Calif. ZEV laws create clean-air credit market

By Cornelius Nunev


Mandates and future requirements have produced a brand new market among car manufacturers. A market that is not about trading automobiles, but it is of buying and selling credits to meet legal needs.

Must sell certain amount of automobiles

All zero-emission automobiles (ZEVs) use clean energy to power themselves, such as electricity or non-polluting hydrogen drivetrains. Six of the largest car makers in California now have to sell a certain amount of ZEVs to avoid penalty, but automakers with extra credits can sell them to others in one choice.

California requires automakers that sell 20,000 or more units a year to guarantee that more than 15 percent of their automobiles sold will be non-polluting by 2025. Dave Clegern, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, explained the ZEV program:

"This is a way to address California's unique air-quality issues and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. We think there'll be growing demand for the vehicles and it's a framework to get them to customers."

Not just in California

Eleven other states have adopted California's ZEV standards. Regulators are demanding that the car manufacturers sell 60,000 ZEVs before the end of 2014. By 2025, that number is mandated to be 1.4 million vehicles. Penalties for not meeting those quotas, or for producing the equivalent credits, will contain fines and limits on how many vehicles an automaker can sell.

A ton of credits for Nissan

Nissan Motors has racked up a surplus of credits over the past two years with sales of its Leaf EV. The Leaf is the best-selling EV in the United States

The executive vice president of Nissan is Andy Palmer. He said:

"We are in a fortunate position of having positive credit, so that's obviously something we are able to look at. We are exploring some plans, but we haven't announced anything yet."

Does not need all credits

Honda and a few other unnamed automakers received credits from billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla Motors which makes high-end luxury EVs. He said in June 2010 that a lot of credits have been sold. Although the price earned or the credits sold was not publicized, Tesla's public disclosure shoed a $13 million earnings between Honda and other automakers for clean-air credits. The disclosure of that information is not required.

The credits between 2009 and 2011 lose value over time, which is why car makers would be anxious to sell. The new credits for 2012 will never expire though.




About the Author:



Grab The Post URL

URL:
HTML link code:
BB (forum) link code:

Leave a comment

  • Google+
  • 0Blogger
  • Facebook
  • Disqus

0 Response to "Calif. ZEV laws create clean-air credit market"

Post a Comment

comments powered by Disqus