WASHINGTON, DC – The Alliance for Automotive Innovation released the following statement today after the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved final Advanced Clean Cars II regulations.
John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation said: “Automakers are making massive investments in electrification – including manufacturing facilities and partnerships to produce vehicles, batteries and components inside the United States. This is a commitment that is producing game-changing EVs and transforming transportation.
“California today is about 18 percent EV market share and leading the nation which stands at 6.3 percent market share. Despite this positive trend, California’s EV sale mandates are still very aggressive – even in California with decades of supportive EV policies – and will be extremely challenging. That’s just a fact.
“Why? Whether or not these requirements are realistic or achievable is directly linked to external factors like inflation, charging and fuel infrastructure, supply chains, labor, critical mineral availability and pricing, and the ongoing semiconductor shortage. These are complex, intertwined and global issues well beyond the control of either CARB or the auto industry.
“What we’ve said to CARB and others is that getting more EVs on the road (a goal we unequivocally share and work every day to advance) must go hand-in-hand with other policies that together will ultimately determine the success of this transition.
“So the questions policymakers should be asking: are critical mineral and battery supply chains in place? Will the critical mineral mining and processing happen in the U.S.? Can customers afford the vehicles? Do all communities have the same access to level 2 home charging as single-family homeowners? Resolving these questions will determine the ultimate success of the California regulations and the EV transformation.”