California & USA Set to Diverge Massively on Electric Vehicles? - CleanTechnica

The article from CleanTechnica discusses a growing divergence between California and the rest of the United States regarding electric vehicle (EV) adoption and market development. It highlights that major U.S. automakers like Ford and GM are scaling back their EV efforts nationally, partly due to financial struggles and a federal government perceived as unsupportive or even hostile toward EV advancement. In contrast, California is positioned to continue pushing stricter fuel economy and emissions standards, despite ongoing legal challenges initiated during the Trump administration. The state’s legal right to enforce higher standards to protect the environment is expected to prevail, enabling California to maintain and even accelerate its leadership in EV adoption. This divergence could lead to a bifurcated market where California enjoys a growing variety of compelling EV models and rising market share, while much of the rest of the country experiences stagnation or decline in EV availability and sales. The article draws a parallel to the earlier era of “compliance cars” that were initially limited and less attractive but notes that