Policy update
Advanced Clean Cars II: The next phase of California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle and Low-Emission Vehicle regulations
The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) and Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) programs of California’s Advanced Clean Cars (ACC) regulations, originally enacted in 2012 for model years 2015 to 2025 for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles, have been effective policies for creating and growing the market for electric vehicles and reducing road transport greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emission. As of September 2022, 15 other states have adopted both California ACC LEV and ZEV regulations, and two states, have adopted LEV regulations.
California adopted the new Advanced Clean Cars II regulations (ACC II) in August 2022. The ACC II sets annual ZEV and plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) sales requirements from model years 2026 to 2035 (ZEV program) and increasingly more stringent exhaust and evaporative emission standards (LEV program) to ensure automakers gradually phase out new sales of internal combustion engine vehicles. This policy update discusses the key provisions of the ZEV and LEV programs in ACC II and how they differ from ACC. Topics covered include ZEV credit (ACC) and value (ACC II) requirements, additional value opportunities such as the Environmental Justice values, ZEV and PHEV technical requirements, credit/value accounting, and changes to the LEV greenhouse gas and pollutant emission standards and test procedures.