The state Department of Environmental Protection said Monday it is granting “enforcement discretion” for auto manufacturers that are unable to meet zero-emission vehicle sales requirements in the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation for 2025 and 2026 models. Enforcement will now begin with 2027 models, MassDEP said.
The state agency said the new rules give auto manufacturers “more flexibility and eases the challenges dealers are facing, while keeping the state on track to achieve critically important emissions reductions.
“Massachusetts remains committed to making the transition to electrification work for all and will continue to advance our whole-of-government approach to support this transition in the transportation sector,” MassDEP said in a statement.
Environmental groups said they were disappointed by the two year delay of the regulations, which they argue are crucial to reducing air pollution and protecting public health. But they also praised the Healey administration for not bowing to pressure from the auto industry to entirely scrap the regulations.
“While we are disappointed in this delay in enforcement, we recognize that this is not a ‘no-strings-attached’ giveaway to out-of-state polluting interests,” Vickash Mohanka, director of Massachusetts’ Sierra Club chapter, said in a statement.
“We urge the Healey administration to conduct the strongest-possible scrutiny of manufacturers’ sales practices in order to ensure compliance with the commonwealth’s vehicle pollution standards,” she added.
In October, MassDEP delayed implementation of the so-called Heavy-Duty Omnibus rule — which covered sales of large diesel trucks — until model year 2026, and carved out exemptions for state and local snow removal vehicles, municipal dump trucks, salt and sand spreaders, front–end loaders and street sweepers.
The Massachusetts Trucking Association was among those who had called on the Healey administration to halt the program, raising concerns about the cost and a lack of new technology to support the tough new restrictions. The group praised Healey’s decision to postpone the rules.
“Given the current lack of necessary technology and infrastructure to support a transition to medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks in Massachusetts, the ACT rule, as it is implemented, has hindered emissions reduction efforts and impeded the ability of our private and public sectors to acquire the trucks they require,” the group said.
The Advanced Clean Trucks regulations, unveiled by Gov. Charlie Baker in 2022, require manufacturers to incrementally increase zero-emission truck sales in the state between 30% and 50% by 2030 and 40% and 75% by 2035.
More than a dozen states — including New York , Massachusetts and New Jersey — have formally adopted California’s stringent vehicle emissions standards. They’ve been prodded by environmental groups who want to accelerate a nationwide shift to electric vehicles to help blunt the impact of climate change.
But some states, including Maryland and Massachusetts, have decided to delay enforcement of the e-vehicle sales mandate, with the rules outpacing market demand and the infrastructure needed to operate the vehicles.
Critics of the green policies argue the standards are unreachable with existing electric-vehicle technology and have pointed to a lack of electric vehicle charging stations and power grid capacity to handle the shift to zero emissions trucking.
Of states that are following California’s ban, none have met the 2026 target of 35% combined EV, fuel cell and PHEV sales, according to the latest federal data.
In 2023, zero emission vehicle sales among automakers were just 13% in California. The data shows that they were lower in other states, including Massachusetts and New York.
Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry is calling on the Trump administration and Republican congressional lawmakers to put the brakes on California’s ban on sales of new gas, diesel and traditional hybrid vehicles.
The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers has launched a new ad campaign — “Don’t California our cars” — urging Congress to overturn the EPA’s 2024 rule authorizing California’s tough restrictions.
©2025 The Salem News, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
