The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will conduct a public hearing on 27 October in Sacramento to consider the proposed Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation. The proposed regulation would set a clear end date for combustion-powered new vehicle sales in California by requiring all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales to be ZEVs starting in 2040.

Primary objectives of this proposal include:

• Achieve criteria and GHG emissions reductions consistent with the goals identified in the SIP Strategy and Scoping Plan, including supporting compliance with state and federal ambient air quality standards.

• Provide criteria pollutant and toxic air contaminant emissions reductions in disadvantaged communities (DAC).

• Support the 100% zero-emission (ZE) targets set by the Board: drayage trucks, last mile delivery, and government fleets by 2035; refuse trucks, local buses, and utility fleets by 2040; and all trucks and buses where feasible by 2045.

• Ensure requirements, such as ZEV deployment schedules and related infrastructure build-out, are technologically feasible, cost-effective, and support market conditions.

• Lead the transition away from petroleum fuels and towards electric drivetrains.

The proposed regulation is projected to significantly increase the number of medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs in California beyond the ZEV sales expected from the ACT (Advanced Clean Trucks, earlier post) regulation. The estimated number of ZEVs would increase from about 320,000 to about 510,000 in 2035, from about 780,000 to about 1,230,000 ZEVs by 2045, and from about 950,000 to about 1,590,000 ZEVs by 2050, according to CARB’s modeling.

The proposed regulation would require State and local government fleets, drayage trucks, high priority fleets, and federal fleets to phase in medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs, and light- duty package delivery ZEVs over time. As a backstop, the proposed regulation sets a clear end date for combustion-powered new medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales in California.

The proposed regulation includes four components: three sets of fleet requirements for State and local government fleets, drayage trucks, and high priority and federal fleets, and a ZEV sales requirement for medium- and heavy-duty truck manufacturers.