Stuck in Neutral: Why Policies Favoring Zero-Emission Vehicles May Not Take Us Forward

Abstract

General Motors introduced the first consumer electric car at the 1990 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show.1 That same year, California introduced an ambitious plan to have zero-emission vehicles reach 2% of total California car sales by 1998 -- the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Program. While the plan did not reach its original goal, the state has seen a slight increase in the number of zero-emission vehicles, due in part to the regulatory scheme that began with the 1990 plan. Currently, about 5% of all car sales in the California market are characterized as “plug-in vehicles.” In 2012, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued an executive order to help expand the commercialization of zero-emission vehicles, by growing the zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and increasing the number of zero-emission vehicles in California’s fleet. California is the leader in renewable energy, so it is no surprise that the state was the first to draft policies that encourage the use of zeroemission vehicles. Several other states and the federal government have followed California’s lead, enacting policies that bolster the market share of zero-emission vehicles. In this comment, I will examine several of the initiatives that attempt to increase the share *1008 of zero-emission vehicles in the market and then assess what needs to be done to ensure this transition is done sustainably.