California clean air regulations impose a sizable burden on new large vehicle sales, but state government officials claim the industry has options.
Motorist groups are asking California regulators to create exemptions in the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation or risk having the RV industry leave the state.
Adopted in 2020, ACT seeks to accelerate clean vehicle adoption by placing zero-emission requirements on the percentage of large vehicles sold. The rule was amended on October 24 to require all new vehicles over 8,500 pounds sold to be zero-emissions, unless offset by a credit system allowing them flexibility.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has disputed the claims of a ban, citing the credit system as a way to allow new diesel vehicles to still be sold. The regulations also do not impact used vehicle sales, and are targeted at the manufacturers creating the chassis and motor combinations required for large vehicles such as RVs and tow trucks.
Still, the RV industry doesn’t see the existing exceptions as enough, with the rules creating a ban in all but name. In a FAQ from RV Industry Association (RVIA), they state “However, neither of these provisions will guarantee that chassis manufacturers will utilize these credits, which are likely to be expensive on the open market and would add another layer of cost to producing a motorhome with a combustion engine chassis.” The increase in cost, they argue, is enough to effectively impose a ban.
Michael Coates, editor of Clean Fleet Report, targets the blame towards the manufacturers, rather than the state regulations, “They have had regulations in place and the industry has chosen not to meet that regulation and that’s resulted in products not being available for the RV industry.”
Other regulations such as the Heavy-Duty Omnibus, which added low-carbon emissions requirements on large vehicle engines, have increased cost and caused manufacturers to stop selling to California. An advocacy group called Keep California Motorists Safe points out this would also impact tow trucks, “The ACT and Heavy-Duty Omnibus regulations cut off the supply of combustion engine trucks before truck manufacturers produced electric alternatives that meet a tow truck’s range, performance, and safety standards.”
On November 21, CARB met with several RV industry groups including RVIA, to discuss the transition as the rules ramp up. In the meeting, the ACT, Omnibus, and other regulations were discussed, with motorist groups requesting a delay or exemption in the rules. CARB alleged they didn’t have the authority to make exemptions on the rule, but not final decision has been made.
Currently, these rules affect six states total, as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, and Oregon have also adopted the same standards.
