jan 1, 1990 - California implemented Zero-Emission Vehicle mandate

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Just as political conditions for electric vehicles were diminishing in South Africa, they were ripening in the US. Air-quality politics in California gave rise in 1990 to the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. As drafted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the legislation compelled the big automakers to produce a rolling quota of ZEVs as a percentage of overall sales.

The unprecedented technological mandate provoked fierce resistance from automakers, who exploited a loophole in the law: The CARB did not specify the technology by which the air-quality outcomes were to be achieved, so the auto industry was able to negotiate the definition of a ZEV.

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