California has been pushing a rule in which the sale of all gas-powered vehicles is banned by the year 2035. This would affect all gas-powered vehicles that are sold in the state, including big rig trucks. This means that California would effectively prevent the sale of new Class 4-8 diesel trucks as we know them today in the state. Trucking companies have been outspokenly against this ruling thus far, as fully electric trucks are still hard to come by as automakers are only recently starting to develop them. The models that are out there are a bit hard to trust completely as they are usually expensive or still very new to the market and they often have several issues.
Truck makers and the state have recently reached an agreement to satisfy both parties on this adjustment.
As of July 6th, when the agreement was announced, the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association and California Air Resources Board have come to a mutually beneficial agreement. State regulators have agreed to be laxer on their requirements for trucks in terms of their nitrogen oxide pollution rates. California has lowered its standards to meet the federal requirements. This will allow truck makers to have more consistency in their builds. Lowering the current requirements for the trucks to match the federal requirements gives engine and truck makers the room to adjust properly and allows them to prepare better to have fewer polluting vehicles in the future.
As this agreement had to be made to be mutually beneficial, truck and engine makers agreed to meet the state’s zero-emission rule eventually, even if the rule ultimately gets overturned in court. Many areas are unhappy with the ruling and are taking the state to court over it, so there is a possibility for it to not hold up in the future, but truck makers are agreeing to still work toward that goal, even if an overturning ruling is ordered.
While the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association has met an agreement with the state of California, some trucking organizations are still unhappy.
The President of the American Trucking Associations feels the timeline is still unrealistic and unreasonable. The President, Chris Spear, released a statement arguing that the trucking industry would benefit from a federal standard effective across all states and for all states to follow this requirement. He also believes that the government should not have a part in the trucking industry.
