Is this the end of gas-powered cars?
California wants to ban new gas car sales by 2035 — and on Wednesday, the EPA gave them the all clear, announcing that it would approve two waivers under the Clean Air Act allowing the state to do just that.
Approving the waivers will cripple the auto industry, as companies funnel zero-emission vehicles to the states that have adopted California’s rules, severely limiting consumer choice.
As I’ve said before, as California goes, so goes the nation — no manufacturer is going to build different cars for different states.
Just who wants an all-EV, all-the-time future? Not the car companies — they currently lose money on every EV they sell.
What we’re watching here is the destruction of the American auto industry by its own government.
The industry is pushing back.
In a statement, the National Automobile Dealers Association said that it was “disappointed the Biden administration has granted CARB’s vehicle-emissions waiver allowing it to institute a ban on gas-powered vehicles beginning in 2026. NADA has long supported a single, national fuel economy standard that is technologically feasible, economically practicable, and does not restrict consumer choice. We urge the incoming Trump administration to revoke this anti-consumer mandate.”
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President and CEO Chet Thompson also weighed in:
Contrary to claims on the campaign trail that they would never tell Americans what kinds of cars we have to drive, the Biden-Harris EPA just did exactly that by green lighting California’s ban on sales of all new gas and traditional hybrid vehicles. EPA’s authorization of the California ban and California’s ban itself are unlawful.
These policies will harm consumers — millions of whom don’t even live in California — by taking away their ability to buy new gas cars in their home states and raising vehicle and transportation costs. They will also undermine U.S. energy and national security. Americans want nothing to do with gas car bans, EV mandates, or California radicalism, which they just made abundantly clear at the polls. I suspect this is why EPA waited until after the election to issue this decision.
Let’s be clear about what this ban means: No gas, diesel, or traditional hybrid passenger cars and trucks meet California’s definition of “zero emission.”
And only a small percentage (a maximum of 20%) of plug-in hybrid cars and trucks will be able to be sold.
It’s no coincidence that the news of the EPA’s decision broke just hours after the Supreme Court of the United States granted a case from a coalition of energy, agriculture, and biofuel groups challenging California’s EV sales mandate.
Make no mistake, this is a direct attack on the American consumer.
The California Air Resources Board Advanced Clean Cars II waiver has set a zero-emission vehicle mandate starting in 2025 that requires 35% of all new model year 2026 vehicle sales be zero-emission vehicles, with a majority of those being battery-electric. That percentage will continue increasing, and by 2035, 100% of new passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs sold in California and 17 other states must be zero-emissions.
While these states have adopted California’s rules, most of them are not selling anywhere near the 35% level required next year.
In fact, nationally, the U.S. is tracking at approximately 9% BEV sales, November YTD. Within the 12 “ZEV states” (plus Washington, D.C.), the average is less than 13% YTD. Approving the waivers will cripple the auto industry, as companies funnel zero-emission vehicles to the states that have adopted California’s rules, severely limiting consumer choice.
Japanese automaker Toyota, the top-selling car brand in America, also objected to the proposed waivers. In a statement, a spokesperson said:
By requiring one out of three sales be zero-emission vehicles, California’s regulation undercuts the sale of other alternative electrified powertrains that can also help reduce carbon emissions as much as and as quickly as possible. In addition, to achieve the California mandate, it would require dealers selling over three times as many ZEVs as they currently do.
If a customer cannot afford a zero-emission vehicle or it doesn’t meet their needs, there may not be a non-electric vehicle on the lot to purchase for their mobility needs. Instead of adjusting to that reality, California is doubling down and pulling 11 other states and their residents with them.
Americans should be infuriated. This is not what they voted for last month; the EPA is doing all it can to undermine the second Trump presidency before he even gets into office.
The good news is the EPA’s time is running out. Trump takes office in less then a month. When he does, he is reportedly planning to rescind both federal EV requirements and any waiver issued for California by the Biden administration.
If the ban sticks, expect drivers to vote with their wallets and keep driving their old gas-powered cars. That would be very bad news for the auto industry.
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