Compliance car
This article needs to be updated.(January 2024) |
A compliance car is an
While the introduction of compliance cars by the largest car manufacturers is sometimes explained by the companies arguing that they could not manufacture
History
Legislative authority to add the force of
Although the General Motors EV1 was conceived as an electric vehicle to be built from the ground up in the late 1990s, a significant part of the rationale for designing and producing the "mass-produced" EV was to meet the environmental mandates then coming in the US, initially in California. The EV1 was available in only a few select local markets in the US, was not sold but available only by lease, and few vehicles—less than 1,200—were ever produced, with GM ending production in 1999.[4] The EV1 was therefore a compliance car, albeit an innovative one that was much loved by customers.[5] GM lobbied to get the early government mandate killed, and they were successful; GM then shut down the EV1 program by 2002 and recalled all leased vehicles by February 2002.[4][5]
By 2012, the
- Chevrolet Spark EV[1]
- Fiat 500e
- Ford Focus Electric[1]
- Honda Fit EV
- Toyota RAV4 EV
- Subaru Crosstrek PHEV[7]
- Mazda MX-30[8]
A few other states passed similar rules, adopting the California requirements; but most states have not chosen to mandate the production of electric vehicles.[6][1]
Trade publication Autoguide reported in 2014 that "automakers are wary of the term 'compliance car' despite the fact that these cars exist for the sole purpose of being compliant with the rules set out by CARB regulators."[6] Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has been more clear, having disclosed in 2014 that their compliance car was unprofitable, with Fiat losing US$14,000 per unit on the limited production Fiat 500e, and that Fiat "only wanted to sell the absolute minimum necessary to meet regulations." Fiat had previously stated that they would not invest heavily in EV development beyond compliance vehicles.[5]
Other EVs have been designed from the ground up, and are widely distributed; for example the
By 2016, a total of 12 states had adopted similar rules the CARB mandate. The State of California had by then specified that 15.4% of an automaker's fleet must comply with ZEV rules by 2025.[1]
By 2019, both
Description and limitations
Many compliance cars are limited in their quantities, options, and availability to purchase.[6]
Both Nissan and Tesla introduced cars before 2014 that were designed to be electric from the ground up, and have no limitations on either production or ownership, and make their electric vehicles available in all 50 US states. Their EVs thus avoided the term compliance car, despite easily meeting all requirements of the CARB regulations.[6]
References
- ^ Motley Fool. 19 April 2016. Archivedfrom the original on 13 October 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- New York Times. 22 July 2020. Archivedfrom the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ "The Osborne Effect: Why new car sales will be all electric in six years". 8 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
- ^ a b Mieszkowski, Katharine (4 September 2002). "Steal this car!". Salon. Salon Media Group. Archived from the original on 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
- ^ Motley Fool. 18 April 2016. Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "What is a Compliance Car?". Autoguide. 27 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ "New Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid Details; Why You May Not Be Able To Get One". Torque News. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
- ^ Abuelsamid, Sam. "Mazda MX-30 - Sometimes It's OK To Comply". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Hyundai and Kia EVs may just avoid "compliance car" stigma, but is that enough?". Green Car Reports. 6 February 2019. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.