New Mexico is about to launch a rulemaking on regulations that would largely mirror California’s ZEV sales requirements, but with one key difference.

Instead of following California’s Advanced Clean Cars II mandate that all new cars sold in the state be zero-emission in model year 2035 and beyond, New Mexico would cap the zero-emission requirement at 82%, starting with model year 2032.

New Mexico is also moving toward zero-emission requirements for trucks, similar to California’s Advanced Clean Trucks rule.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Monday that the state plans to enact advanced clean car and clean truck rules. The announcement came during a visit to the Chalmers Ford dealership in Rio Rancho.

“These rules will speed up much-needed investment in New Mexico’s electric vehicle and clean hydrogen fueling infrastructure, create new job opportunities and, most importantly, result in cleaner and healthier air for all New Mexicans to breathe,” Lujan Grisham said.

Advanced Clean Cars and Advanced Clean Trucks would require vehicle manufacturers to deliver an increasing percentage of zero-emission vehicles for sale each year. As proposed, New Mexico’s clean cars rule would start with a 35% ZEV requirement for model year 2026, increasing each year up to an 82% requirement for model year 2032 and beyond.

In contrast, California’s ZEV requirements in Advanced Clean Cars II continue to increase until reaching 100% in model year 2035. California will also allow sales of some plug-in hybrids. (See Calif. Adopts Rule Banning Gas-powered Car Sales in 2035.)

Requirements under New Mexico’s proposed Advanced Clean Trucks would start with model year 2027 and vary depending on vehicle class. For model year 2035, the zero-emission requirement would be 55% for Class 2b-3 trucks, 75% for Class 4-8, and 40% for Class 7-8 tractors. Those percentages are the same as in California’s Advanced Clean Trucks program.

The proposed rules would apply to automakers, rather than auto dealers or consumers, and would not prohibit the sale or ownership of new or used gas-powered vehicles.

Colorado’s Plan Similar

Environmental advocates who have been urging New Mexico to update its car and truck standards were pleased with Lujan Grisham’s announcement.

“It’s a big step forward,” said Noah Long, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Those are really important rules.”

Long said New Mexico’s proposal is similar to an Advanced Clean Cars regulation being considered in Colorado, where increasing ZEV requirements for automakers would stop at 82% in 2032.

NRDC’s analysis has shown “significant benefits” of the rule through 2032, and even more benefits if required ZEV percentages continued to increase. Long noted that the states could amend their regulations to increase stringency in later years.

In addition to Colorado and New Mexico, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Rhode Island are considering adoption of Advanced Clean Cars II this year, according to NRDC. Washington, Oregon, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Vermont have already adopted the California program.

Although draft rules have not yet been released, the New Mexico Environment Department posted a fact sheet on the proposed rules that lists the percentage requirements.

The clean cars and trucks rules will be part of the same rulemaking process, which could start as soon as this month, NMED spokesman Matthew Maez told NetZero Insider. The draft rules will generally follow California’s regulations, Maez said, with a few differences.

“The largest difference will be that the proposed rules in New Mexico will culminate in California’s 82% requirement for manufacturers by 2032,” he said.

Availability Issues

In May 2022, New Mexico adopted the Advanced Clean Cars (ACC) regulation, which is based on California’s earlier program. (See NM Adopts Calif. Advanced Clean Cars Rules.)

ACC supporters said at the time that the rule would boost EV availability in New Mexico, where people often struggle to find an electric car to buy. Automakers will prioritize delivery of EVs to the jurisdictions that require them, proponents said.

“These new rules will ensure that all New Mexicans have access to a greater number of new zero- and low-emission vehicle models, while hastening the transition away from polluting diesel and gasoline-powered cars and trucks,” NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said in a statement.