New York, Massachusetts to Limit New Car Sales to EVs by 2035

By Christian Roselund

New York and Massachusetts have both confirmed that they will follow California in requiring that by 2035, all new automobiles sold must be all-electric. New York Governor Kathy Hochul made this announcement via press release on 29 September and directed New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation to develop draft rules to implement the mandate. These include a requirement that a minimum of 35% of new cars sold in 2026 are zero-emissions.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts state officials confirmed that it will follow California’s timeline in a webinar held by the non-profit Ceres. In the same webinar, Washington State officials stated that they would follow a timeline “similar to Massachusetts,” and Oregon Governor Kate Brown has also noted that her state is working on a rule to phase out gas-powered cars. To implement the rules these states must now draft and pass regulations to implement these pledges, as California has done.

Once these regulations are finalized, 70.2 million Americans – 21% of the nation’s population – will reside in states with phase-out dates for the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles. And there is the potential for more to follow, as 13 or other states have adopted at least part of California’s Advanced Clean Cars 2 rule.

These regulations will provide a strong signal to automakers to shift production away from internal combustion engines and towards electric vehicles. The United States lags well behind China and Europe in electric vehicle adoption. In 2021, battery electric vehicles represented only 3.4% of new light-duty vehicle sales in the United States, compared to 10% in Europe and 12% in China.

News coverage: ‘We want to … get those EVs in the state as soon as possible:’ Wash., Mass. vow to adopt Calif. car plan (UtilityDive) Source: Governor Hochul Drives Forward New York’s Transition to Clean Transportation (New York Governor Kathy Hochul)