CARB States Consider Electric Motorcycle Mandate, Including Credits

Recently, the California Air Resources Board (a state agency that sets not only California policy, but the policy of other “CARB states”) provided a way for motorcycles to start going electric more. Just as with other categories of vehicles like cars, trucks, and RVs, the plan will be to require a percentage of vehicles to go EV or for a manufacturer to buy credits from another manufacturer that sells EVs. By adding the ability to buy credits, companies only making electric motorcycles will reap a big benefit, as ICE motorcycle manufacturers will have to start handing them cash.

This will be good at not only moving two-wheeled motorcycles to EV, but it will also affect other related vehicles, like trikes and “autocycles” like the Aptera. In this video, Aptera Owner’s Club explains not only the policy, but why it could be good for the future of EV manufacturers building vehicles with less than four wheels. (article continues after video)

On the 7th, the agency held a meeting to consider adding a credit provision to the mandate, and as you might expect, companies like Aptera were asking people to chime in and express support.

One great point that Aptera made in support of this move was that motorcycles are starting to create a larger share of pollution. Motorcycles use a lot less fuel because they don’t have to move nearly as much weight, but their engines tend to emit a lot more pollution than the average car today, which has had to survive and adapt to increasingly stringent emissions and fuel efficiency rules. This leaves motorcycles, even if only in small numbers, as a growing target for the next round of emissions reductions.

The approach of requiring a growing percentage of electric vehicles and then allowing credit trading has made it so that a number of EV companies have not only emerged, but thrived. Tesla is probably the greatest example, because as the first company to really mass produce four-wheeled EVs, it was able to sell more credits than anybody. Combined with other government incentives and subsidies in California, Tesla was able to not only survive the perilous process of starting a new vehicle manufacturer (something that hadn’t happened in decades), but stay around.

For Aptera specifically, being able to sell credits would help the company get over the last hump to production. The motorcycle market is much smaller than the 4+ wheeled vehicle market, so Aptera won’t be able to rake in billions of dollars in Credits the way Tesla did, but Aptera really only needs a small fraction of that kind of action to get into mass production and then expand that production.

The CARB mandate-credit plan would start requiring 10% of motorcycles (and three wheelers) in 2028, and then move that up by 5% every year until 2035, leaving the mandate at 50% in subsequent years. Motorcycle manufacturers that wish to sell in CARB states would then have to either meet those targets or pay for credits from manufacturers that have more than 10% EV production. For manufacturers selling 100% EV, this is basically free money, and for companies not building electric motorcycles, it provides a path to keep supplying the market with the ICE motorcycles it craves.

Another thing that will incentivize the manufacture of better electric motorcycles is the variability of the credit system. Motorcycles with minimum power and range will only get a partial sellable credit, while motorcycles with more power and range will get a maximum of up to 2.5 credits. This will push two-wheeled motorcycles to use more expensive and longer-range battery technology, and it will also push more manufacturers to consider making larger three-wheeled vehicles, such as the Aptera.

Range isn’t the only factor. On top of that, early movers (companies already or soon-to-be making them) get a hefty bonus multiplier for the first few years. Fast charging motorcycles get even more of a bonus, pushing manufacturers to make truly worthwhile vehicles and not just goofy commuter machines.

Motorcycles Need More Than Just Credits To Succeed in the U.S.

This topic of motorcycles being uncommon while four-wheeled vehicles are common may seem weird to a global audience. After all, in many places, motorcycles move in great swarms while cars are far less common. Motorcycles are far cheaper not only to purchase, but to maintain compared to cars and trucks. They’re far cheaper to fuel, even if the cheapest engines in them are often gross polluters.

Unlike many of those places, the price of gasoline and diesel is low in the United States. This pushes many people to consider larger, more comfortable vehicles instead of going with something smaller that sips fuel. This weird situation is further exacerbated by electric vehicles, which are closer to motorcycles in terms of cost of operation, taking away the advantages.

Regulatory requirements and safety make things harder for motorcycles in the United States. Almost everyone gets a license for four-wheeled vehicles, but almost nobody gets the motorcycle license. As an adult, it can seem like an embarrassing inconvenience to go back to driver’s ed again just for the right (a privilege can be denied without due process for any or no reason) to drive an inferior vehicle.

Part of the solution is to offer more three-wheeled vehicles. In most states, these get a relaxed set of regulations as long as there are traditional automobile controls (pedals, wheel), a closed cockpit, and a body that you sit inside of and not on top of. This kind of three-wheeler is consider an “autocycle”, and doesn’t require a motorcycle license, eliminating basically all of the problems in the last paragraph.

But, another thing to consider is embracing the weird space between e-bikes and motorcycles. In many states, riding a “class 4” bike like a Sur Ron or a Luna can invite police harassment because it occupies a space between legal spaces like the aliens from the weirdest Indiana Jones film. Making it easier to legally ride lower-speed motorcycles or higher speed e-bikes (depending on how you view them).

Either way, opening up more ways to ride/drive the most efficient vehicles can make the market truly take off in the United States.

Featured image by Zero Motorcycles.