General Motors is set to transition its entire light-duty vehicle lineup to all-electric powertrains by 2035. As it just so happens, that lines up with California’s ambitions to ban gasoline-only new-vehicle sales around the same timeframe. Now, California is seeking approval from the Biden administration to move forward with its gas-powered new-vehicle sales ban.
Per a recent report from Reuters, the state of California is looking to the Biden administration to green light a plan that requires all new vehicles sold in the Golden State to be either all-electric or plug-in electric hybrids. The plan was approved by the California Air Resource Board (CARB) in August, while earlier this week, CARB asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve a waiver under the Clean Air Act to put into place more stringent annual emissions rules starting in 2026. The new rules would lay out a year-by-year plan to increase restrictions on vehicle emissions, eventually leading to a state-wide ban on gasoline-powered new-vehicle sales by 2035.
As GM Authority covered previously, seventeen U.S. states are now considering whether to follow California’s lead in implementing a ban on new gasoline-powered passenger vehicles by 2035 in order to drive up sales of all-electric models. Reports indicate that Washington, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Vermont are among the states that are highly likely to adopt a ban similar to that proposed by California, while states like Virginia and Minnesota are expected to push back on the ban.
California, which is the largest car market in the U.S., is expected to lead the charge in the transition to EVs across the nation, with one recent analysis published by Energy Innovation predicting that all-electric models will make up two-thirds of new passenger vehicles sales across the United States by the 2035 timeframe.
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