MA State EV Requirements

[KCasiglio]

Didn't feel there was an appropriate thread to share this article in, so making a thread to discuss the state's EV requirements (and general automobile electrification).

Truck sales in Massachusetts are frozen over new EV requirements - The Boston Globe

The state instituted a requirement that electric vehicles make up at least 7 percent of new medium and heavy duty trucks sold in the state. But dealers say the industry isn’t ready.

www.bostonglobe.com

A showdown between state regulators and truck manufacturers has brought the market for new heavy vehicles in Massachusetts to a virtual standstill, challenging businesses from landscapers and long-haulers to the dealers who supply them.

The Healey administration on Jan. 1 instituted a requirement that electric vehicles make up at least 7 percent of new medium and heavy duty trucks sold in Massachusetts. But dealers say the industry isn’t ready. And buyers, worried about costs and the logistics of charging, remain wary of electric vehicles for many applications.

[...]

There hasn’t been a single new diesel or electric truck over 16,000 pounds sold in Massachusetts so far in 2025, Weeks said, compared to more than 2,000 of both types over all of last year.

[...]

Of more than 186,000 registered medium and heavy duty trucks in Massachusetts, only 301 were fully electric or plugin hybrids, up from 98 a year earlier, according to data from the Registry of Motor Vehicles (By contrast, there are almost 140,000 electric passenger vehicles).

The state is far behind California, which has similar rules for EV trucks. More than 7 percent of 104,000 medium and heavy duty truck sales there were electric already in 2022. California has a far more developed charging network and more short haul routes from its busy ports, so it’s easier for businesses to rely on EVs for shipping and deliveries.

 

[kmp1284]

Didn't feel there was an appropriate thread to share this article in, so making a thread to discuss the state's EV requirements (and general automobile electrification).

Truck sales in Massachusetts are frozen over new EV requirements - The Boston Globe

The state instituted a requirement that electric vehicles make up at least 7 percent of new medium and heavy duty trucks sold in the state. But dealers say the industry isn’t ready.

www.bostonglobe.com

What an absurd way to implement such a policy. Border states are undoubtedly loving this.

 

[Arenacale]

I always wonder how these "sell x% of total as electric" laws are enforced. Is that actual sales to the public or is it just that dealers offer that many vehicles? Just because a product is on the shelves doesn't mean the consumer is going to buy it. You can't legislate demand - you have to make a case that electric trucks would work for many applications and that the downsides are minimal. It's one of the things that drives me nuts about most of the environmental movements - they're hell bent on political solutions when they should be focusing on convincing industries that there's a legitimate economic benefit to going green. There would be far more electric trucks on the road in MA if they had been doing that from the beginning.