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California rule sets emission requirements but doesn't ban RV purchases | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall   Paste BN
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The claim: Six states are banning RV purchases starting in January 2025

A Nov. 24 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a recreational vehicle, also known as an RV, with the word "BANNED" written across the picture in red text.

The post's caption says, "These 6 States will be banning the purchase of RV’s starting in less than 6 weeks," going on to list California, New York, Oregon, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington.

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Our rating: False

Eleven states adopted a regulation that requires certain manufacturers to increase their percentage of zero-emission vehicle sales over a decade. Experts say the regulation may impact the future availability of RVs in these states, but the rule doesn't ban the purchase of new RVs or affect the purchase of used ones.

California regulation doesn't ban RV purchases

In 2020, California adopted the Advanced Clean Truck Act, which requires manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles between 2024 and 2035. The rule has been adopted by 10 other states, which will enact it between model year 2025 and 2027, according to the RV Industry Association.

The California Air Resources Board is in charge of managing these sales targets in California, along with coordinating other clean air initiatives in the state. But Lynzie Lowe, a board spokesperson, told Paste BN the regulation doesn't prohibit RV purchases.

"There is nothing about the regulation that is preventing manufacturers from selling RVs or consumers from buying them," she said. "Furthermore ... the regulation does not in any way single out RVs."

Ray Minjares, the heavy-duty vehicles program director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, likewise told Paste BN the regulation isn't a purchasing ban since it "places requirements on manufacturers, not customers."

"Since the rule does not require customers to buy zero-emission vehicles, any customer in California or other states with the Advanced Clean Trucks rule in effect can buy a diesel or other non-zero-emission vehicle," he said. "This is true today, and it will continue to be true in 2025."

The California board debunked the claim that the regulation bans the sale of gas and diesel RVs in a "Myth vs. Fact" page on its website, saying the action requires more zero-emission vehicles but doesn't create a "ban on producing combustion-powered vehicle types like motor homes."

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The rule requires 5-9% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales to be zero-emission vehicles by the end of model year 2024, depending on the type of truck category, the site says. This range is scheduled to increase to 40-75% by 2035.

If manufacturers can't meet the required targets, they can acquire credits to offset the difference. They were able to obtain early credits from the board for producing 2021-2023 model zero-emission vehicles, and they can bank or trade credits from excess zero-emission vehicle sales to gain an extra year to make up for future deficits.

The rule doesn't apply to vehicles already produced and delivered to California, nor does it have enforcement provisions for consumers or RV dealers, according to the RV Industry Association. This means that used gas or diesel RVs can still be sold without being affected by the regulation.

Lack of certified parts could impact availability

While the regulations aren't a ban, they could certainly impact the RV marketplace, experts say.

The RV Industry Association argued in a Dec. 4 statement that because of a lack of certified zero-emission motorhome chassis, which is the vehicles' supporting frame, the rule could impact the availability of RVs starting Jan. 1, 2025.

Experts and manufacturers have mixed opinions on how the regulations will affect future RV sales.

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Thor Motor Coach, one of the largest RV manufacturers in the country, said in a Dec. 4 fiscal report it did not anticipate any impact from the lack of certified chassis on its Class A gas, Class B or Class C product lines in fiscal year 2025. The manufacturer said "there is some potential" that the sales of its Class A RVs in California will be limited but the class represented less than 1% of its sales in North America, of which only a portion was sold in California.

The RV classes refer to the vehicles' size, with Class B being the smallest, Class C being mid-size and Class A being the largest, according to the insurance company Progressive. Class A RVs can reach up to 45 feet in length and are comparable in size to a tour bus.

Minjahares said it's unlikely the regulations will lead to a lack of availability for gas and diesel RVs. In order for this to happen, Minjares said the manufacturers would have had to not purchase any credits from the Air Resources Board, be willing to pay a penalty associated with under-compliance and not take advantage of the flexibility offered under the rule.

"It would be a real surprise if all RV manufacturers pulled their entire lineup from the California market," he said. "The first reason is that the penalty of pulling all products from the market is significant in the near term from loss of revenue. The second reason is that pulling products from the market invites competitors to steal market share."

But Lydia Vieth, an electrification and autonomy research analyst at ACT Research, said manufacturers' inability to sell zero-emission RVs "will absolutely dampen overall RV sales in states that have adopted the rule."

Vieth said  the electric RV market is "nearly non-existent at this stage." Other vehicles have taken precedence for zero-emission development and production since RVs are such a small portion of the commercial vehicle market.

Paste BN reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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