The California Advanced Clean Car II (ACCII) Rule, adopted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in November, will allow ONLY electric vehicles (EVs) to be available for sale in New Jersey by 2035. This extreme government mandate limits consumer choice and threatens to make new cars unaffordable for working and middle-class families.
NJ CAR conducted an aggressive grassroots campaign against ACCII, asking dealers, dealership employees, and others to contact their elected officials to voice their opposition. The campaign saw nearly 900 individuals send nearly 3,600 emails to their legislators. Three legislators (Senator James Holzapfel, Assemblyman John Catalano and Assemblyman Gregory McGuckin) received more than 100 emails, three others (Senator Vin Gopal, Assemblywoman Kim Eulner and Assemblywoman Marilyn Piperno) received more than 75 emails, and dozens more received more than 40 emails each. Governor Murphy also received nearly 600 emails voicing opposition to ACCII.
Our campaign got the attention of many New Jersey State Senators and Assemblymembers, including dozens who spoke out or officially filed comments opposing the adoption of this rule and its unrealistic mandates. The Governor doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge the valid concerns many of them, on both sides of the aisle, have raised.
The Governor has said ACCII “does not impose obligations on consumers or car dealers,” but that is simply not true. The rule explicitly prohibits consumers from buying any new vehicle that isn’t an EV from in-State dealerships come 2035. Dealers want to sell what consumers want to buy, but they can only offer what automakers build and allocate to them. The extreme California mandate will disrupt New Jersey’s new car marketplace in ways that will have a profound impact on consumers and car dealers by limiting choice and driving up the price of ALL vehicles.
This heavy-handed government approach is likely to backfire. If consumers cannot afford an EV or it doesn’t meet their family needs, they will hold on to their gas-powered vehicle longer or simply won’t buy an EV HERE. Instead, they will shop out-of-state to buy the vehicle that fits their budget and meets their needs.
New Jersey’s neighborhood new car and truck dealerships are “ALL IN” on EVs. Indeed, they already offer 40+ vehicles with a plug, with that number growing to 140 models in every vehicle category and at every price point.
ACCII calls for an increase in EV sales from the current 9% to 43% by 2027. The mandate continues increasing until it reaches 100% percent by 2035, which is not realistic. New Jersey consumers have already demonstrated that the demand for EVs can’t keep pace with the more modest mandates already imposed under the current California Clean Car rules. Policymakers should focus on getting New Jersey EV sales to 15% or 20% before pushing for even higher mandates.
The DEP has chosen to ignore other options, such as the stringent federal clean car rules recently proposed by the Biden Administration. If New Jersey opted to follow the federal EPA proposal, automakers would still be required to build and deliver more EVs for sale in New Jersey, but consumers would be afforded greater choice, and there would be less impact on vehicle affordability.
In the end, consumers will decide when New Jersey becomes a 100% EV market.
