Administration pauses EV requirements for cars

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has announced a two-year pause of electric vehicle sales requirements for manufacturers that are unable to reach Advanced Clean Cars II program requirements.

Similar to the Advanced Clean Truck regulation, ACCII was set to require manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles each year, starting with model year 2026 light-duty trucks and passenger cars.

“We’re giving carmakers more runway to invest in their manufacturing and supply chains, which will help ensure customers have additional affordable electric vehicles options at dealerships in the future,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a prepared statement on May 23. “Massachusetts will continue to invest in charging infrastructure to support the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.”

Manufacturers will continue to sell electric vehicles in Massachusetts during this period of enforcement discretion and can earn and carry forward credits for future compliance.

The administration said it will soon announce dedicated additional grant funding for the purchase or lease of electric vehicles for publicly owned fleets, electric school buses, waste collection vehicles, and other vocational vehicles.

In addition, the administration, in coordination with the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Coordinating Council, will announce enhanced future grant funding opportunities for existing programs that support medium- and heavy-duty vehicle charging, charging at multi-unit dwellings and educational campuses, charging at workplaces and for commercial fleets, and publicly accessible charging stations through the MassEVIP program.

With federal funding for reducing vehicle emissions in doubt, boosting state programs would help municipalities maintain momentum on this front. Reducing emissions in the transportation sector is critical to helping the Commonwealth meet its climate goals.