California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle program is expected to increase sales of electric, plug-in hybrid and other alternative light-duty vehicles in the United States during the next decade, according to a new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The ZEV program, which is administered by the California Air Resources Board, affects model year 2018 and later vehicles, requiring automakers to earn credits for alternative-fuel vehicles based on a percentage of their sales in California.
It also extends to nine other states concentrated on the West and East Coast where the program covers the entire New York City Metropolitan Region, which is also one of the stronger markets for new vehicles in the U.S.
Overall the nine other states that have adopted the ZEV program accounted for 28% of total U.S. sales of light duty vehicles in 2015.
California’s ZEV mandates along with similar requirements in the European Union as well as China and Japan are the principle reason that global car makers are steadily investing in electric vehicles.
Nevertheless, electric vehicles dominated the roll out of the Paris Motor Show last week as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and General Motors and other manufacturers showed off EVs.
Volkswagen compared its I.D. electric compact to its historic Beetle and mainstay Golf models and said it was the leading edge of 30 new electric models it plans to put out by 2025, while Mercedes-Benz EQ, a battery-powered crossover SUV concept. The vehicle is meant to illustrate the company’s longer term strategy that connects electric cars with other new technology such as autonomous driving and vehicle sharing.
The ZEV sales requirement is administered through credits that are earned for selling specific types of vehicles, according to the analysis in EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2016, which included a look at the ZEV program’s implications for vehicle sales and energy consumption.
The required credits are calculated as a percentage of an automaker’s conventional light-duty vehicle sales. The total percentage requirement starts at 4.5% for model year 2018 sales and increases to 22% for model year 2025 sales.
Full ZEVs must make up 16% of the required credits by model year 2025, which encourages the sale of vehicles powered by electricity or hydrogen fuel cells.
Read more of the original article at The Detroit Bureau.
