Pub. 16 2017-2018 Issue 3

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S 15 new jersey auto retailer W W W . N J C A R . O R G focused on building and supporting consumer adoption of ZEVs. The most important areas of focus have been public awareness and outreach, fueling networks and incentives. Working with our fellow ZEV states, CARB is seeing these themes repeated across many of the Northeast states, with joint-outreach programs under development, a state focus on charging station deployment and incentive programs becoming more readily available. Following are a few common questions CARB hears from dealers regarding the ZEV Program. What if customers don’t buy ZEVs? The ZEV mandate is a requirement on automakers to produce and deliver ZEVs for sale. The concerned dealer will notice the nuance that they aren’t required to ensure the ZEVs are sold. And California was worried about that too in the early years so the reg- ulation, up through 2017, required that ZEVs be “placed in service” before the ZEV credits used to demonstrate compliance with the regulation were awarded to the automakers. This ensured there was ample motivation on the automakers to ensure that cars were priced right, that dealerships were well-supported with training and that automakers were marketing the ZEVs to attract customers. But, in 2018, the regulation returns to the model of “produce and offer for sale”. It does this to acknowledge that ZEVs are becoming more mainstream, more model variety is available and the sales volume will be much greater in coming years. The ZEVs coming to market are meeting customer expectations and needs. California no longer felt it was necessary to track ZEVs through to the “placed in service” level. Ultimately, the investment being made by the auto- makers is great enough and the volumes they will need to sell are significant enough that they are still motivated to ensure the right price, the dealer support and the needed marketing to move ZEVs into the market successfully. Will my dealership be forced to sell ZEVs? The model we’ve seen in California has been that the dealers who are motivated to sell ZEVs are the ones that automakers are focusing on. It doesn’t help the market at all to have an unmotivated dealer forced to sell ZEVs. But those that are motivated have been rewarded with successful sales, happy customers and positive reputation with the ZEV-buying public. From California’s experience, ZEV buyers typically have an above-average level of education and income and come to the dealership well-educated about the vehicles they want to buy. How domy sales personnel answer untraditional questions about these cars? (e.g. fueling, rebates, charging etiquette) It’s true that the customer for a ZEV may have a host of questions not typically asked by the average car buyer: • Where do I fuel this car? • Are there any tax rebates or local incentives if I buy this car? • If I park next to a charging station where another ZEV is parked and it looks like they are done charging, can I pull their plug and start charging my car? This is where knowing the local market and working with local resources is most helpful. The federal government hosts a national database of alternative fuel sites at the Alternative Fuel Data Center ( https://www.afdc.energy.gov/) that shows all the publicly-available charging and fueling sites for ZEVs. New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection hosts a website dedicated to driving green ( http://www.drivegreen.nj.gov/) that will answer many questions about rebates, charging programs and general information about driving EVs. The New Jersey Electric Auto Association is a great connection to make with local EV activities and programs (https:// njeaa.org/) . The market for ZEVs is at a turning point. California is seeing month-over-month growth in this sector, as is the rest of the nation. The models coming to market are increasingly driver-friendly and the efforts on the part of states to support that market with public awareness campaigns and resources, fueling infrastructure and incentives are all helping to bring consumers around to buying ZEVs. The cars, the resources and the customers are there to see the market for ZEVs take off. With the backbone of the ZEV regulation to drive the market, we look forward to a zero emission future and cleaner air for all to breath. Analisa Bevan is Assistant Division Chief of Emissions Compliance, Automotive Regulations and Science at the California Air Resources Board. She can be reached at 916.323.8966 or, via email at Analisa.bevan@arb.ca.gov.