New Gas Cars Phased Out In NJ After 2035 Under Murphy's Proposed Plan

NEW JERSEY — Governor Phil Murphy advanced a plan Tuesday that would rev up New Jersey’s transition to zero-emission vehicles, phasing out the sale of new gas-powered light vehicles by 2035 in favor of electric cars, trucks, and SUVs.

Officials said Murphy's filing of the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) proposal with the Office of Administrative Law would be a major step in fighting climate change, as a move to all-electric vehicles would greatly reduce the number of harmful emissions into the environment.

This rule, which mirrors regulations adopted in California, has not been formally published yet and is not available to the press. Murphy’s office said the OAL will likely publish it in the New Jersey Register on Aug. 21, and the public would be able to comment on the proposed rule through Oct. 20.

Exceptions

The rule would only apply to light-duty vehicles, or vehicles that weigh roughly less than 10,000 pounds.

Under the proposal, used-vehicle lots can still sell gas-powered vehicles, and New Jersey car owners won’t be forbidden from driving them when the calendar gets to 2035. But, vehicle manufacturers would be required to ramp up production of zero-emission vehicles to reach a goal of 100 percent by 2035.

The NJ Monitor reports it is “expected to call for 35 percent of manufacturers’ vehicle sales to be electric vehicles beginning in 2026, increasing by between 6 and 8 percent each year until 2035.”

A $10 million appropriation was included in the FY 2024 New Jersey budget to fund installation of charging stations at businesses, public locations, and multi-unit residential buildings, said Murphy’s office.

“By filing the ACCII proposal, we build upon our nation-leading record of bold climate action while delivering on our promise to utilize every tool at our disposal to combat the intensifying climate crisis,” Murphy said . “Our commitment to bringing the ACCII proposal to fruition is a commitment to every New Jersey family and the air they breathe, air that will be cleaner and healthier tomorrow thanks to the steps we’re taking to reduce emissions today.”

Fighting Climate Change

The state also signed on to the Accelerating to Zero Coalition’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Declaration, a global agreement launched by the United Kingdom in 2021.

Shawn LaTourette, the Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, said the state has “the power and obligation” to reduce the effects of climate change.

“Through the adoption of zero-emissions vehicle standards, New Jersey can reduce its greatest source of climate damaging emissions, improve air quality and public health, and support a growing clean tech marketplace that will create even more green jobs in New Jersey and beyond,” LaTourette said.

Critics Sound Off

Critics of this plan point to rising costs for consumers, and a potential strain on the state power grid if manufacturers move to only-electric light vehicles at this pace.

Auto companies other than Tesla or EV startups are offering electric models nowadays, such as Chevrolet, Hyundai, and Nissan. But the market does not follow conventional rules, and electric cars are on average more expensive. As of July 2022, the average price of an electric vehicle was about $18,000 more than the average price of a gas vehicle according to U.S. News and World Report.

The New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, representing new car and truck dealers in the Garden State, said adopting the ACCII proposal will severely limit consumers’ choices and “will make new cars virtually unaffordable for working and middle-class consumers.”

“The governor’s plan to adopt ACCII would limit New Jersey consumer choice, drive up new vehicle costs and ultimately frustrate our shared goal of transforming the current vehicle fleet from internal combustion engine (ICE) to EV,” said NJ CAR President Jim Appleton.

“This heavy-handed government approach is likely to backfire, forcing manufacturers to send fewer vehicles to New Jersey, which will lead to consumers buying fewer new cars and holding on to their current ICE vehicles longer,” Appleton continued.

Assembly and Senate Republicans in New Jersey’s 30th legislative district (Monmouth and Ocean counties) said the rule would make living in the state much less affordable, and said stopping the production of gas-powered vehicles “only caters to the rich.”

“When you have people that are living on fixed incomes, they simply cannot afford to replace their affordable gas-powered vehicle with a more expensive electric car,” said Sen. Robert Singer (R-Lakewood).

Assemblyman Edward Thomson (R-Wall) and Appleton of NJ CAR both said that California is not a proper model for New Jersey to follow for EV regulations.

“More and more New Jersey consumers are thinking about buying an EV, but consumer interest in EVs is nowhere near the levels mandated by the California architects of ACCII,” said Appleton. “New Jersey is NOT California.”

Thomson said that the state’s electric grid will not be able to supply the energy required to power millions of EVs by 2035.

“The added strain of charging more EVs will cause energy costs to skyrocket for utility customers,” said Thomson. “We know that Governor Murphy likes to follow California’s lead, but the impact of energy brownouts and blackouts pose a significant risk to the lives of seniors. We cannot allow similar misguided policies to take effect here in New Jersey.”