California EV gold rush starts

California aims to ban fossil fuel new car sales in 2035.

The ‘EV sales only’ message has come from governor Gavin Newsom, who signed an order on an electric Ford Mustang Mach-E requiring regulators to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and stop the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars in 15 years.

That’s expected to drive up EV demand and force some auto manufacturers to make the switch early.

“There’s an arms race going on here,” says Mary Nichols who chairs the California Air Resources Board which regulates emissions, Bloomberg

reports.

It’s expected the announcement will add to worldwide momentum combatting climate change, China promising to go carbon neutral by 2060 and many more countries – including the United Kingdom, France and Canada – phasing out ICE.

California has its work cut out to meet such a commitment.

Less than 8% of new vehicles registered in California through the first half of the year were electric and in 2035 BloombergNEF predicts nearly half of US passenger vehicle sales will be battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

While the goal is “aggressive” it has the potential to speed the pace of EV adoption among automakers, says IHS Markit principal automotive analyst Stephanie Brinley, according to Bloomberg.

It’s yet unknown whether California will allow PHEV sales to continue and whether the rest of the US will follow suit on the order, much expected to depend on the coming presidential election.

Bloomberg says Newsom’s executive order doesn’t set out how California will ensure only zero-emissions cars are eventually sold.

The move is expected to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions by 35%.

It’s also unknown at this stage how Australia and New Zealand will react to the California edict, especially with EV demand globally widely predicted to soar.

New Zealand has a general election on October 17, with only the opposition National Party so far announcing an EV plan to have 80,000 EVs on the road by 2023.