The state of California has decided to ban the sale of brand-new combustion engine vehicles by the year 2035. This is part of the state’s effort to have only “zero emission” vehicles on the road, such as hydrogen and electric vehicles.

This bill accelerates the production of these vehicles, starting in 2026. The bill requires that a certain percentage of the total cars produced is composed of zero-emission vehicles, this percentage is expected to grow every single year.

The policy will not prevent people from continuing to use their combustion engine vehicles, as the main goal of this policy is to restrict the production of combustion vehicles in an attempt to phase them out. The sale of used vehicles will still be allowed, but purchasing a brand-new combustion vehicle after 2035 will not be possible in California.

The target goal in 2026 for the phaseout is to require 35% of all vehicles produced to either be electric or hydrogen vehicles; this requirement increases to 68% by 2030. The average lifespan of a car in today’s time is about ten to fifteen years, this means that with this policy, it is expected to see a majority of combustion vehicles off of the roads by 2050.

Even if a person were to continue using their combustion vehicle after 2050, there would be quite a bit of hassle as the situation would flop, there would now be more electric vehicle charging stations as opposed to gas stations. Finding a gas station would now become a difficult task.

While this is quite a bold move by the state, there is still a question as to whether or not this bill will actually be successful, as electric vehicles themselves have many limitations. Along with their limitations is the fact that the process it takes to produce and keep an electric car running is a process that releases quite a bit of pollutants as well.

“At the end of the day, electric cars still need to be charged, this power is usually fueled by coal-fueled sources or the use of diesel generators. Along with this is the production of the batteries for these vehicles which involves mining using heavy machinery, and then shipping these metals out to be processed” stated Senior Samuel Torres.

A large question comes with this bill, should people not be free to choose what they purchase? At the end of the day, modern combustion vehicles now have extremely advanced emission systems that remove a large amount of pollutants. Along with this, combustion vehicle owners still pay the same, if not more taxes to use the roadways in California. It seems questionable to completely revoke the option of a combustion engine vehicle for buyers in California.

“The introduction of electric cars is great and all but it shouldn’t stop people getting cars that they grew up loving for many years” stated Junior Jonathan Copeland.