American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President and CEO Chet Thompson issued the following statement on EPA’s transmission to Congress of the December 2024 waiver authorizing California’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) program:
“California’s ban on sales of new gas, diesel and traditional hybrid vehicles is unlawful and will impact our entire country. If allowed to stand, millions of Americans will lose the ability to buy the car or truck of their choosing, and all of us will pay a price for this policy in the form of more expensive vehicles, higher electricity costs and compromised U.S. energy security.
“The previous administration waited until after the election to greenlight California’s ban, knowing it was wildly unpopular with the American people. Congress must stand up for consumers, the U.S. economy and national security and use its Congressional Review Act authority to overturn EPA’s power grabbing attempt to let California tell the rest of the country what we can and can’t drive.”
Of the dozen states that want to follow California’s ban, none are close to meeting ACCII’s 2026 target of 35% combined EV, fuel cell and PHEV sales. Statewide sales records from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation show part of this, but not the whole picture:
- California (26.72%)
- Colorado (19.43%)
- District of Columbia (19.35%)
- Washington (17.87%)
- Oregon (15.97%)
- New Jersey (13.25%)
- Vermont (11.93%)
- Massachusetts (11.57%)
- Maryland (11.31%)
- New York (9.67%)
- Rhode Island (8.04%)
- Delaware (7.56%)
- New Mexico (4.78%)
It’s worse than it looks. ACCII requires each individual automaker to meet the 35% “ZEV” standard for 2026. In 2023, “ZEV” sales for incumbent automakers (those who are not pure-play EV manufacturers) were just 13% in California. They were lower in every other state.
