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Still a fan of gas-powered cars? You'll have fewer options in Colorado come 2032. That's when dealerships in the state will need to fill at least 82% of their parking lots with electric vehicles, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission ruled on Friday.
The mandate is up from the existing 25%, which expires in 2025, The Colorado Sun reports.
"Colorado is already among the states with the highest concentration of electric vehicles, and we don’t plan on hitting the brakes any time soon,” says Michael Ogletree, director of Colorado's Air Pollution Control Division. “Coloradans want low- and zero-emissions vehicles because they help them get where they’re going while breathing cleaner air and saving money."
For Q3, 17% of new car sales in Colorado were EVs, above the nation's 7% overall. Still, environmental groups are displeased with the commission's decision, which falls short of the 100% phaseout of gas-powered cars by 2035 that California, New York, New Jersey, and a handful of other states have already enacted. Colorado is also projected to miss its 2025 and 2030 greenhouse gas emission targets, according to an Environmental Defense Fund analysis.
But Colorado Energy Office Director Will Toor tells The Denver Gazette that the approach is necessary to allow vehicle manufacturers to catch up. "We are seeing remarkable advances in transportation electrification that I think do make 82% by 2032 feasible in the state of Colorado, but it's still a very ambitious rule," he says.
Battery costs are projected to decline, Toor says, and in the meantime, the approach offers flexibility for rural communities and small businesses that may still require gas-powered vehicles in some cases. The new rule "supports consumer choice" by not prohibiting the sale of gas-powered vehicles. It also does not apply to used vehicle sales or off-road equipment, such as construction and farm equipment.
State officials also say environmentalists will have their way in the end anyway, as they anticipate 80% will be the tipping point after which a full transition to all-electric cars and other clean fuels like hydrogen is all but guaranteed.
Colorado currently offers multiple incentives to encourage the transition away from gas-powered driving, including up to $5,000 in state tax credits for purchasing a new EV, which can be combined with the $7,500 federal credit. A new program gives income-qualified residents $6,000 to trade in their end-of-life gas-powered cars for an EV.
After purchasing the car, Colorado residents save as much as $6.50 for each $1 spent, according to an analysis by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Those savings come from reduced greenhouse gas emissions and fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, as well as community health benefits.