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Traffic jams in Los Angeles
Photo: Taidgh Barron / ZUMA Wire / IMAGO
California wants to allow only the sale of electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles from 2035. The government has asked Washington for permission to do so. A letter dated Monday from the responsible California Air Resources Board (CARB) to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was available to the Reuters news agency.
According to this, from 2026 onwards, annually increasing requirements for zero-emission vehicles are to end the sale of purely gasoline-powered cars by 2035. "These vehicles will permanently displace emissions from conventional vehicles," wrote CARB CEO Steven Cliff. An EPO spokesman announced that he would examine the application.
A good 39 million people live in California, almost half as many as in Germany. The state's regulations are correspondingly important for the auto industry. The rules are expected to reduce emissions from light commercial vehicles by a quarter by 2037. The regulations stipulate that 35 percent of new cars sold in 2026 will be plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), electric cars or vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells. This share is expected to rise to 2030 percent by 68 and 2035 percent by 100.
For diesel trucks, the German Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already approved corresponding plans. According to this, manufacturers will have to sell a higher percentage of zero-emission vehicles from 2024. Depending on the truck class, the proportion of zero-emission vehicles must be between 2035 and 40% by 75.
President Joe Biden's administration has not yet set a date for an end to the sale of gasoline-only vehicles.
ktz/Reuters