Directors of the California Manufacturers Association (CMA) have voted unanimously to oppose California's impending electric car, or zero emission vehicle (ZEV), mandate.
CMA called the mandate "a well intentioned but misguided attempt by government to force technology into the marketplace prematurely."
CMA Pres. William Campbell said the association will work to stop the mandate before it takes effect in 1998.
"Make no mistake, we fully support the state's clean air standards and have no desire to see them lowered," Campbell said. "Likewise, we support the development of commercially viable electric cars that will provide consumers with the convenience, reliability, and value they have every right to expect.
"But we absolutely oppose any government mandate that forces manufacturers to make a product that isn't ready for the marketplace."
CMA represents more than 800 companies throughout California engaged in all forms of manufacturing from small and medium size firms to multinational corporations.
PREMATURE MOVE
Campbell warned that pushing electric cars into the market prematurely "will expose manufacturers to high production costs, uncertain liability, and widespread consumer dissatisfaction that ultimately will kill any potential electric cars hold for the future."
Under the state's zero emission mandate, the California Air Resources Board will require that an increasing percentage of automobiles made for sale in California be ZEVs: 2% in 1998, increasing to 10% 5 years later. Currently, only electric cars meet a requirement for zero emissions.
Campbell said a report by the U.S. General Accounting Office "sounds the alarm" about premature introduction of electric cars.
GAO warned that automotive batteries are far from being perfected, infrastructure needed to support electric cars is not in place, serious questions about their safety and effect on the environment need to be answered, production costs are very high, and that their market potential is highly uncertain.
Campbell said billions of dollars will be required from consumers and taxpayers to offset the high cost of producing electric cars.
"Market research clearly shows electric cars can't be made at a price consumers are willing to pay," Campbell said. "To reduce their price tag, either a substantial electric car surcharge will have to be added to the cost of every conventional auto sold in California or manufacturers will need huge government subsidies, with taxpayers picking up the tab.
"The irony of the mandate is this: Auto makers will be required to make electric cars, and auto dealers will be required to stock them, but nobody will be required to buy them. After a first wave of 'fashion' buys, there will be a dramatic decline in the number of people willing to buy electric cars, especially since they will cost two to three times more to produce than conventional autos, have ranges of less than 100 miles, and require up to 8 hr to fully recharge."
Meanwhile, Campbell said, as demand fizzles and consumers reject electric cars in favor of "more reliable and far less costly" conventional automobiles, the mandate will keep increasing, with manufacturers forced to produce more cars for fewer buyers.
Campbell said the Air Resources Board's ZEV mandate devalues other technologies and siphons time and money away from research into more promising clean-air solutions.
"Any scientist will tell you it's dangerous to become too wedded to one technology," he said. "It blinds you to other possibilities."
BETTER WAYS
Campbell said for all the time and money that would be spent on California's electric car mandate, the effect on air quality will be negligible.
He urged better, less expensive ways to clean up California air.
"Ultralow emission vehicles, cleaner gasoline, and programs to get gross polluting vehicles off the road are more promising solutions and will clean our air faster at far less cost."
Campbell pointed out that most of those alternatives are ready for market.
"Government should be mandating clean air, not the technology to achieve it," he said. "That's a decision that should be left to consumers and manufacturers working together in a free market. Let government set the standards, then let us achieve them using the most efficient, affordable, safest, and most effective technology available."
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