What’s at issue?
The California Air Resources Board passed a regulation in 2022 called Advanced Clean Cars II, or ACC II. It mandates that 35 percent of vehicles an automaker produces and delivers for sale, which can include vehicles wholesaled to dealers and not yet sold to retail customers, in the state for the 2026 model year must be zero-emission (electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles or plug-ins, though PHEVs only receive partial credit). Automakers face fines of up to $20,000 on each noncompliant vehicle, or they can purchase limited available credits from other automakers. Five other states — Oregon, Washington, New York, Massachusetts and Vermont — also follow the requirement starting with the 2026 model year, measuring the percentage of vehicles wholesaled in those individual states.
