Automotive News says that the third of the “Big Three” companies, global company Stellantis, has stopped sending gas-only cars to 14 U.S. states without a request from a customer. Instead, they are sending only hybrid vehicles. All of these states follow or plan to follow the rules for car pollution that the California Air Resource Board, which is in the coastal state, has made. This problem influences Stellantis more than other cities because it has fewer hybrid cars and no battery electric cars. However, this problem is not unique to Stellantis. The problem is caused by a CARB rule that says how to measure how cars affect the environment. CARB looks at how many BMW, Ford, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Honda cars are sold across the country to figure out how much pollution they cause. CARB calculates every other automaker’s fleet emissions based only on sales in places that follow the board’s rules. Stellantis is now stuck because of this. It no longer sends ICE-only cars to those 14 states unless a customer asks for them. Automotive News says that more than a third of all Americans, or about 36%, live in these CARB states. Dealers agree it’s hard, but many people are willing to wait. Others are still determining, and many worry that it will make people not want to buy cars in the state. It’s sometimes more challenging than it sounds. CARB says all states north of Maryland on the east and west coasts, except New Hampshire, must follow its rules. Soon, Virginia, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona will have to follow the same rules as California. The most recent CARB rules won’t go into effect until 2026, but Stellantis thinks it needs to be ready sooner rather than later. It has to deal with the destructive results of putting off electricity, which could have prevented this sad turn of events.
