As a handful of states start adopting California’s sales mandates for zero-emission trucks, dealers in New Jersey are pushing back.
These rules are designed to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles in heavy trucking. They require truck manufacturers to ensure at least 7% of their total sales are zero-emission in the states that are opting in to the regulations.
Currently, 10 other states have chosen to follow these Advanced Clean Truck rules, which are also known as ACT. But a push by dealers in New Jersey to delay implementation of the rules shows the battle lines over these mandates. There’s no indication that the push will succeed; the rules are set to go into effect at the start of the new year, and New Jersey’s governor has indicated support for the current timeline.
But the pressure for delay is a preview of an even bigger fight that’s brewing – one over state EV mandates for passenger vehicles.
Big vehicles with big environmental footprints
Heavy trucks have an outsized effect on both climate change and human health. Emissions from large diesel vehicles contribute to asthma and other health problems, particularly in communities near warehouses and ports .