New York Joins California in Requiring 100% Zero-Emissions New Vehicle Sales By 2035

(Images: New York Governor’s Office)

New York is the second state to require all total electric new vehicle sales by 2035.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced this directive to New York’s State Department of Environmental Conversation (DEC) on Friday. The timing, in part, comes down to commemorating National Drive Electric Week, but more emphatically as a step to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, according to an official statement from the Governor’s Office.

“New York is a national climate leader and an economic powerhouse, and we’re using our strength to help spur innovation and implementation of zero-emission vehicles on a grand scale,” Hochul said. “With sustained state and federal investments, our actions are incentivizing New Yorkers, local governments and businesses to make the transition to electric vehicles.”

The approach of New York’s directive is similar to the steps California is taking. By model year 2026, the state will require 35% of new vehicle sales within its borders to be zero-emissions models. That percentage steps up to 68% by 2030, before requiring all new vehicle sales to be electric models by calendar year 2035. In the interim, the state also plans to reform emissions standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks and gas-powered medium-duty vehicles. At this point, it has not laid out exactly what the new standards will be, though they are likely to be far tighter than today’s regulations.

The exact rules are still in the works, outlining restrictions on internal combustion vehicles

We still have to wait and see how the proposed zero-emissions regulation takes shape. Gov. Hochul’s Friday announcement lays out a broad roadmap to the state’s EV transition but does not include the fine details. When that legislation and the DEC’s rulemaking is complete, the agency will post the full list of regulations to its website.

Speaking of electric vehicles, check out one of our latest videos on the TFLEV channel below: