efficiency for 2017 and beyond but said there is still a lot of technical work to be done.

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