Drivers can pick their own cars and trucks
On Nov. 13 and Nov. 15, the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board and the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Boards will hold hearings on the implementation of the Advanced Clean Cars and Trucks rules. The rules being considered will be implemented with model year 2027 vehicles and require that manufacturers, and thereby their franchised dealers, have available on a statewide basis 43% of their vehicles for sale being either battery electric or plug-in hybrids.
With the exception of Tesla and a few small manufacturers of electric vehicles, no major mainstream manufacturer can meet those requirements. Stellantis, parent company of Ram trucks, already has announced it will not ship internal combustion-powered vehicles to states that adopt these standards.
In communities that rely on farming and ranching, that means the heavyduty Ram trucks with the popular Cummins diesel engine will no longer be available. Ford and Chevrolet could be next. Can you imagine pulling a stock trailer or a six-horse slant with a Prius?
Where are we supposed to charge these vehicles? These two boards are proposing these regulations, but the state has done little to provide infrastructure for these vehicles. Most rural towns in New Mexico have few, if any, public charging stations. Adding a charging station to your home could add thousands of dollars to the already high cost of these vehicles. Imagine a trip from rural New Mexico to Albuquerque for medical treatments being interrupted by an unplanned stop on the side of the road waiting on a tow truck to tow you to the nearest charging station.
The next question is how do we pay for our roads? Gasoline taxes pay for roads and road repairs. What happens when there is no money to pay for repairs to our crumbling highways?
The state will be forced to come up with another revenue stream to pay for these repairs. If they increase the tax on electricity used to charge these vehicles, it will hit all New Mexicans even if they don’t own a car or truck.
While I am totally in favor of protecting our environment, this is a perfect example of “getting the cart before the horse.” While California might be ready for electric vehicles, New Mexico is not, and forcing us to drive an electric car or truck is not the answer. Let the members of these boards know your feelings and tell them this is not California.
Make sure your voice is heard. We should not let board members in Albuquerque and Santa Fe tell us what we can drive.