Stellantis No Longer Stocking Gasoline Models With Dealers in 14 States

The Ram 1500 Revolution electric battery powered pickup truck is displayed on stage during an event in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Carmaker Stellantis has stopped stocking gasoline vehicle models of its Jeep Wrangler brand in many states following stringent emission standards passed in the regions.

Stellantis is no longer allocating gasoline-only Jeep Wrangler models to dealerships in the 14 states that follow emission guidelines set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), according to a June 16 report by Automotive News. The company ships gas Wranglers based on an order-to-order basis if a customer specifically requests the model. Stellantis’s decision to limit gasoline-only Wranglers in CARB states began around two months back.

In April, the automaker informed dealers that states following CARB emission rules were enforcing stricter greenhouse gas standards retroactively to vehicles from the 2021 model year. “The communication to our dealers simply acknowledges the reality that we may need to adjust vehicle allocations among the California and Federal states to ensure that Stellantis complies with different standards in the California states,” the company said in a statement, according to the outlet.

Stellantis is not part of a 2020 agreement that CARB signed with five other vehicle manufacturers—Ford, Honda, BMW, Volvo, and Volkswagen. The agreement, which applies to the 2021–2026 model years, allows the five automakers to comply with CARB emission standards based on the average emission of vehicles sold across the country.

But for car manufacturers like Stellantis that are not part of the deal, they must meet the emission standards with just the vehicles sold in the 14 CARB states.

Emissions Standards

The CARB emissions standards signed by Ford, Honda, BMW, Volvo, and Volkswagen in 2020 require these companies to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced by their vehicles per mile by about 17 percent by model year 2026.

For small cars, emissions are to drop from 157 grams per mile (g/m) in 2021 to 130 g/m in 2026. For large cars, emissions are to fall from 215 g/m to 178 g/m, for small light trucks from 195 g/m to 162 g/m, and for large light trucks from 335 g/m to 278 g/m.

The automakers can also secure credits from CARB when they introduce new emission reduction technologies as well as for selling more PHEVs, electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles.

In its recent statement to Automotive News, Stellantis said that it will “continue to seek a level playing field for our company and our dealers. The ultimate solution rests with a program that allows compliance based on sales in all 50 states,” it added.

Banning Gas Vehicles

CARB is also seeking to entirely ban the sale of gas-fueled vehicles in California. In August last year, CARB voted on the Advanced Clean Cars II Act which requires that 35 percent of vehicles manufactured in 2026 and sold in the state be “zero emission,” a requirement that rises to 100 percent by 2035.

After 2035, only gas-fueled vehicles manufactured prior to the year will be allowed on the road. Plus, one-fifth of new vehicle sales can be plug-in hybrids, while the remainder must be all-electric.

In May 2023, CARB asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve a waiver under the Clean Air Act so that it can implement the ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

However, vehicle manufacturers have opposed the move. On May 26, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, made up of 450 U.S. companies that manufacture fuel and petrochemicals, asked the Biden administration to reject CARB’s request.

The request is “an unprecedented move that will deny millions of Americans the ability to choose for themselves the types of cars or trucks they want to drive,” they said in a letter.

Back in September, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) slammed California’s move to ban gas-powered vehicles, pointing out that the state does not have the ability to produce enough electricity with wind and solar power to meet such targets.

“If they’re going to go to all battery-powered cars, then I guess they’re going to be charging their cars with coal and natural gas because that’s how you produce electricity because they don’t like nuclear plants,” he said during a Sept. 16 press conference.

“And I don’t think you can generate enough power for a state like California based on solar and wind. So in the end, it’s self-defeating.”