Increased number of auto makers are facing a huge amount of pressure these days to sell zero-emission vehicles in the US. The companies have to sell zero-emission vehicles to consumers who have not shown much interest in them. These days, more states in the US are coming up with sales targets.
Nine states in the US, including New York and New Jersey, have adopted the new version of California’s goal, which includes having electric plug-in hybrid and hydrogen-powered models that achieve 15 percent of the new-car purchases by 2025. The automakers have encountered fines and potentially restrictions on sales because they did not achieve their set targets.
Market researcher Autodata Corp. said that one model, which has reached the standards of Honda Motor Co.’s plug-in electric Fit, has marked a total sales of 83 in the US in May of this year. Bailey Wood, legislative director of the National Automobile Dealers Association based in McLean, Virginia, said, “They are essentially forcing vehicles to be built and delivered to dealers who are forced to sell them”.
At the moment, Honda has set a goal of delivering 1,100 electric Fits during the course of two years. Edward Cohen, vice president of Honda for government and industry affairs, said that they require a minimum numbers of plug-in vehicle sales, which is strategy that brings a certain amount of risk.
