The Zero-Emission Vehicles Act of 2024 requires car manufacturers to gradually shift toward selling only electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Starting in 2027, manufacturers must sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission vehicles each year, with the percentages rising from 35% in 2027 to 100% by 2035. After 2035, manufacturers can only produce zero-emission vehicles.

To help manufacturers meet these targets, the bill creates a credit system. When a company sells a zero-emission vehicle, it earns a credit that counts toward meeting its annual requirement. If a manufacturer falls short, it can buy credits from other companies that exceeded their targets. This creates flexibility and allows companies to trade with each other. Manufacturers that fail to meet their requirements face penalties equal to twice the value of the credits they should have submitted, with that money going to the Highway Trust Fund.

The bill applies to any company that manufactures and sells at least 100 new passenger vehicles per year in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency will oversee the program, verify credits, and enforce the rules. The law recognizes that zero-emission vehicles reduce air pollution that causes thousands of premature deaths annually, cut greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, and create economic opportunities. States can still set their own vehicle emission standards, and the bill encourages manufacturers to offer diverse vehicle options to give consumers choices.

ZEVs Act of 2024

Merkley, Jeff

Zero-Emission Vehicles Act of 2024 or the ZEVs Act of 2024 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a zero-emission passenger vehicle standard. Specifically, the bill sets a schedule for increasing the percentage of zero-emission vehicles a vehicle manufacturer delivers for sale, culminating in a requirement to sell only zero-emission vehicles from 2035 on. The bill also requires the EPA to establish a zero-emission vehicle credit program that approves one zero-emission vehicle credit for each zero-emission vehicle delivered for sale in the United States and partial credits for qualified electric vehicles based on the estimated proportion of the mileage driven on the battery. Manufacturers that fail to meet the minimum required percentage of zero-emission vehicle sales must submit to the EPA a quantity of zero-emission vehicle credits sufficient to offset the excess. Credits may also be sold, transferred, exchanged, or retired in certain circumstances. The bill imposes civil penalties for the failure to comply with zero-emission vehicle credit standards, with collected penalties being deposited into the Highway Trust Fund. After 2035, the EPA must issue injunctions on the manufacture of passenger vehicles other than zero-emission vehicles.