History

The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Program is designed to achieve the state’s long-term emission reduction goals by requiring manufacturers to offer for sale specific numbers of the cleanest car technologies available, which include: battery electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. ZEV regulation was first adopted in 1990 as part of LEV I standards, and has undergone significant periodic modifications since that time.

At the time of adoption, CARB required that 2% of the vehicles that large manufacturers produced for sale in California in 1998 had to be ZEVs, increasing to 5% in 2001 and 10% in 2003. The ZEV mandate was ultimately adjusted to eliminate the “ramp up” years but left in place the 10% ZEV requirement for 2003. The program was adjusted again in 1998 to allow partial ZEV (PZEV) credits for low emission vehicles that were not pure ZEVs to achieve partial credits toward the overall requirement.¹ Further modifications to the program that were made in 2001 allowed large manufacturers to meet their 10% ZEV requirement with 2% pure ZEVs, 2% Advanced Technology PZEVS, and 6% PZEVs. However, a lawsuit resulted in an injunction that prohibited CARB from enforcing those 2001 ZEV for model years 2003 or 2004. Parties to the lawsuit ended litigation once the Board adopted amendments to the ZEV regulation in 2003, which included greater alignment with developments in technology. CARB again approved modifications to ZEV regulations at the 2008 hearing, where the agency also directed staff to redesign the ZEV Program for 2015 and subsequent model years.

In January 2012, CARB formally adopted the Advanced Clean Cars program that reinstalled more substantial and more long-term requirements for the deployment of electric-drive vehicles at over 10% of new vehicle sales by 2025. To reinforce the ZEV program, Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-16-2012 in March of that year, which directed California to “encourage the development and success of zero-emission vehicles to protect the environment, stimulate economic growth and improve the quality of life in the State.” The Governor’s Executive Order sets a long-term target of reaching 1.5 million ZEVs on California’s roadways by 2025.²

In February 2013, an interagency working group led by the Governor’s Office released a ZEV Action Plan detailing steps that will be taken in order to reach the mark of 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roadways by 2025. The report designates ZEVs as including hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), which include both pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

The following states have adopted the ACC I ZEV standards under Section 177 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §7507) – New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Oregon, and Maryland.

Following Governor Newsome’s Executive Order N-79-20, CARB has begun developing a set of standards for model years after 2025 known as Advanced Clean Cars II. Draft regulations have been posted on April 15^th, 2022 – and the first public hearing will take place on June 9, 2022 – with a public comment period extending till May 31, 2022.

As per the draft regulation, CARB envisages 100% sales of new light-duty vehicles to be EVs by 2035, including BEVS and FCEVs as well as PHEVs with a minimum 73 mile 2-cycle all-electric range, (equivalent to 50-mile real-world range), and the ability to do at least 40 miles on the US06 drive schedule. PHEVs are capped to 20% of the annual EV requirement. The draft regulation contains two scenarios that have varying levels of intermediate targets and one scenario where only 70% sales target is reached by 2035. Annual targets between 2026 and 2035 for each scenario can be found in Table 2.

In addition to the ACC I states – these states are expected to adhere to ACC II ZEV regulations: Washington, Delaware, Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, and Virginia.