A recently reported Biden Administration decision to relax a timeline for EV production has trickled to the state level with Democrats and Republicans in Connecticut sounding concerns about their state’s efforts, according to CT Insider. 

The New York Times broke the news about Biden relaxing the timeline to gain favor with automakers ahead of the upcoming election. The administration proposed that 60% of new vehicle production be EVs by 2030. He is expected to push production requirements to after 2030. 

“Reacting to the news of the president’s decision this week, House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, conceded that it would likely bolster critics of a quick transition to EVs while complicating the path for legislation sought by Democrats who want to see Connecticut moving faster than the federal government,” CT Insider reports. 

Connecticut has followed California’s lead by requiring all automotive sales in the state to be electric or hybrid by 2035. Gov. Ned Lamont attempted to move the ball forward last year by adopting new rules mandating the transition, according to the article. 

“In a statement released through a spokeswoman Thursday, Lamont stood by the plan to follow California’s path towards an all-electric and hybrid future, which he and advocates argue would create a single market with tens of millions of drivers incentivizing the auto industry to bring down costs and create more efficient batteries,” according to the article. 

But Lamont might have a battle to get the rules in place with Republicans proposing the state reject the state’s EV timeline. 

At least a dozen states — Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia — have adopted California’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) regulation. It requires 35% of auto sales to be zero-emission in 2026, and 100% by 2035. Some of the states have adopted the rule to be reached by 2032.

It’s still too soon to know if other states will reconsider their EV plans as the Biden Administration relaxes the federal initiative. 

EV sales have been rising with more than 378,000 EVs sold nationwide during Q3, a 63% increase over Q3 2022. However, there remains concern about EV infrastructure. 

During the first three quarters of 2023, public EV chargers increased by 26% year-over-year, while EV sales increased by 59%.

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