“Heavy-handed government intervention – like California’s proposal to ban internal combustion engine vehicles – limits consumer choice and infringes upon Americans’ freedoms,” said Republican Representative John Joyce said.
The White House noted Congress gave California authority to regulate emissions from vehicles more than 50 years ago, but did not issue a veto threat. The Biden administration has repeatedly refused to endorse setting a date to phase out the sale of internal combustion engine cars and trucks.
Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has repeatedly accused the Biden administration of seeking to force an end to internal combustion vehicles.
Under an EPA proposal to cut vehicle emissions, automakers are forecast to produce 60 percent EVs by 2030 and 67 percent by 2032 to meet requirements, compared with 5.8 percent of U.S. vehicles sold in 2022 that were EVs.
California’s zero-emission rules will cut by 25 percent smog-causing pollution from light-duty vehicles by 2037.
The rules mandate that 35 percent of the new cars sold be plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV), EVs or hydrogen fuel cell by 2026. That proportion will rise to 68 percent by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
A total of 17 states have agreed to adopt California’s EV rules.
CARB’s regulation would allow automakers to sell up to 20 percent PHEVs by 2035 with a minimum 50-mile all-electric range.
