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Virginians in the electric vehicle market received encouraging news last week as the state’s Air Pollution Control Board approved new regulations that will make it easier for the state to buy electric vehicles in the coming years.

The new standard was approved at a meeting on December 2 and will require automakers to increase the number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles sold to car dealers in the state, and set stricter limits on exhaust emissions. In short, the new regulations aim to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions.

"The transportation sector is the largest source of air pollution in the federal state," said Karen Sabastanski, a policy analyst with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. "And most of these emissions come from road motor vehicles."

The new regulations will take effect in 2024, giving manufacturers time to align their products with standards, including exhaust pipe restrictions for light and medium-sized cars and trucks, and sales targets for zero-emission vehicles, such as electric vehicles.

The Democratic-controlled convention laid the foundation for these new regulations in February, when Virginia lawmakers voted to pass California's vehicle emission standards.

According to the Federal Clean Air Act, states can comply with federal standards, or choose California's stricter standards to regulate vehicle emissions. In addition to Virginia, at least 14 states have adopted California standards.

Congress first granted California an exemption for setting its own standards based on the state's serious air pollution problems in 1967. But due to California's huge auto market, the state's standards have largely become the de facto standards for auto and truck manufacturers who want to sell cars in the United States.

Virginia's decision to approve California standards will increase the state's sales targets for electric and hybrid vehicles, making it easier for residents to obtain zero-emission vehicles, officials from the Department of Environmental Quality said. Sabastianski said that there are too few electric vehicles in the state, and Virginians have to go to Maryland and other states that already follow California standards to buy electric vehicles.

According to Tom Ballou, Air Data Analysis and Planning Manager of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the target number of light zero-emission vehicles in Virginia in 2024 is approximately 25,000.

After the new regulations come into effect, the goal of zero-emissions for automobiles will increase year by year. Ballou said the proposed update to the California standard will raise the target so that by 2035, 100% of new cars sold in Virginia will be zero-emissions.

In February, no Republicans voted for a bill to adopt California standards in Virginia. Democrats will lose control of the governor's office and the House of Representatives in 2022, and it is unclear whether lawmakers will seek to reverse this decision.

Advocates supporting clean car regulations remain cautiously optimistic about the implementation of the new standards.

"We definitely hope that the governor and the new majority of houses will recognize the multiple benefits of these standards, and we can continue to fully implement them," the land leader of the Southern Environmental Law Center, the "Traveler" Community Project.

Leaders from other state environmental agencies and advocacy groups expressed support for the new regulations at a meeting on Thursday. The former chairman of the Sierra Club in Virginia, Glen Bessa, said that this is not only a victory for the environment and consumers, but also a victory for anyone who “breathes”.

"We are now in a climate crisis," Bessa said. "We need to get everything powered up as soon as possible."

The regulation also has the support of at least one representative of the affected group in the automotive industry.

Don Hall, president of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association, praised the board’s vote, but he urged lawmakers to allocate appropriate funds for these programs.

In a statement on Monday, Hall wrote: “In order to fully realize the benefits of electric vehicles and a cleaner future, Virginia must fund the necessary programs to support clean vehicle emission standards - otherwise it will have a responsibility to withdraw from these standards.”

The Auto Innovation Alliance is an organization that represents American automakers, and it remains skeptical of the state’s new measures without additional support. In a statement issued on Monday, the group’s president, John Bozera, wrote that the rebate for electric vehicles is particularly important because “Virginia is still one of the only few in the United States that has not implemented the [Zero Emission Vehicle] authorization but has not yet implemented it. One of the rebate states. Or other [electric car] incentive programs."

The Infrastructure Investment and Employment Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden last month, will provide some federal assistance for expanding electric vehicle infrastructure. The bill allocates $106 million to the state of Virginia over five years to increase the number of charging stations for electric vehicles across the state.

Julianna Morano, 323-553-2644, julianna.morano@virginiamedia.com