Washington state is set to ban the sale of most new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2030.
A bill signed into law by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee last week indicates the state will instruct its interagency electric vehicle coordinating council to complete a scoping plan by December 31st, 2023, which will outline how to achieve the 2030 target. The measure, known as Clean Cars 2030, is described as “the most aggressive state target in the U.S. for the phaseout of gasoline cars,” setting a goal of outlawing the sale of such vehicles five earlier than California’s much-talked-about
2035 deadline.
The measure was passed as part of a so-called “Move Ahead Washington,” transportation package that was detailed last week, which is valued at nearly $17 billion. Legislators say the bill will help to “spur public and private investment in EVs and EV charging infrastructure and help Washingtonians save money on vehicle fuel and maintenance while enjoying cleaner air and water.”
The measure was first introduced by Washington Representative Nicole Macri in 2020, but was only signed into law by Inslee last week.
“Clean Cars 2030 puts Washington on the road to powering its vehicles with cheap, clean, renewable electricity produced in-state and reduces the threat that oil and gasoline pose to our air, water, health, and economy,” Macri said in a prepared statement.
In addition to Washington, a variety of other states have previously outlined their own plans to outlaw the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles within a certain timeframe,
including New York and California. The federal government in Canada has also said it will outlaw new gasoline and diesel vehicle sales by 2035, while the Biden Administration has set a target of achieving
50 percent EV market share in the U.S. by 2030.
With federal and state governments moving to outlaw gasoline vehicle sales, the automotive industry is reacting accordingly. Virtually every major automaker now has its own aggressive EV rollout strategies, including GM, which previously said it would
launch 30 new EVs globally by 2025. GM also said it will invest
more than $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles by mid-decade.
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