California Has a Plan for Cars Texas Will Hate

Published 11:05 am Monday, May 1, 2023

California has been ahead of the curve when it comes to cars and other states are following its lead.

For better or worse, California is frequently the place where new trends start. 

That’s largely due to the state’s economic power and large population, which make it easier to have a big influence on the decisions companies make.

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Now there’s a new trend from California that’s catching on with other states, but one which certainly will annoy people in Texas in particular. 

In an effort to combat the effects of climate change, California plans that by 2035 all new cars, SUVs and pickup trucks purchased in the state must produce zero emissions.

The California Air Resources Board’s policy will not mandate that pre-existing gas-powered cars be banned, but automakers and car dealers will only be allowed to sell new electric vehicles and certain plug-in hybrids. 

“Our cars shouldn’t make wildfires worse — and create more days filled with smoky air,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom when announcing the executive order leading to the regulations back in 2020. “Cars shouldn’t melt glaciers or raise sea levels, threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines.”

New Rules For Electric Car Sales Will Phase In

The Advanced Clean Cars II program will phase in gradually. It will require zero-emission vehicles to represent 35% of new cars and light trucks in the state by 2026 and 68% by 2030, before hitting the 100% mark in 2035. In 2022, zero-emission vehicles made up 18.8% of new car sales in the state and 40% of overall ZEV sales in the United States.

Texas, which leads the nation in fossil fuels production, is highly protective of the industry. Last year it passed a bill  “to prohibit state agencies from contracting with or investing in companies that boycott fossil fuel-based energy firms.”

It’s not all bad news for Texas, though. The state is home to Tesla’s  (TSLA) – Get Free Report latest gigafactory in Austin, which opened in April of 2022.  Tesla’s Model Y was the best selling car in California in 2022, followed by Tesla’s Model 3 according to automotive researcher Edmunds. (The most popular vehicles in Texas in 2022 were Ford F-Series pickup trucks.)

Which States Are Following California’s Lead?

California’s outsized influence over pollution standards is even guaranteed in federal law.

Under Section 177 of the Clean Air Act, states can either follow federal emissions standards or adopt California’s more forceful guidelines. 

Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington have prohibited the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

In addition, Maine, Pennsylvania, Connecticut,Rhode Island, Washington, Delaware, Colorado and Minnesota are following The Advanced Clean Cars II rule, but haven’t indicated if they will adhere to the full-stop by 2035 provision. Colorado has followed Calfornia’s zero-emission policies in the past, but Governor Jared Polis has rejected the idea of a ban.

President Joe Biden has set a goal of making 50% of all new vehicle sales in the US be electric by 2030. But while he has earmarked $5 billion to create a nationwide infrastructure of charging stations and revised the EV tax credit to spur domestic production, he has not floated the idea of a ban on fossil-fuel burning cars.