California is the leading state in the US regarding transportation electrification. However, the Golden State is taking it further by banning new gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035.
California’s grid has been supported by Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant to cope with a heatwave.
The state’s regulatory board, CARB, sounded the death knell to gas-powered vehicles in a vote. It builds on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order in 2020 targeting the reduction of greenhouse emissions from vehicles.
The plan is the CARB Advanced Clean Cars II.
Elaborating on why the ban is necessary, the Advanced Clean Cars II rule says, “Emissions from motor vehicle engines hurt public health, welfare, the environment, and the climate in multiple interrelated ways. These emission reductions will help stabilize the climate and reduce the risk of severe drought and wildfire and its consequent fine particulate matter pollution.”
The new rule was immediately followed by an increased commitment by California to help its residents access zero-emissions vehicles.
Meanwhile, the ban on gas-powered vehicles will come in phases. By 2026, 35 percent of new cars will be hydrogen or battery-powered. The percentage will increase to 51 and 68 by 2028 and 2030. Heavy-duty vehicles will go zero-emission by 2045.
California’s new ban has received support from carmakers, including Ford. Tesla is also in support and had asked CARB for more stringent rules that would see gas-powered vehicles off the road by 2030.
Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y became the best-selling cars in California in the first half of 2022.
