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New Jersey hopes to grow electric vehicle (EV) use by imposing a gradual phaseout of fossil fuel cars at the manufacturing level.
The state government under Democrat Governor Phil Murphy announced this week a rule requiring automakers to have at least 43 percent zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in their output for the model year 2027. The Advanced Clean Car Rule II, scheduled for adoption December 18 as an evolution of emission control standards adopted by the state 2006, will raise the mandatory ZEV share of production each year so that all vehicle production will only be ZEVs starting 2035.
The New Jersey government highlighted the rule does not ban already in use diesel- and gasoline-fueled cars. “The rule does not impose obligations on consumers or car dealers and provides compliance flexibilities for manufacturers”, it said in a press release Tuesday.
“The rule also ensures that traditional gasoline- and diesel-fueled vehicles are manufactured to meet more stringent exhaust emission standards, which will positively impact air quality in New Jersey communities, especially those near high-traffic corridors”, the state government added.
“It does not ban gasoline cars, nor does it force consumers to buy EVs”, it said. “Rather, the rule will provide certainty to vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, utilities, and charging infrastructure companies to make the long-term investments that will be crucial to large-scale deployment of light-duty ZEVs and consumer choice”.
The United States does not have a federal fossil fuel car phaseout date. However President Joe Biden through an executive order passed August 5, 2021 has set a goal for 50 percent of new car sales to be electric by 2030. And a pending proposal by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to raise the fuel economy standards for passenger cars at a rate of two percent a year and light trucks at a rate of four percent per year for models with year designations that fall under 2027–31; for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans with model years 2030–35, the planned increase is 10 percent per year.
Several states though have committed to follow California’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulation to end sales of new fossil fuel cars by 2035, adopted November 30, 2022. New Jersey joins Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington among states that have followed suit with official targets to 100 percent phase in sales of ZEVs by 2035, according to tracking by clean car campaign organization Coltura.
“New Jersey was one of the first states to adopt Clean Cars standards 20 years ago and today’s decision for New Jersey to join the bevy of other states to adopt the latest Clean Cars standards will put 40 percent of the nation’s auto market on an accelerated EV adoption pathway”, New Jersey Environment Director Doug O’Malley said in a statement.
Murphy said, “The steps we take today to lower emissions will improve air quality and mitigate climate impacts for generations to come, all while increasing access to cleaner car choices”.
“Indeed, together with my Administration’s continuing investments in voluntary electric vehicle incentives, charging infrastructure, and the green economy, these new standards will preserve consumer choice and promote affordability for hardworking New Jerseyans across the state”, the governor added.
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka commented in support, “As the largest automobile transportation hub and energy generation center in the state, Newark has much to gain through this rule, through greater investment into ZEVs, more jobs for city residents, and more availability of these vehicles for motorists”.
The rule also got backing from the industry group New Jersey Sustainable Business Council. “Consumers and companies are experiencing first-hand how EVs are cleaner, technologically superior, and less costly to operate and maintain than internal combustion engines”, the group’s executive director, Richard Lawton, said.
But the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) claimed the rule fails to account for costs and infrastructure feasibility, as well as lacks actual environmental merit.
“[T]he marketplace would have likely seen a natural increase of EV users with an organic time frame to build appropriate capacities”, NJBIA deputy chief for government affairs Ray Cantor said in a statement Tuesday.
“This ban of the sale of new gas-powered cars, however, in such an expedited time does not take costs or feasibility into account”, Cantor added in the statement on the group’s website. “It does not take the lack of local and highway infrastructure into account.
“It does not take grid capacity into account. It ignores consumer choice… And it doesn’t take the lack of actual environmental benefit into account”.
The NJBIA said nearly 10,000 letters had been sent to members of the New Jersey legislature before the rule announcement asking them to help block the rule.
The media statement by the state government noted 37 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the state come from the transport sector, while also emphasizing a growing appetite for EVs.
“The number of EVs in New Jersey has grown to more than 123,000, representing 12 percent of new vehicle sales. Since just last December, sales have surged 50 percent”, the state government said.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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