CARB to Hear Manufacturer Requirement to Introduce the First Wave of Zero-Emission Trucks

This week, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will hold a hearing on the proposed the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Regulation.

The ACT regulation has two main components: a manufacturer sales requirement and a large business entity and fleet reporting requirement.

Under ACT, manufacturers who certify Class 2B-8 chassis or complete vehicles with combustion engines will be required to sell zero-emission trucks as an increasing percentage of their annual California sales from 2024-2030; ultimately reaching 50% of class 4-8 straight truck sales and 15% of all truck sales by 2030.

The reporting component requires large employers (retailers, manufacturers, brokers, hotels and others) to report information about shipments and shuttle services, and fleet owners with 100+ trucks to report about existing fleet operations. 

Currently, the availability of zero-emission configurations that meet the trucking industry’s needs are fairly limited and the upfront costs of purchasing the vehicles are higher than conventional trucks; however, most major truck manufacturers have announced plans to introduce market ready zero-emission trucks in the near future and the total cost of zero-emission truck ownership is expected to become more favorable as the technology improves. For now, incentives are available to offset some of the vehicle and infrastructure costs to help fleets transition. For example, the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) provides point-of-sale rebates, but the HVIP waitlist now exceeds the funding available in Fiscal Year 19-20 and new voucher requests are on hold until further notice.

CTA has been actively engaged with CARB since the regulation’s inception, voicing the various operational issues the industry will face as a result of ACT and how those concerns can be mitigated. A public hearing is scheduled for December 12, 2019 to review the regulation and hear public comments.

Following the hearing, CARB may evaluate all comments received during the public comment periods, and present, at a subsequently scheduled public hearing, the final proposed regulatory language.

More information on the public hearing can be found here and the ACT regulation frequently asked questions can be found here.