New York will ban the sale of gas cars, following the example of California.

California recently outlined a plan to end the sale of new gas cars by 2035 as electric and hybrid cars become more readily available and climate change continues to worsen.

New York State has now announced similar plans.

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has asked the Department of Environmental Conservation to require “all new passenger cars, pickup trucks and SUVs” to be emission-free by 2035. Note that this rule only applies to vehicle sales. new: Sales of used gasoline cars can continue and gasoline cars are not banned from the streets. However, the state is also planning “new pollution standards” for light gas trucks and medium gas vehicles, which could also affect cars that can be sold or registered in New York.

New York said in a press release: “Proposing proposed state regulations is a critical step to further electrify the transportation sector and help New York meet its climate goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 85% by 2050, reducing at the same time air pollution, especially in disadvantaged communities. “

The new guidelines follow exactly the same timeline as in California. Zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) will need to account for at least 35% of all car sales from a particular manufacturer in 2026, with this percentage increasing slightly each year thereafter. ZEVs will need to account for at least 68% of sales in 2030 and finally 100% in 2035. New York tried to pass similar legislation in the late 1990s and early 2000s, starting with 2% of sales in 2002. The project was delayed, then rejected, due to a combination of political pressure from car manufacturers and limited battery technology.

The New York announcement does not explicitly mention whether plug-in hybrid vehicles, which have combustion engines in addition to rechargeable batteries, are included in the ban. Hybrids are generally equated with ZEVs, although they can emit greenhouse gases, but we contacted New York State for confirmation. We will update this article when (or if) we receive a response.

The state is also rolling out new discount programs for zero-emission vehicles and subsidies for charging infrastructure as part of the “EV Make Ready” initiative. Electric cars aren’t practical without the necessary charging infrastructure, so it’s good to see governments focus on that too.