Automotive News spoke with officials from the California Air Resources Board about its Advanced Clean Cars II regulation and the impact that dealers and automakers say it will have on new-vehicle sales across the U.S.
Q: Several automakers are telling us they will be forced to change allocation methods to try to comply, including limiting consumer choices on what they are able to purchase in ZEV states. What impacts does CARB expect from automaker allocation/consumer vehicle purchase choices for customers as a direct result of ACC II?
A: This doomsday scenario is based on the false narrative that manufacturers will not take advantage of the flexibility of California regulations and will make extreme business decisions to stop selling or drastically reduce numbers of new cars for sale.
Most car manufacturers are on track to meet near-term ZEV sales requirements, and no individual manufacturer has publicly made claims about reducing sales or leaving the California market. CARB has an open, active dialogue with every affected car manufacturer. Ample flexibility is built into the regulation, and we remain committed to helping them succeed.
ACC II: Are states ready for ZEV mandates?
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Will there be amendments to the regulations, and if so, when will the contents be made public?
If changes to the regulation are proposed, CARB is required to follow the public process to consider any changes as outlined in the California Administrative Procedure Act.
Will CARB evaluate the current EV market performance in 2027, after the end of the 2026 model/calendar year, and could that lead to adjustments to the future model-year targets?
CARB remains committed to continuing to work closely with manufacturers to ensure the success of the program and will extend flexibility to individual companies as needed.
Does ACC II’s three-year flexibility window mean no enforcement will happen until the third model year, and that the automakers must meet the target for the current model year, which gets more stringent over time, plus make up any deficit they have carried over?
The three-year flexibility window means that if a manufacturer incurs a model-year deficit, the manufacturer must make up that deficit within the following three model years. The regulation provides this example: A 2026 model year deficit must be resolved by the conclusion of the 2029 model year. You are correct that each following model year has its own increasing ZEV requirement; however, each of these has its own three following year period to make up deficits.
Can you confirm how CARB helps the other ZEV states that have adopted the regulations?
Federal law gives other states the ability to make a choice themselves to adopt California vehicle standards. The extent to which California helps other states is in providing information describing what the regulations entail and how we will implement and enforce the regulations in our state. While we do not help them set up their enforcement mechanisms, we can provide recordkeeping or similar technical assistance.
We would like to confirm the penalty for noncompliance is $20,000 per vehicle that would be required for an OEM to meet the threshold, i.e. 35 percent for the 2026 model year. And also that CARB’s preference is to work with automakers on a solution before assessing penalties.
We can confirm that is the penalty as written in the regulation. However, manufacturers are only subject to such significant fines and penalties when there is evidence of deliberate, fraudulent and criminal efforts to violate California laws. Rather, CARB enforces requirements by working with manufacturers throughout the product planning process to ensure they are on track to comply with overall requirements and that new cars meet consumer expectations.
The 35 percent threshold for the 2026 model year must be met by each manufacturer, and not as an aggregate for the entire industry that sells automobiles in California, correct?
Correct. Each manufacturer must meet their individual sales requirement based on their sales average and their sales volume category with zero-emission vehicles including qualifying plug-in hybrids. The regulation includes flexibilities, such as averaging of prior-year production volumes, banking of vehicle values for use in future years, and trading of vehicle values between manufacturers to accommodate differences in manufacturer product planning and strategy.
