On April 28, the California Air Resources Board approved the state’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule to require new commercial trucks to be electric in the next two decades.
The sale of new diesel big rigs will be banned by 2036, and all trucks must be zero-emissions by 2042. The board said the new rule is expected to generate $26.6 billion in health savings from “reduced asthma attacks, emergency room visits and respiratory illness.”
The board also claims the rule will save fleet owners an estimated $48 billion in their total operating costs from the transition through 2050.
Fleet owners operating vehicles for private services such as the U.S. Postal Service, along with state and local government fleets, will begin their transition toward zero-emission vehicles in 2024. Existing trucks will have the ability to continue to operate through their useful life. Drayage trucks will need to be zero-emissions by 2035.
“All other fleet owners will have the option to transition a percentage of their vehicles to meet expected zero-emission milestones, which gives owners the flexibility to continue operating combustion-powered vehicles as needed during the move toward cleaner technology,” the board said.
Last mile delivery and yard trucks must transition by 2035, work trucks and day cab tractors must transition by 2039 and sleeper cab tractors and specialty vehicles must transition by 2042.
