California Votes to Ban All Fossil-Fuel Vehicle Sales by 2035

The policy has widespread implications for California, the automotive industry, and global environmentalism as a whole.

As of now, 2034 will be your last call for ordering a gasoline-powered vehicle in California. As of August 25, 2022, the California Air Resource Board (CARB) voted in a bill that will officially ban new cars from being sold with gasoline engines as of 2035. This bill, dubbed CARB Advanced Clean Cars II, marks just one of a host of grand, sweeping legislation changes aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, which experts predict will be irreversible by 2050 at this rate. As a state directly impacted with the worst drought it’s experienced in 1,200 years, California intends to lead this charge. According to governor Gavin Newsom (D), this bill “is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change,” and vows to see the policy enacted by its target date.

Because of California’s significant demographic, CARB Advanced Clean Cars II is likely to precede similar policies across the world. Various other countries instilled similar effects in the past. But as CARB spokesperson Daniel Sperling told the New York Times, “Other countries and other states, they watch what California does. And so this will reverberate around the world.” The state of California represents the largest percentage of automotive sales in the United States. As such, this is likely to influence automotive development towards partial or wholly-replacing fleets with zero-emissions equivalents. The policy itself covers several stipulations related to the automotive industry specifically, as outlined here:

• The policy only affects new vehicles sold in the state of California. Therefore, any car sold prior to the deadline, or used vehicles, are not affected.
• All cars up to light-duty trucks and SUVs are subject to this policy as well.
• Zero-emissions is measured as a vehicle with no greenhouse-gas emissions. Therefore, the policy allows alternative-fuel combustion vehicles if they don’t produce carbon-based greenhouse gas pollutants.
• The policy doesn’t affect larger vehicles such as medium-duty trucks and semis.

A cleaner road network for a better tomorrow

CARB Advanced Clean Cars II affects all automotive manufacturers directly and equally. Therefore, the policy’s likely to motivate most, if not all, mainstream brands to invest in their own unique systems for zero-emission vehicles. This research extends to various fields, such as battery electric cars, hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen engines, biofuels, and so on. However, such development takes time, along with the necessity of building up infrastructure to support such vehicles. Therefore, the date of 2035 remains as a best-case scenario. After all, such development is far more complicated than fitting California-compliant exhaust, for example. That said, Lexus already boasts an advantage here, elaborated on later.

According to industry experts, the bill stands as a landmark towards fighting climate change, but even this may not be enough. California’s stated goal is for carbon-neutrality by 2045. Meaning that we may find that this act precedes a host of many other broad changes across the board, affecting the most heavily-polluting industries in the state. And thanks to California’s global influence, many states are following suit, with a total of 17 currently in talks to implement similar regulations by as soon as next year. With such developments on the horizon, the United States may soon take the reins in the global fight against the ravaging effects we’re seeing every day.

What this means for Lexus and for us as enthusiasts

Lexus hasn’t been sitting idly by this whole time waiting for such a policy to take effect. In fact, Toyota has been investing in hydrogen technology since the early 1990s. Its fledgling FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) technology birthed one of the first functional FCV vehicles, the EVS13. Debuting in 1996 in Osaka, the EVS13 marked the first step in a long and storied history of Toyota and hydrogen technology. Today, Toyota fields the Mirai (Japanese for “Future”), one of the first FCVs successfully sold commercially. With the Mirai, Toyota’s already mass-producing a fully-developed FCV system and continues development to lessen the end-product costs and development time. Such technology certainly wouldn’t be out-of-place in a Lexus. And it’s not a stretch to assume that Lexus may place such an engine in their own vehicles in the near-future, either.

Now, what about for the enthusiast crowd?

FCVs handle and behave like electric cars. The Mirai itself isn’t particularly noteworthy for its excitement factor. Well, Toyota has an answer for that as well: the hydrogen internal combustion engine. Such an engine, historically, featured less power than a conventional gas-powered engine due to energy density. However, as of just this year, Toyota proved us all wrong with their Super Taikyu ST2 Corolla, a hydrogen-powered monstrosity. The Corolla, using a modified Yaris engine, managed equal power to the GR Yaris production model. It even lapped Tsukuba Circuit in almost 1:03 dead. So, in short, if you’re looking for a car that has the look, feel, and ride quality of a gas-powered car but is zero-emissions, Toyota has you covered. And with the next-generation LFA around the corner, it’s again easy to speculate what sort of engine Lexus may install in that beast.

Ultimately, only time will tell. But it’s comforting to know that the enthusiast crowd has options. And, naturally, used cars are still available. Although, expect used car prices to balloon thanks to this policy. So if you’re lucky enough to have a brand-new F-marque Lexus, be sure to hold on to it. Because this coming generation is likely to be the last gas-powered Lexus lineup ever. But certainly not the last exciting lineup, either.

Featured photo sourced from Pexels, public domain.

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M.C. Cuccio

I've been an automotive aficionado since I had baby teeth. My path was set when I first leaned on my grandfather's classic Porsche as I learned how to walk. One of my first memories was my mother sitting me behind the wheel of her Pontiac and talking me through the instrumentation and controls. Even though I was a mere three or four years old, I was instantly sold, and filled notebooks with technical drawings, sketches, and collections of manuals of all sorts of cars. I've actively tracked developments in automotive and motorsport technology for well over 20 years, and pride myself on being intimately familiar with the functions and history of a wide range of vehicles.

My primary goal as a writer and enthusiast is to equally learn and share what I've learned in a constructive and interesting way. I maintain connections with people from around the world and can read technical manuals in Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, granting me access to a wide array of resources. My primary focuses are deep-dives into historical topics, motorsport discussion, and learning about the complex mechanical elements of such vehicles. As such, my research is never perfect; as anyone into cars will attest, the more you learn about cars, the more you realize how little you actually know. Therefore, I always welcome fresh knowledge and corrections to help me better my work in the future.