California Emissions Debates All-electric Vs. Hybrid

As automakers displayed new plug-in hybrids and electric cars at the Los Angeles Auto Show, they also drew battle lines in a regulatory fight over California's ambitious zero-emissions vehicle targets. Many of the companies argue that regulators should concentrate less on the number of zero-emissions cars on the road and more on the number of zero-emissions miles driven. That can best be achieved, they say, by getting more drivers into plug-in hybrids — which can travel 25 to 50 miles or more on electricity before a gas engine kicks in and extends the range.

Environmental groups and electric car maker Tesla Motors disagree. They want the state to prioritize cars with no gasoline engine at all, such as Tesla's Model S sedan.

That's setting up a scrum over so-called zero-emissions environmental credits, which are the main currency of California's green car regulation. Automakers can either earn the credits by selling green vehicles — or buy them from other automakers, such as Tesla — to comply with Air Resources Board mandates.

The more internal combustion engine cars an auto company sells in California, the more credits it must submit to the state. Tesla wants the requirements on traditional automakers ramped up. Giving those carmakers more credits for plug-in hybrids, the company argues, represents a lower standard.

Regulators have already given the traditional companies too many breaks, said Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla's Vice President of Business Development. And that means the state is far behind at meeting its goals in reducing tailpipe pollution.

If car companies produce electric vehicles at about their current rate, there are enough credits either already banked or in the pipeline for the industry to meet its requirements through 2022, according to Tesla's analysis. And that will leave California hundreds of thousands of vehicles short of its 2025 target of 1.5 million vehicles, O'Connell said.

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