There's two definitions. Most people would define "compliance car" as one that's being built purely to comply with the minimum required volume (i3 is not under this definition). TonyWilliams uses a definition that any car that complies with the ZEV regulation is a compliance car.
I actually use three California Air Resources Board - Zero Emissions Vehicle (CARB-ZEV) definitions:
1) CARB-ZEV Compliance-only - cars like Toyota Rav4 EV, Honda Fit EV, GM Spark EV, Fiat/Chrysler 500e; built because the manufacturer is required to build EV's, and in pure compliance with the rules, the manufacturer makes just the minimum so that they can continue to sell high profit margin oil cars. Anything beyond that is generally in the form of press releases and not cars. These cars are typically sold at a significant loss to their respective manufacturer. Typically optimized for "100 miles", but practically have closer to 70-80 miles, and can be 40-50 miles with cold weather. Making the car go double the 100 mile range only produces 25% more credit hence no compliance-only cars are 200 mile range. They generally don't have ANY quick charge option, or offer a optional quick charge option that doesn't have charge stations.
2) CARB-ZEV Compliance - cars like Nissan LEAF, and we hope BMW. These are cars that must be built because CARB requires it, however they are typically sold anywhere buyers can be found, generally with a profit motive. They are generally built on a dedicated (and expensive) chassis. Because they really want to sell these, all offer some sort of quick charge.
3) CARB-ZEV Non-compliance - cars like Tesla Model S and Mitsubishi iMiev, neither company is required to comply, yet they both make 100% ZEV's. Definitely, profit motive cars. They are generally built on a dedicated (and expensive) chassis. Because they really want to sell these, all offer some sort of quick charge
Here's my ranking of which car manufacturers are most militant and hostile about California Air Resources Board - Zero Emissions Vehicle (CARB-ZEV) compliance, and which ones really want to sell battery electric cars:
.. Manufacturer .. Model(s) .... A ....... B ...... C ...... D ..... E ..... F
1. Honda - Fit EV / FCEV ..... YES ..... YES ... YES ... YES ... NO ... YES
2. Toyota - Rav4 EV / FCEV... NO ..... YES ... YES ... YES ...YES ... YES
3. Chry/Fiat - Fiat 500e ....... NO ..... YES ... YES ... YES ... NO ... YES
4. GM - Spark EV ................. NO ..... YES ... YES .... NO ... NO ... YES
5. Ford - Focus EV ............... NO ..... YES ... NO ... YES ... NO ... YES
6. Daimler - Smart/B-Class . NO ..... YES .... NO .... NO ... NO ... YES
7. BMW - i3 ........................ NO ..... NO .... NO .... NO ... NO ... NO
8. Nissan - LEAF ................. NO ..... NO .... NO .... NO ... NO ... NO
Can't yet rank:
V.VW - eGolf ........................ ??? ..... YES .... ??? .... NO ... ??? ... ???
X. Hyundai - FCEV ................ ??? ..... ??? .... ??? .... NO ... ??? .... NO
Y. Kia - Soul EV .................... ??? ..... YES .... ??? .... NO ... ??? ... NO
Z. Mazda - Demio? EV ........... ??? ..... YES .... ??? .... NO ... ??? .... NO
So, here is the criteria:
A. Lease Only to be crushed at lease return (no sales whatsoever)?
B. Converted car (not built on a purpose built EV chassis)?
C. Only sold in CARB states (not what the manufacturer says, but what they actually do). Only sold in minimal numbers to meet CARB requirements?
D. Loudly dismiss EV's and the CARB program, and generally announce how FEW they will produce?
E. Harass owners and dealers when the compliance car is out-of-state (California) with a warranty claim?
F. Without quick charge access on the compliance car?
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First, let's be clear about the rules. NOT EVERY CAR MAKER MUST COMPLY WITH CARB-ZEV. Currently, there are six "Large Volume Manufacturers" (LVM) that must produce Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) if they want to sell lots of oil burning cars in California, model years 2012-2014:
For the 2015 and later model years, all these vehicle manufacturers must comply:
BMW, Fiat/Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Daimler/Mercedes, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen must comply with the new 2012 and later CARB-ZEV requirements. Four additional manufacturers would also be required to comply with the ZEV requirements, but would be allowed to meet their obligation with PHEVs (so they aren't included, since they won't make a true ZEV). Note that neither Mitsubishi, nor Tesla are on the list.
Motorists to foot bill for California
Many future ZEV cars will be built to use hydrogen, without exception, are designed to get high value 9 CARB-ZEV credits per vehicle instead of the 1/3 value of 3 credit per "100 mile" battery electric car:
Toyota, Hyundai, BMW, Nissan, Honda and Mercedes.
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