California should ignore automaker opposition and not back down from its zero-emission vehicle mandates, says a new California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff report prepared after reviewing findings of several expert research panels and public-hearing testimony, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The 174-page report doesn’t make a formal recommendation to the board, which will consider the program’s future on Sept. 7, but does reject automaker claims there’s no market for EVs, noting “continuity of ZEV production is critical” to the program’s success. Even with the higher initial costs and a lack of public awareness of EVs, the report says there’s a market for thousands of EVs in the state and that if automakers built and marketed more of them, costs would fall with volume. It also recommends various state and local tax benefits and other incentives to help cut EV costs.