California becomes first state to end sales of new gas-powered cars. Total ban by 2035

The California Air Resources Board approved sweeping new regulations on Thursday afternoon that would require 35% of new cars sold in the state to be electric vehicles by 2026 — and 100% by 2035.

The regulations, the first of their kind, would end the sale of new solely gasoline or diesel cars in California in just 13 years.

“This is transformative,” said Daniel Sperling, a member of the air resources board and a founding director of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies.

He said California’s efforts in approving the rules and reducing pollution will be remembered as a historical event and will likely be followed by other states.

The vote may be considered extreme by others, said John Balmes, the physician member of the board, but he said board members were doing the right thing, putting the path forward to eliminate polluting gas-powered vehicles.

He compared it to the change from horse-powered transportation to automobiles at the turn of the 20th century.

The electric vehicle future will come quickly in California because manufacturers will have to start limiting the sales of gas-powered cars in four years. But there will be a host of challenges, including affordability of electric vehicles for many, a shortage of cars, and a lack of car chargers, producing vehicle range anxiety.

CARB’s plan increases the number of new cars that must be electric to 35% in 2026, 51% of all new car sales in 2028 and 68% in 2030, until 100% is reached in 2035.

The ruling would not force motorists already owning gas or diesel-powered vehicles off the road.

But it might be more difficult to buy a gas-powered vehicle in California by 2026. Car manufacturers will face $20,000 fines per vehicle if they don’t meet the new requirements that 35% of the new cars they sell are zero-emission vehicles.

If California dealers run out of their gas-powered or diesel vehicle allocation, motorists would have to go to Arizona or another state that has not adopted the California regulations.

There would be one exception. Manufacturers will be allowed to sell plug-in hybrid models — up to 20% of the vehicles sold — as meeting zero-emission requirements. Those vehicles, however, will have to feature larger batteries to ensure increased capacity for the cars to run longer on an electric charge.

Vehicle manufacturers speaking at Thursday’s air resources board meeting said they supported the electric car mandate but questioned whether regulations were moving too fast and whether they could meet the requirements for large numbers of zero-emission vehicles quickly.

“Automakers could have significant difficulties meeting the set targets given elements outside of the control of industry, “ said Laurie Holmes, senior manager for government and regulatory affairs for automaker Kia. “These include, but are not limited to, significantly higher material costs, stressed supply chain and sourcing, inconsistent consumer incentives and inadequate charging infrastructure.”

Numerous business groups spoke out against the proposal Thursday, including those representing Hispanic business owners. They said the added costs of buying an electric vehicle will put a burden on small businesses.

The average cost of a new electric vehicle in California is $66,000.

While electric car sales in California exceeded 15% in the first half of 2022, there are months-long waiting lists for some models.

One of the issues that will have to be sorted out is a shortage of chargers to power the vehicles, particularly in California rental complexes, where one-third of the state’s residents live.

This raises potential equity issues over whether poorer and middle-class residents will have the same ability to buy an electric car.

Last year, a state subsidy program to provide a minimum of $4,500 in grants for electric car purchasers ran out of money around mid-year.

“It was very frustrating,” said Keith Hamilton, co-executive director of the Central California Asthma Collaborative, which runs an electric car equity program.

California officials say billions of dollars in new state and federal subsidies will be available for electric car purchasers.

State regulators say they are also studying new rules to increase the number of chargers required. beyond a few parking spaces in rental complexes.

Overall in California, a state report found that 1.2 million chargers will be needed for the 8 million zero-emission vehicles expected in California by 2030.

Around 70,000 public chargers are currently in operation in California.

Another issue: Can the California power grid support the charging of millions of more vehicles?

Thursday’s action by CARB was no surprise — and was essentially a sure thing — after a 2020 executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom requiring 100% of new car sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

Newsom controls 12 of the 16 seats on board.

Seventeen other states — including New York, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington — follow California rules that mandate stricter tailgate emissions standards, and at least some of those states are expected to adopt California’s rules to eliminate the sale of gas-powered cars.

California operates under a waiver from the federal Environmental Protection Agency for the cleaner tailgate standards and another waiver, which is expected, will be needed from President Joe Biden’s administration to finalize the zero-emission car rules.

Former President Donald Trump had stripped California of the right to set its own climate tailpipe standards but it was restored earlier this year by the Biden administration.

This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 2:25 PM with the headline "California becomes first state to end sales of new gas-powered cars. Total ban by 2035."