California is the most aggressive state when it comes to EV-focused regulations. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has Advanced Clean Truck (ACT)–a regulation aimed at OEM zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) sales; Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF)–a regulation aimed at fleet’s purchasing and operating ZEV; and the often-overlooked CARB Omnibus. Then there are also the EPA GHG Phase 3 requirements.
In a recent story on Fleet Equipment, Cummins noted that those regulations are having an impact on heavy-duty engine sales right now.
“It’s complicating the market today,” said Tom Swenson, global regulatory affairs director at Cummins. “You all have heard the term ‘legacy engine?’ That’s last year’s product. We are limited to a certain percentage that we can sell by CARB Omnibus. Within ACT, they’ve got the ICE sales limits relative to electric sales.”
Since last year’s Cummins 200-milligram diesel engine is already considered a “legacy engine” in CARB’s view, does that mean that Cummins and other engine OEMs are already limited in how many truck engines they can sell in California?
“This year’s ICE-based truck sales in California have been affected,” said Jim Nebergall, executive director of market strategy at Cummins.
CARB’s ACT and ACF regulations are complicated, and EPA’s GHG Phase 3 requirements muddy the waters even more. On top of that, there are early signs that California will start enforcing the regulations.
“There is something called the Clean Truck Check that CARB implemented this year, and it has roadside monitoring stations,” said Mari Mantle, regulatory affairs manager at Cummins. “We’ve heard of fleets getting letters from CARB in the mail saying, basically, ‘Your truck is smoking. You need to bring this into compliance.’ So CARB is setting up roadside monitoring stations to check those trucks.”
You can read the full details on the Fleet Equipment site, which includes a deep dive into what the regulations require.
What this means for the aftermarket
In terms of how it potentially impacts the automotive aftermarket: This is the first sign we’ve seen of EV-focused regulations in practice. What has been a lot of talk and “what ifs” is becoming a reality. Commercial vehicle operations are already starting to see the impact on their business.
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