The California Air Resources Board approved a plan that would require 15.4 percent of new vehicles sold in the state be electric, fuel-cell or plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2025.
The Advanced Clean Cars program combines the control of smog-causing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions into a single coordinated package of requirements for model years 2017 through 2025.
The rules adopted on Friday by the California Air Resources Board mean manufacturers will have to produce about 1.4 million advanced vehicles for sale in that state alone by 2025, more than 40 times the number put on the road from 1996 through 2010, according to a state analysis.
Apart from electric cars, the new proposal also affects vehicles that run on gasoline and diesel, requiring a 75 percent reduction in smog-forming emissions from new cars, SUVs, pickups and minivans. And they require a roughly 50 percent reduction in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. That will force carmakers to build significantly more fuel-efficient gasoline and diesel models.
The package will also ensure adequate fueling infrastructure is available for the increasing numbers of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles planned for deployment in California.
The regulations have implications for the broader automotive market because 10 other states, including New York and New Jersey, plan to adopt the standards. Earlier rulings by the California board led to the addition of catalytic converters and exhaust-treatment systems as standard equipment on all cars sold in the U.S.
[source: California Air Resources Board]
