California regulators today adopted the most aggressive regulations in the US to transition away from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles, directing automakers to only sell zero-emission (ZEV) models in the state by the middle of the next decade.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted in favor of a regulation that would require ZEVs to make up all new light-duty vehicle sales by 2035, and establish tougher tailpipe emissions standards for the remaining internal combustion engines in the state beyond that date.
The come from what was once the largest state market for gasoline and diesel fuel, which regularly sets standards followed by automakers and other industries across the US and even the globe because of its size.
"Once again California is leading the nation and the world with a regulation that sets ambitious but achievable targets for ZEV sales," CARB chair Liane Randolph said. "Rapidly accelerating the number of ZEVs on our roads and highways will deliver substantial emission and pollution reductions to all Californians."
Automakers called it the most "transformative" regulation in the history of the industry and said more challenges remain to ensure they can meet the state's targets.
"The industry is fully committed to electrification. We will invest hundreds of billions of dollars. We can build electric vehicles," said Steve Douglas, vice president of tradegroup the Alliance of Automotive Innovation, whose members include Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen. "But, can consumers afford them, can they conveniently fuel them, is the battery supply chain sufficient?"
Most of the opposition to the mandates at today's CARB meeting came from other industry groups, including the Western States Petroleum Association, while environmental groups cheered the agency's action.
CARB still has some hurdles to clear before it can implement the mandate, including obtaining a waiver from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Clean Air Act allows California to adopt its own vehicle emissions rules, subject to such a nod from the EPA. California's previous CO2 standards for new cars have been adopted by 17 other states, accounting for 40pc of US new car sales, according to CARB.
The regulations require manufacturers to offer rising percentages of ZEVs in their fleets between 2026 and 2035. Such vehicles must make up 35pc of those offered in the 2026 model year, 68pc of vehicles offered in 2030 and 100pc of new vehicles for the 2035 model year.
More than 2mn light duty vehicles were sold in California in 2021, with battery-powered, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles making up 12.4pc of those sales, according to the state. That continued to climb in the first half of 2022, with ZEVs accounting for 16.5pc of the roughly 974,000 light-duty vehicles sold.
Rising ZEV use has contributed to a growing imbalance of credits in California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), as vehicle charging both generates credits and reduces deficit-generating CARBOB consumption. LCFS credits from electric generation made up 23pc of all new credits in the first quarter of 2022, the most recent period available.
