California Did It: Vote Has Banned New Gas Car Sales after 2035

Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to drive your gas guzzler in California at the end of next decade; you just won’t be able to buy a new vehicle there unless it’s a zero-emission model.This new rule is a bold move, but it’s all in keeping with the efforts the state’s Air Resources Board has been making to clean up the air since the late 1960s.Let’s be clear: automakers have responded to these kinds of regulations around the world, and they’ve had time to get ready for strong rules like this in the U.S.

Today, the California Air Resources Board voted to only allow the sale of new passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs in California if they have zero tailpipe emissions, starting in 2035. Passage of the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) proposal means no new gas-engine vehicles and no new diesels will be sold in the state a dozen years from now.

This is a demonstrably important move, and it’s really just the latest step in a long process. The state has slowly and steadily moved toward more zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) use since the Air Resources Board (CARB) was established in 1967. California has been leading the country in the shift to cleaner vehicles, pushing automakers to build more-efficient gas vehicles and then hybrids and then plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and then, over the last decade, more and more zero-emission vehicles, including all-electric and hydrogen models. Last year, ZEVs and PHEVs made up 16 percent of all new vehicles sold in the state, more than in any other state in the country. Washington State is ahead of California in drawing up similar legislation, but it’s one of the states that intend to follow California’s lead and adopt CARB’s ZEV rules.

It’s fair to say today’s rule is CARB’s most drastic change in its 55-year history. The exact details of the rule have not been finalized, but a total ban on new gas- and diesel-powered vehicle sales is something completely different for the U.S. Questions remain about how PHEVs will be treated after 2035 and how so states that have agreed to follow CARB’s ZEV rules will react. CARB will also need to submit its new regulations to the Environmental Protection Agency for approval.

Despite the big step that ACCII represents, the rules are based in reality. First, there will still be plenty of vehicles that burn gasoline and diesel on California’s roads in 2035 and beyond. Unless there’s a similar federal rule coming (don’t hold your breath), anyone will still be able to buy a gas car in another state and register it with the California DMV. Gas and diesel vehicles will still be allowed to be resold in California as used vehicles. Obviously, they’ll also still be allowed to drive in the state. CARB’s FAQ about the new rules realistically states it will take “many years” to actually eliminate all gas cars from the road.

There Is a Silver Lining

CARB and the Advanced Clean Cars II are not perfect, but the Board has a history of success. Without past CARB regulations, we wouldn’t have gotten the hybrids, hydrogen cars, and electric vehicles we have today. We probably wouldn’t have Tesla or the Ford F-150 Lightning, the Nissan Leaf, or startups like Rivian and Lucid. We most likely wouldn’t have crowned the Hyundai Ioniq 5 our 2022 EV of the Year. We might not even have had an EV Of The Year award to give out.

U.S. car buyers can choose any of these EVs, in part, because CARB has spent decades bending the industry to its will. Emissions regulations in Europe and China have also encouraged EV development, and the industry responded to all of these government pressure points by investing billions of dollars into designing new EV models, developing better batteries and establishing a growing number of production facilities to build all these cars. With all of these gears now in motion, CARB is once again pushing the limit of what’s possible. Smartly, CARB didn’t create this rule in 2010, when the first mass-market EV hit the market, and it didn’t declare today that ZEVs would be the only option on dealer lots starting in 2025. Instead, after giving automakers plenty of time to get things sorted, CARB is now telling them they have another decade-plus to complete their shift to electric vehicles (in California, at least). CARB’s move is strong, but it’s not unreasonable.

Ford and Toyota Weigh In

Some automakers have already signaled their approval. Ford is “proud of our partnership with California for stronger vehicle emissions standards,” the automaker’s chief sustainability officer, Bob Holycross, said in a statement that also called the new rules a “landmark standard that will define clean transportation and set an example for the United States.”

Then there’s Toyota, which has never been a strong promoter of battery-electric vehicles. The automaker introduced its first real all-electric model, the bZ4x, this year and is already on the second generation of the hydrogen-powered Mirai. This week, in possibly related news, Toyota announced it will recognize CARB’s power to set its own auto emission standards. The automaker had been fighting with CARB for years but has now given up on that legal challenge. Toyota tweeted this week that it shares “the vision of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and carbon neutrality goals with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the State of California.” The zero-emission writing is on the wall. Onward.

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