Don’t Fall Behind Zero Emission Vehicle Regulations for Your Fleet!

Zero Emission Vehicle Regulations

Current regulations include requirements that about 7-10% of new vehicles must be Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) in 2025 for California. While they spearheaded this regulation, 10 other states have joined since: Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

What is a Zero Emission vehicle?

Under the ZEV regulation, three distinct vehicle designs are considered “zero emission,” though to varying degrees.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles combine a conventional gasoline-powered engine with a battery that can be recharged from the electrical grid. These are not technically zero emission, as the gasoline-powered engine still create gaseous byproducts. That being said, it may be acceptable in some of these states’ regulations.

Battery electric vehicles run entirely on electricity and can be recharged from the electricity grid. This is what most people think of when discussing ZEVs. Automakers like Tesla, Chevy, Nissan and more have standard consumer models in the Model 3, Bolt and the Leaf. Many manufacturers have started making heavy-duty vehicles that are also ZEV to appeal to large fleets.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles run on electricity produced from a fuel cell using hydrogen gas. If you’re shopping for a new car, you may see this option on a couple of automakers’ websites. They’re not available in every state, but constitute an example of alternative fueling vehicles besides the standard electric battery.

https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/what-zev

1.9% of vehicles sold nationwide in 2018 were Zero Emission Vehicles

Of those sales:

62.4% were Battery Electric
0.7% were Fuel Cell
36.9% were Plug-in Hybrid

Of almost 90,000 new vehicles registered by government entities 2013-2017, only 3.24% were Zero Emission qualified. With that in mind, that number is far below what will be necessary in the coming years to maintain compliance.

https://autoalliance.org/energy-environment/state-electric-vehicle-mandate/