By Guy Page
The responsibility to comply with Vermont’s copycat version of California’s gradual ‘ban’ on the sale of gas-powered cars and trucks is on vehicle manufacturers – not dealers or customers.
Also, people who want to drive gas or diesel-powered cars and pickup trucks may purchase them out of state and register them in Vermont, and still be in compliance.
In 2006, the State of Vermont agreed to follow all of California’s emissions regulations (aka CARB). A little over a year ago, California announced it would – in effect – ban gas-burning cars and trucks by 2035.
But for people determined to buy a fossil-fuel powered vehicle, the current regulations have a loophole big enough to drive a gas-guzzling truck through. And it’s not good news for Vermont car dealers.
The Vermont Low and Zero Emission Vehicle Regulation now in effect requires that by 2026 35% of all new cars and light-duty vehicles delivered to Vermont must be battery electric or plug in electric/gas hybrids, Matt Cota, a spokesman for Vermont automobile dealers told VDC today. The CARB doesn’t apply to used car sales.
35% will be easy for sunny, mostly-paved road California, where EV ownership is already in the low 30% range. But Vermont hybrid-EV ownership is just over 10%. Increasing that figure by 20% – one in five new car buyers – will be a big lift by 2026.
By 2035, 100% of all new cars sold in Vermont must have zero emissions. There is no requirement that dealers sell a certain percentage of ZEVs or that customers buy an electric vehicle. The composition of drive trains on dealer lots in Vermont and other CARB states will certainly reflect this regulatory requirement on the manufacturer.
However…..
Nothing in the current CARB rules prevent a Vermonter from buying a car in New Hampshire, NY, Massachusetts or any other state, and registering it in Vermont. Big trucks bought out of state can’t be registered in Vermont. But – at present, anyway – cars bought in say, Berlin NH may be registered and driven here.
Medium and heavy-duty trucks have a similar mandate but with a longer timeline. According to the Vermont Advanced Clean Truck regulation, half of all new Class 4-8 trucks sold in Vermont must have zero emissions by the end of the decade. See what trucks have to be zero emission when here.