"The economic downturn triggered by the novel coronavirus pandemic threatens to stall multistate goals to put more clean cars on the road.
California, the nation's most populous state, wants to get drivers into 5 million zero-emissions vehicles within a decade. To meet that goal, California has put in place mandates that automakers that sell in the state produce a certain percentage of ZEVs. That percentage is designed to increase annually, and it's part of an ambitious effort to curb greenhouse gas pollution.
New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Colorado follow the California ZEV mandate.
But the expected recession creates a potential roadblock. Consulting firm Wood Mackenzie earlier this month projected global electric vehicle sales would drop 43% this year compared with last year."
