About 11 months ago, Governor Matt Meyer stated that he did not support the implementation of the zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) sales mandate promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. However, the regulation remains in the state’s Administrative Code, leading to questions about its current status and implications for the future.
Under the regulation, vehicle manufacturers were required to adhere to an annual schedule increasing the percentage of new ZEVs they delivered/sold to dealerships — primarily fully electric vehicles.
That mandate was to have begun with Model Year 2027 which began earlier this year, when 43% of vehicles delivered to dealerships were required to be ZEVs. That percentage was to have increased annually to 82% by Model Year 2032 before the requirement terminated the following year.
However, DNREC officials have confirmed that the regulation, while still in the code, is unenforceable and that the agency has informed car dealers they are not obligated to comply.
The rule cannot be enforced due to actions taken by the federal government last year. In early 2025, the U.S. Congress passed three joint resolutions revoking the authority of California and other states, including as Delaware, to adopt their own emissions standards. The authority was granted under Section 177 of the federal Clean Air Act. The resolutions were signed by the president last June.
California and 10 other Section 177 states have filed a lawsuit challenging the revocation: State of California et al. v. United States et al., No. 4:25-cv-04966-HSG (N.D. Cal.). That lawsuit is still proceeding through the court system and will likely be heard and decided this year.
DNREC officials have indicated that should the plaintiffs prevail, the agency will consider regulatory revisions at that time.
In a related development, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced on Thursday that the Justice Department, on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has filed a lawsuit to stop California from imposing an electric vehicle mandate through what are effectively state-specific mileage requirements for car manufacturers.
The officials maintain that federal law prohibits individual states from adopting regulations related to fuel economy and that California’s requirements would force carmakers to radically revamp their production lines, escalating car prices, restricting consumer choice, and undermining interstate commerce.
“Oppressive, expensive electric vehicle mandates drive up costs for American consumers and violate federal law,” said Attorney General Bondi. “California is using unlawful policies from the last administration to create exorbitant costs for our citizens.”
