Pumping the brakes on CARB’s disinformation

OPINION – As multiple media outlets have reported, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is getting into the ring to defend the electric vehicle mandates they have foisted upon California’s families and businesses. It all began with a five-page memo, ironically subtitled, Misinformation vs. Facts.

Unfortunately, CARB’s staunch defense of anti-consumer regulations is a master class in disinformation – purposefully designed to deceive Californians.

Consider CARB’s assessment of market trends, claiming that, “California’s zero-emission vehicle market remains strong.”  Strong, in comparison to what?

New registrations for zero-emission vehicles year-over-year are essentially flat, according to the latest sales data collected by the California Energy Commission. In 2024, 25.3% of new vehicles sold were zero-emission, an increase of three-tenths of one percent in contrast to the average yearly sales growth of 5.7% since 2020. Talk about hitting the wall after the low base effect – when increases are always records because none have been set before – is played out.

CARB also states that, “consumer interest continues to grow.”

If consumer interest in purchasing mandated vehicles is continuing to grow, why would car manufacturers in the United States and Europe begin cancelling EV plant expansions and investments in battery factories – before the federal government even began talking about removing incentives? The answer is surprisingly simple, according to surveys conducted by J.D. Power: price, lack of charging infrastructure, and worries about range.

While CARB denies that their mandates disproportionately impact lower-income Californians because of the incentives and rebates available, the actual buyers believe otherwise. And, who can blame the consumer? When entering a car dealership, they saw the average retail price for a compact SUV, the most popular car category in America, was 58.5% higher for an EV than a traditional gas-powered car – an average of $17,326.

For low-income Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in California, the truth is CARB’s mandate affects these Californians even more disproportionately.

Charging infrastructure is a critical component for EV usage, and MIT researchers found Black and Hispanic California neighborhoods have 0.7 times the access to public chargers in comparison to wealthier, whiter neighborhoods. And, even if Black and Hispanic neighborhoods have access to public chargers, they are typically paying more for charging than those with access to home chargers.

Likewise, it is equally true that CARB’s mandate will affect quality of life in other ways – especially when one considers the testimony of one California state agency. The California Transportation Commission (CTC) directly contradicted CARB’s claim that “ZEV sales do not reduce revenues for local governments or vital public services.”

Testifying before a joint hearing of the Assembly and Senate Transportation Committees earlier this month on declining gas tax revenues, the CTC sounded yet another alarm on maintaining California’s 394,383 miles of roadway and 25,737 bridges. According to the CTC, the transition to EVs will reduce gas tax revenues by $31.1 billion over the next 10 years, exacerbating a more than $200 billion projected shortfall in overall funding needs for state and local transportation infrastructure.

By displaying a willful ignorance on market trends, disregarding the disproportionate impact mandates will have on low-income communities, and ignoring reports submitted by other California agencies to the state legislature, one has to wonder why CARB is set on jamming down on the accelerator instead of pumping the brakes on bad public policy.

Chris Ventura is a Director of Consumer Energy Alliance, the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses.