California now one step closer to officially phasing out gas-powered vehicles
On Thursday, some of the nation's largest truck makers pledged to stop selling new gas-powered vehicles in California by 2036.
The agreement came between the truck makers and state regulators.
California has been on a mission to stop using fossil fuels. In the last few years, new rules were implemented that work to get rid of gas-powered cars, trucks, and trains.
The agreement included trucking companies following California's rules, by implementing the ban on the sale of new gas-powered trucks by 2036.
The offset was California regulators agreed to loosen some of the emission standards for diesel trucks and agree to use the federal emission standard starting in 2027. The federal standard is lower than what the California standard would have been.
Truck makers also got the green light to sell older diesel engines over the next three years, however only if they also sell zero-emission vehicles also.
News Channel 3 spoke with a truck driver named David Miller who said there are a lot of side effects the trucking industry is going to feel in the next few years as it makes the change.
He said right now it takes him 15 minutes to fill up the tank of his truck, and then he's on his way. But with the EV trucks, that will take even longer.
Miller also said the switch is going to take a hit on private truck owners who are going to have to pay for new expensive parts.
"I believe the distance and the hours it is going to have a cause and effect because it's going to be an overall change of the way things are being done now," Miller explained. "It's going to take time for them to work everything out."
