California to Ban Sale of New Gasoline-Powered Passenger Vehicles Come 2035

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks in 2035, giving automakers 15 years' notice to boost their zero-emission efforts.

Drivers could still own such vehicles and sell them on the used market, but prohibit the sale of all new gas-powered vehicles, reported the Associated Press.

Newsom also wants medium and heavy duty commercial trucks to be 100 percent zero-emission by 2045 "where feasible."

California's population of nearly 40 million people currently accounts for more than one out of every 10 new cars sold in the United States. It also has the total highest number of cars on the road compared to other states. While countries such as Germany, France and Norway have similarly mandated the end of new gas vehicle sales, California would be the first state to do so.

Newsom signed an executive order directing state regulations to develop new regulations to meet the deadline and encouraged other states to follow suit.

"If you want to reduce asthma, if you want to mitigate the rise of sea level, if you want to mitigate a loss of ice sheets around the globe, then this is a policy for other states to follow," Newsom said.

Responses to the order varied; environmental groups praised Newsom, while the oil industry spoke against it and the automobile manufacturing industry expressed its commitment to increasing zero-emission vehicles through cooperation among governments and businesses rather than mandates.

According to Newsom, the order will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent. He also noted that electric vehicles (EVs) are "the next big global industry and California wants to dominate it."

Thirty-four EV manufacturers are headquartered in California, and the state accounts for approximately half of all EV sales in the country.