Advanced Clean Fleets Rule — Private Fleets Prepare for Compliance – Green Fleet

The Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule, finalized by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in April 2023, goals to mitigate emissions from the transportation sector in California through the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).

ACF applies to many forms of fleets, including drayage and people owned by state, local, and federal government agencies, with vehicles which have a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 8,500 lbs.

The more urgent, and thus more publicized a part of the rule mandates that fifty% of the acquisitions of state and native government fleets should be ZEVs starting in 2024.

But one other mandate is coming due soon for what CARB calls “high priority” fleets. High-priority fleets are entities that own, operate, or direct no less than one vehicle in California, and which have either $50 million or more in gross annual revenues, or that own, operate, or have common ownership or control of a complete of fifty or more vehicles.

“What’s vital for personal fleets to know is that in case you’re doing business in California — meaning you may have a single applicable vehicle on the road in California — even in case you’re based in one other a part of the country, then ACF applies to you,” said Lisa Drake, Assistant Director for Fleet Electrification at Merchants Fleet.

The vehicles don’t must be registered in California, and so they don’t must operate solely in California.

How Do Private Fleets Comply?

For prime-priority private fleets, there are two ways to comply: through the Model 12 months Schedule or the ZEV Milestones Option.

Under the Model 12 months Schedule, recent vehicles over 8,500 lbs. GVWR acquired after January 2024 should be ZEVs. Following this path, fleets can still keep their internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, but they have to be retired after they have been in use for 13 years, have traveled greater than 800,000 miles, or are greater than 18 years old.

Under the ZEV Milestones Option, fleet composition must meet increasing percentage targets based on the variety of vehicle. The Milestones option is more flexible, yet more complex. Fleets can still buy ICE vehicles but must balance their overall fleet percentages with ZEVs based on vehicle type. (See Milestone chart.)

Following the ZEV Milestones option, in case you’re running 100 cargo vans in California,10 of those vans should be electric starting Jan. 1, 2025 — whether the ten ICE vans they’d replace are able to retire or not.

It’s vital to bolster that the milestones take effect on Jan. 1, so the brand new vehicles within the affected groups have to be in fleets by that date, not in some unspecified time in the future through the calendar 12 months. With delays in vehicle deliveries, permitting, utility upgrades, installing charging equipment, and more, fleets must start now, Drake said.

There are methods to start with charging to get initially compliant — including mobile solutions and charging-as-a-service plans — and from there, fleets can plan for longer-term upgrades. On the vehicle side, Merchants Fleet also offers clients a  lease option that helps fleets get into EVs straight away and out of them after 12 months if vital.

ACF Compliance & Enforcement

Fleet operators must annually submit a compliance report for his or her California fleet. Under the unique rulemaking, high-priority fleets had a requirement to submit an initial compliance report by Feb. 1, 2024.

Nonetheless, on Dec. 28, CARB announced that it will temporarily withhold enforcement of the drayage and high-priority fleet provisions of ACF reporting requirements until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants a preemption waiver from the federal Clean Air Act, or determines a waiver just isn’t vital.

The delay comes after the California Trucking Association’s lawsuit against CARB requesting the prevention of enforcement of ACF for drayage and high-priority fleets. 

Nonetheless, fleets not in compliance with ACF may face large fines and will lose their ability to operate in California. CARB is encouraging fleets to start reporting voluntarily.

Regarding compliance, “Showing authentic, good faith efforts can only be to your advantage,” Drake said.

“Nevertheless it’s more vital to start your process to comply because as you are doing that, you are also constructing your understanding of what it’s going to take to get to zero-emission transportation into your organization.”

Another excuse, Drake said, is to access funding comparable to California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). That cash is designed to incentivize organizations to amass ZEVs voluntarily before the compliance milestones — after which the cash might not be there.

Accessing HVIP incentives comes with urgency —for fleets with over 50 vehicles, the grant money sunsets on Dec. 31, 2024. The grants are expected to proceed for fleets under 50 vehicles.  

Extensions & Exemptions

The ACF rule exists, in fact, in the true world of auto delivery delays and disruptions within the buildout of charging infrastructure.

Fleets can apply for an extension to delay ZEV adoption based on 4 categories: infrastructure construction delays, utility electrical upgrade delays; vehicle delivery delays; and each day usage exemptions (if available vehicles don’t meet duty-cycle requirements). Nonetheless, a lot of these exemptions should be applied for a 12 months prematurely of your compliance date.

Working closely with CARB in your particular situation and showing authentic, good-faith efforts to comply can be in any fleet’s best interest.  

ZEV Fleet Milestones by Milestone Group and 12 months