California clamps down on emissions, leaves only Ford, VW, BMW and Hondas on the streets

The state authorities of California, USA are entitled to adopt their own vehicle emission legislation independently from the White House – which they did now, outlawing Toyota, Nissan, Fiat, Chrysler and other marques starting January 2020.

The way the new law is formulated, car manufacturers have to correct the emission profiles of their cars and submit their explicit agreement to maintain the new norms to the state authorities. Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, and Honda are the only companies to have submitted such agreements so far. More companies should join them soon, but those not quick enough to react might become banned from California streets starting in January next year.

The ban only concerns cars that the state bodies acquire for their own purposes. Aside from this, ICE-powered cars are now only admitted for use in safety and security services; all other authorities are obligated to purchase electrified or otherwise nature-friendly vehicles.