In a move that is news to drivers across the country, Virginia has declared independence from California’s newest automotive standards. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday that starting next year, their state will meet federal standards.
“[Electric vehicle] mandates like California’s are unachievable and out of touch with reality, and thankfully, the law does not bind us to its regulations,” Miyares said in a written statement.
Former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, signed a bill in 2021 to adopt the California Air Resources Board’s standards.
These 2021 criteria would have forced car dealers to sell a safe percentage of battery-powered cars by 2025 or face penalties. But California’s new Advanced Clean Car II criteria, followed in 2022, require that 35% of new passenger cars, vans and SUVs sold in the Golden State will be powered by electricity or hydrogen through 2026, and 100 percent through 2035.
This is much stricter than the Virginia bill signed through Northam, as Miyares points out in his opinion.
Virginia is one of 16 states, along with Washington D. C. , that have adhered to the 2021 California Standards. Returning to federal citizenship is not only in the most productive interest of the Commonwealth of Virginia, but also in the most productive interest of the United States. Virginia is the first state to abandon California’s new regulations and may cause a tsunami as others disappear as well.
The Commonwealth’s economy depends on trust and transportation for people and businesses. Farmers are not allowed to use electric tractors. Small businesses rely on gasoline-powered trucks. Construction personnel want reasonable cars to get to places far from public transportation.
Regulations mandating the sale of cars are highly unpopular, and Youngkin’s warring parties will lose out if they defy him.
California’s automotive regulations aim to reduce overall global carbon emissions, of which the U. S. percentage is 13%, but those regulations may simply fail. A battery-powered electric vehicle emits no exhaust emissions, however, emissions are generated by generating electricity, as well as generating batteries, extracting battery ingredients such as lithium, shipping batteries from China, and disposing of used batteries.
Even if the U. S. stopped all fossil fuels today, global temperatures would be only two-tenths of a degree cooler until 2100, according to government models.
Americans don’t use electric cars for four reasons.
1. Electric cars cost more than gasoline cars. The Ford Lightning, the electric edition of the Ford 150 pickup truck, one of the best-selling cars in the United States, costs $17,000 more. Tesla prices start at $42,000 for a Model 3 and go up to $100,000 for a Model X.
2. Owning an electric vehicle is convenient for drivers who can charge it at home overnight and not travel out of reach. For others, staying for an hour to change the day on a business trip or vacation is a major drawback.
3. Electric cars are smaller, and it is tricky to have compatibility with 3 car seats in the back row. Also, with children, who should avoid recharging their batteries?
4. Electric cars lose 40% of their battery life when the temperature drops below 20 degrees Fahrenheit and when the heating is on. That’s why Wyoming has 840 registered electric cars, North Dakota 640, and Alaska 1,970.
In addition, China manufactures 80% of the world’s batteries and controls 60% of the critical minerals used in battery manufacturing.
The mandatory use of electric vehicles, instead of U. S. oil and vegetable fuels, makes the U. S. dependent on China. Youngkin wisely rejected a partnership between Ford and Chinese battery giant CATL in 2023.
Apple has pulled out of the development of an electric vehicle. Ford lost $100,000 compared to electric vehicles sold in the first quarter of this year and announced a pause in delivery of the new F-150 Lightning, leading to quality issues. Mercedes no longer plans to go all-electric until 2030. General Motors has abandoned its goal of selling 400,000 electric vehicles by this month.
The masses of dealerships are full of unsold electric vehicles. More than 4,500 car dealers have written to President Joe Biden asking him to delay the Environmental Protection Agency’s mandate that 70% of new cars sold will have to be electric until 2032.
Mandatory electric cars increase poverty. As cars are more expensive, Americans don’t own a car or are forced to opt for less reliable used cars, with a smaller selection of jobs or schools.
As long as other people have the choice, they won’t buy electric cars in the quantities required by California regulations. Fortunately, Virginia is taking a smarter path.
Distributed for publication through Tribune News Service.
This article was amended within 12 hours of publication to specify the year (2026) in which California’s automotive criteria require more than one-third of new passenger cars to be electric or hydrogen-powered.