Latest news with #AdvancedCleanCarII
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Congress votes to rescind California vehicle emissions waiver
This story was originally published on Smart Cities Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Smart Cities Dive newsletter. The U.S. Senate passed three joint resolutions May 22 nullifying California's ability to set emissions standards for passenger cars, light duty vehicles and trucks that are stricter than national standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Auto and petroleum industry lobbyists targeted California's Advanced Clean Car II regulations, adopted in 2022, which require all new passenger cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles by the 2035 model year. Federal law set in 1990 allows 17 additional states and the District of Columbia to follow California's regulations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced the state's intention to file a lawsuit blocking the congressional resolutions, which await the signature of President Donald Trump to become law. California's ability to set its own vehicle emissions standards stem from the 1967 Air Quality Act, passed at a time when smog and poor air quality often permeated the Los Angeles basin. While air quality in California has improved over the years, experts fear a setback from the Senate's action. 'Public health could potentially suffer as a consequence,' said Michael Kleeman, a professor at the University of California, Davis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. 'This is, plain and simple, a vote against clean air to breathe," said Aaron Kressig, transportation electrification manager at Western Resource Advocates, in an emailed statement. He warned of potential lost days at school or work and premature deaths. 'Over 150 million people in the United States are already exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution,' Steven Higashide, director of the Clean Transportation Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in an emailed statement. 'The standards are based on the best available science, and were finalized with extensive public input.' Along with public health concerns, the debate around California's emissions waivers include policy, auto and petroleum industry resistance and debate over states' rights. Republicans argue that California overstepped its prerogative. 'The California waivers rules are an improper expansion of a limited Clean Air Act authority and would endanger consumers, our economy, and our nation's energy supply,' Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said May 20 in the Senate chamber. Industry opponents of the emission waivers cheered the Senate's action. 'The fact is these EV sales mandates were never achievable,' John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an auto industry lobbying group, said in a statement. Bozella noted the automakers key concern: 'The problem really isn't California. It's the 11 states that adopted California's rules without the same level of readiness for EV sales requirements of this magnitude.' Petroleum industry leaders weighed in May 23 with a joint statement. 'The United States Senate delivered a victory for American consumers, manufacturers, and U.S. energy security by voting to overturn the prior administration's EPA rule authorizing California's gas car ban and preventing its spread across our country,' said American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson and American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers in a published statement. California and 10 other states formed a coalition to foster cleaner and more affordable vehicles, Newsom announced May 23. Led by the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan group of 24 governors, the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition said in a news release that it would 'consider next steps for our clean vehicle programs' and work to preserve the states' authority under the Clean Air Act. Participating states include California, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington. 'The fact remains that states have the legal right under the Clean Air Act to protect their residents from vehicle pollution,' Sierra Club Climate Policy Director Patrick Drupp said in an emailed statement. Recommended Reading Congress could soon revoke California's vehicle emissions standards Sign in to access your portfolio
New York Post
03-05-2025
- Automotive
- New York Post
Face facts and pull the plug on NY's insane electric-vehicle mandate
It's beyond time for Gov. Kathy Hochul to pull the plug on her pie-in-the-sky electric-vehicle-mandate madness. In 2022, New York adopted California's Advanced Clean Car II rule, requiring 35% of 2026 model cars sold in the state to be 'emissions-free,' then 68% by 2030 and 100% by 2035 — part of the drive to meet the harebrained goals of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2019 Climate Act. With the 2026 deadline looming, EV sales are nowhere near 35%: Electrics make up only 10% of car sales statewide, and in some parts of New York it's below 2%. Failure to meet the targets exposes automakers to hefty fines, which they'd either have to pass on to customers or avoid by cutting off sales of non-EVs. That has auto dealers pleading for sanity, with Greater Automobile Dealers Association of NY Chairman Jack Weidinger pointing out: 'The deadlines don't match the reality.' Meanwhile, eight House members (four Republicans, four Democrats) from New York wrote Hochul in February, warning of 'substantial economic repercussions' as the mandate could 'raise the prices of all vehicles, making even hybrids and gas-powered cars more expensive for consumers.' The gov's main action so far: promising $30 million in subsidies to try to bribe New Yorkers into buying EVs. Her staff also insist the mandates don't really mean what they say, and can be met this year if as few as 11% of new sales are electric, and claim the state Department of Environmental Conservation won't enforce the 35% sales rate until the end of 2030 'at the earliest.' Then why not change the letter of the law? Otherwise, greens might well sue to require enforcement at the stated levels. Indeed, it's unlikely even 35%-by-2030 is remotely practical: Drivers simply don't want EVs, because of their limited range, poor cold-weather performance and other issues. Plus, New York doesn't have the charging infrastructure to support the EVs already on the road. There aren't nearly enough stations (some reportedly have wait times of over an hour), and options become even more sparse when drivers leave the city, making long-distance travel a pain. In February, Hochul announced $60 million to build more charging stations — on an already overworked, unstable grid. With New York greenies fiercely opposed to the use of any reliable energy source, where, exactly, is the electricity to power all these new EVs to come from? Wind farms aren't going to cut it. Some states that adopted the ACC II rule in the last few years are already wising up: In early April, Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order postponing penalties for failing to meet the impossible standards. He probably realized that drivers are more likely to take their business to Virginia, where Gov. Glenn Youngkin removed the EV mandate last year, than buy an electric vehicle they don't want in Maryland. Hochul needs a similar wake-up call. It's time to face facts: These standards are a pipe dream. Ditch the mandate now, gov.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Toyota C-HR nameplate resurrected as EV; 2026 Toyota bZ4X, Lexus RZ gain range, updates to be more competitive
Toyota Motor Corp. showed journalists the next steps in its electric vehicle strategy in Brussels, resurrecting a familiar nameplate as an EV and making significant midcycle changes to the Toyota bZ4X and Lexus RZ. The Toyota brand is widely expected to add a second electric vehicle to its U.S. lineup, a two-row that will slot below the bZ4X crossover. While Toyota Motor North America has not confirmed that the C-HR+ will be sold in the U.S., it is expected to be added early next year, in part to give the automaker another nameplate to sell in order to meet tough Advanced Clean Car II sales regulations in six states that go into effect with the 2026 model year. Read the full story here. Sign up for our daily First Shift morning newscast email for a quick video to start your day. The Toyota brand has majorly retooled its sole U.S. electric vehicle with new styling and interior features, as well as a new battery and an energy management strategy to boost its range. As part of the midcycle freshening, Toyota is including improved e-axles aimed at increasing power delivery. It also restyled the bZ4X's front fascia and reworked its instrument panel and center console, making a 14-inch digital infotainment display standard across all models. Read the full story here. Lexus will introduce its first production application of steer-by-wire technology in the upper trims of the electric RZ crossover for the 2026 model year, accompanying battery system changes that promise to improve its range. Read the full story here. Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.
