Vermont needs to unhitch its wagon from California mandates that determine what kind of cars and trucks you can buy, as well as increase the purchase price.

The California Cars and Trucks Rules limit choices and increase costs for small businesses. As the mandates ramp up, Vermonters will have fewer new gas-powered choices. By 2035, the only new passenger cars and trucks available will be electric, and medium/heavy-duty truck options will be severely limited.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS – small business owners are the most respected members of their communities and lawmakers take notice when they speak up.

Take Action TODAY: Hit the Brakes on California Cars and Trucks – NFIB VT

BACKGROUND

While electric vehicles have positive features and may work for some, the current battery technology – limited range, long refueling times, and higher upfront costs – makes them impractical for many Vermonters who regularly drive long distances and transport heavy equipment.

California Cars: In 2022, Vermont regulators decided to follow California by mandating that light-duty cars and trucks sold in the state be zero-emission (electric) vehicles.

Starting next year, 35% of new passenger cars and trucks sold need to be electric. Absent radical improvements in technology, Vermonters’ only choice for a new car or light-duty truck will be electric starting in 2035.

You can learn more about the California Cars Rule here.

California Trucks: Vermont also adopted California’s “Advanced Clean Trucks,” which require more than half of medium/heavy-duty vans and trucks and 40% of truck tractors available for sale to be electric by 2035. Electric versions of these trucks and vans often cost double or more than their diesel counterparts.

Starting in 2026, Vermont’s California Trucks Rule requires automakers to sell – and truck dealers to stock – an increasing number of electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

Absent delay, the rule goes into effect next year with the following sales mandates:

Class 2b-3 Trucks

Minimum Electric Sale Mandate: 10% in 2026, 55% by 2035

Examples: Ford F-250, Ford F-350, Sliverado 2500, Silverado 3500, RAM 2500, RAM 3500

Class 4-8 Trucks

Minimum Electric Sale Mandate: 13% in 2026, 75% by 2035

Examples: Ford F-450, RAM 4500; walk-in delivery trucks; box trucks; tow trucks; cement trucks; dump trucks

Class 7-8 Tractor Trucks

Minimum Electric Sale Mandate: 10% in 2026, 40% by 2035

Examples: truck tactor

You can see the full schedule and learn more about the mandate here: Advanced Clean Trucks | Department of Environmental Conservation.

As New York and Massachusetts are learning the hard way, government mandates and practical reality do not always line up. Because an arbitrary number of sales must be electric, the California Truck Rule has led to a slowdown in sales and registration of heavy-duty trucks in those states.

The cost, long charging times, and lack of heavy truck electric charging infrastructure make electric trucks and big rigs impractical.

Unlike California Cars, big truck buyers won’t be able to buy out of state and register in Vermont – making it possible that small businesses which rely on truck tractors, box vans, and other heavy trucks may look to relocate in non-California Rules states (like New Hampshire).

A coalition representing thousands of Vermont businesses – including NFIB VT – is calling for lawmakers to take action before it’s too late here.

TAKE ACTION

Tell your lawmakers to STOP California Cars and Trucks and GO with H.65 (Rep. Mark Higley)/S.101 (Sen. Scott Beck) to repeal these mandates.

Take action TODAY: Hit the Brakes on California Cars and Trucks – NFIB VT