Bringing Electric Vehicles to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

The document advocates for increasing electric vehicle (EV) availability in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, noting that while 55% of regional consumers are interested, availability lags significantly behind California. It calls for the expiration of a regulatory exemption that allows sales in California to count toward compliance in Northeast states and suggests updating ZEV program credits to account for rapid improvements in battery range.

• The transition to electric vehicles in the Northeast offers significant environmental and economic benefits, including a reduction in vehicle emissions by over 50 percent, lower fuel costs for drivers (potentially less than $2 per gallon equivalent), and improved public health through the reduction of pollutants like nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide.
• Despite high consumer interest—with 55 percent of Northeast consumers interested in EVs—there is a significant disparity in vehicle availability compared to California. For instance, Boston had 90 percent fewer EV listings than the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area when adjusted for car ownership, and California dealers have twice as many EVs available for test drives and sale.
• A regulatory loophole in the California ZEV program allows automakers to count battery-electric and fuel-cell EV sales in California toward their compliance obligations in the Northeast, leading manufacturers to prioritize the California market. The document argues this exemption must expire by the end of 2017 to ensure better vehicle availability for Northeast consumers.
• The ZEV program requires technical adjustments because actual EV range improvements have outpaced 2012 projections. Because automakers receive more credits for longer-range vehicles, the current regulation may result in fewer total EVs being required than originally intended to meet the goal of over 3 million vehicles by 2025.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2016). Bringing Electric Vehicles to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/11/northeast-and-mid-atlantic-zev.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Bringing Electric Vehicles to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. 2016. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/11/northeast-and-mid-atlantic-zev.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Bringing Electric Vehicles to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic |date=November 2016 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/11/northeast-and-mid-atlantic-zev.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2016bringing, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Bringing Electric Vehicles to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/11/northeast-and-mid-atlantic-zev.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }