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California Faces Automaker Backlash Over 2035 Gas Car Ban
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By Reuters
Published 7 minutes ago on
April 28, 2025

People charge their electric cars at a Tesla super charging station next to an EVgo electric charging location in Carlsbad, California, U.S., March 7, 2022. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Major automakers want Congress to bar California’s landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 that has been adopted by 11 other states, warning the rules could begin impacting vehicle shipments in a few months.

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote later this week on legislation to repeal a waiver granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under former President Joe Biden in December allowing California to mandate at least 80% electric vehicles by 2035.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai and other major automakers said in a letter released Monday car companies could soon be “forced to substantially reduce the number of overall vehicles for sale to inflate their proportion of electric vehicles sales.”

California Air Resources Board Rules Adopted in 11 States

The California Air Resources Board rules have been adopted by another 11 states, including New York, Massachusetts and Oregon accounting for about 40% of the U.S. auto market. The state did not immediately comment.

“Allowing these gas vehicle bans (something never attempted before in the United States) to proceed will increase automobile prices and reduce vehicle choices for consumers across the country at precisely the same time they are adjusting to the marketplace shock of 25% tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts,” the group added.

One issue remains whether Congress can revoke the waiver using the Congressional Review Act. In March, the Government Accountability Office said the waiver cannot be repealed under the CRA, which only requires a majority of the U.S. Senate.

The U.S. House also plans to vote to block California from mandating new pollution standards and a rising number of zero-emission electric commercial trucks and another for California’s low-NOx, or low-nitrogen oxide, regulation for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines.

California’s rules require 35% of light-duty vehicles in the 2026 model year to be a zero-emission model- a figure automakers say is impossible to meet given current sales – rising to 68% by 2030.

The state says the rule is crucial to meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and cutting smog-forming pollutants. Some states like Maryland have delayed compliance with those rules past 2026.

California first announced a plan in 2020 to require that by 2035 at least 80% of new cars sold be electric and up to 20% plug-in hybrid models.

The U.S. Transportation Department is separately moving to undo aggressive fuel economy rules adopted by Biden.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul)

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