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New rules will save drivers money on fuel, create jobs, cut smog
and greenhouse gases, make California a world leader in clean car
technology. 

Release #:12-04
Date:01/27/2012

ARB PIO: (916) 322-2990

CONTACT:
David Clegern
916-322-8286
dclegern@arb.ca.gov

Stanley Young
916-322-1309
916-956-9409(C)
syoung@arb.ca.gov

California Air Resources Board Approves Advanced Clean Car Rules

New rules will save drivers money on fuel, create jobs, cut smog
and greenhouse gases, make California a world leader in clean car
technology

LOS ANGELES - Today the California Air Resources Board
unanimously approved a package of new emissions rules for cars
and light trucks through 2025.

“The California Advanced Clean Car rules will clean our air,
fight climate change and provide cars that save consumers
thousands of dollars at the pump,” said ARB Chairman Mary D.
Nichols. “The Board’s action today will create thousands of new
jobs, transforming California into the advanced car capital of
the world. California is now in pole position in the race to
provide next-generation ultra-clean cars to the global car
market.”  
 
The Advanced Clean Cars program combines the control of
smog-causing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions into a
single coordinated package of requirements for model years 2017
through 2025. The new rules will clean up gasoline and
diesel-powered cars, and deliver increasing numbers of
zero-emission technologies, such as full battery electric cars,
newly emerging plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel
cell cars. The package will also ensure adequate fueling
infrastructure is available for the increasing numbers of
hydrogen fuel cell vehicles planned for deployment in
California.

The Advanced Clean Cars program has been in development over the
past three years and is composed of four separate, but related
components.  An overview of the program is included further
below.

The rules are designed to preserve consumer choice while ensuring
the development of a full range of environmentally superior cars
from compacts to SUVs and pickups. These vehicles will continue
to deliver the performance, utility and safety vehicle owners
have come to expect with significant savings thanks to reduced
operating costs.

Many of the technologies that reduce climate change emissions
also significantly reduce the operating costs of passenger
vehicles on a month-to-month basis for consumers.

Benefits of Advanced Clean Cars Program:

Consumer Savings:

    California drivers will save $5 billion in operating costs in
2025, and $10 billion by 2030 when more advanced cars are on the
road.
    In 2025, average consumers will see nearly $6,000 in fuel
cost savings over the life of the car, nearly triple the
estimated per vehicle cost. Based on typical financing for a new
vehicle, savings accrue the minute the car drives off the lot.


Fight Smog:

    The rules deliver a 75 percent reduction in smog-forming
emissions from new vehicles by 2025 (compared to 2014 levels).

Fight Climate Change:

    Greenhouse gas emissions from new cars will be cut 34 percent
from 2016 levels.
    By 2025, greenhouse gases will be reduced by 52 million tons,
the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the road for a
year.
    The package will result in a cumulative reduction of more
than 870 million metric tons of greenhouse gases through 2050.

Deliver Next-Generation Cars:

    Zero-emission or plug-in hybrid vehicles will account for one
in seven new cars sold in California in 2025 (15.4 percent).
    More than 1.4 million zero-emission and plug-in hybrid
vehicles will be on the road in California by 2025.

Create Jobs:

    Overall savings generated by the proposed rules will result
in an additional 21,000 jobs in California in 2025, rising to
37,000 in 2030. 

_________________________________

OVERVIEW: THE ADVANCED CLEAN CAR PROGRAM

The Advanced Clean Cars program has been in development over the
past three years and is composed of four separate, but related
components:

    Greenhouse gas standard for cars and light trucks, model
years 2017-2025

    The greenhouse gas standard approved today builds on
California’s first-in-the-nation standard that was later adopted
in 2010 by the federal government as part of a national program.
The new rules strengthen the greenhouse gas standard for 2017
models and beyond. They were developed in tandem with the federal
government over the past three years, including an unprecedented
joint fact-finding process with shared engineering and technical
studies.

    The current California program constitutes a separate set of
rules with minor variations due to separate legal structures but
is designed to parallel the proposed federal joint rulemaking the
Obama administration announced last summer. Once the proposed
federal standards are adopted, they will be deemed sufficient for
compliance in California. This responds to the desire for a
streamlined set of rules for new cars and light trucks and
creates a single national program for manufacturers that
addresses both greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards.

    The new standard drops greenhouse gas emissions to 166 grams
per mile, a reduction of 34 percent compared to 2016 levels. This
will be achieved through existing technologies, the use of
stronger and lighter materials, and more efficient drivetrains
and engines.

    Reducing Smog-Forming Emissions

    California will need to reduce smog-forming pollution by an
additional 75 percent from 2014 levels to help meet more
stringent federal air quality standards expected in the next few
years. Since California continues to have the nation’s worst air
quality, and has more than 26 million cars on the road, it is
necessary to further reduce smog-forming pollution from cars.
This regulation will drive the development of the cleanest cars
yet that use diesel, gasoline, or gas-electric hybrid internal
combustion engines. (Note: The above two regulations are bundled
into a single document under the title “LEV III“.)

     Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Regulation

    The ZEV regulation will result in over 1.4 million ZEVs on
the road by 2025 (15.4 percent of new vehicle sales in that year)
in order to be on track to reach the 2050 greenhouse gas
reduction goal. A transitional model – the plug-in hybrid car –
will play a significant role over the next 20 years, but by
mid-century, 87 percent of cars on the road will need to be full
zero-emission vehicles to achieve climate goals.

    The ZEV regulation builds on the program in place since 1990
and is designed to rapidly increase ZEV production to early
commercial volumes, establishing a sustainable and growing market
for these advanced technology vehicles. This will place
California on a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80
percent by 2050, a goal adopted by many nations and believed
necessary to stabilize climate temperature.

     Clean Fuels Outlet

    This regulation is designed to support the commercialization
of zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell vehicles planned by vehicle
manufacturers by 2015, which will require increased numbers of
hydrogen fueling stations. Construction of the new stations will
provide a convenient fueling infrastructure, first within the
major metropolitan areas, but ultimately throughout the state.
The number of stations will grow as vehicle manufacturers sell
more fuel cell vehicles. 

For more information on Advanced Clean Cars, see:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/consumer_info/advanced_clean_cars/consumer_acc.htm

ARB's mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare,
and ecological resources through effective reduction of air
pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the
economy. The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in
California to attain and maintain health based air quality
standards.