Daimler Truck North America is at odds with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality鈥檚 recently 鈥� even though including Washington and California, and the company is still selling trucks in those states.
On Dec. 20, Daimler Truck North America shared in a private letter to dealers and sales managers it is pausing sales of its diesel-powered trucks intended for Oregon registration. That鈥檚 after what state regulators are calling a miscommunication about recently adopted California truck manufacturing rules that led to the halt of sales. Oregon, along several other states, have opted to adopt . Each of those states must adopt the same rules as California. Daimler officials claim there are differences, while DEQ staff said that鈥檚 the result of a misunderstanding.
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
After their miscommunication with Daimler Truck North America, state regulators said they clarified for selling zero emission vehicles under the updated rules, but the company has not withdrawn the sales pause across the state.
鈥淭he note we鈥檝e received from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality staff indicates that they are implementing key provisions of the Advanced Clean Trucks rule differently than California,鈥� Daimler Truck North America said through a spokesperson in an email to OPB on Thursday. 鈥淯nfortunately, that difference leaves us unable to predict our credit balances in Oregon, and therefore risks our compliance in the state.鈥�
Daimler Truck North America officials said for the company to remove the pause, they need 鈥渞easonable, durable assurance from Oregon DEQ鈥� that the company鈥檚 approach for reporting the credit for vehicles sold is appropriate and consistent with California.
鈥淎ssuming we get that resolution, we expect to be able to lift our temporary sales hold in Oregon 鈥� however, the Advanced Clean Truck Rules will still limit our ability to sell internal combustion engines (diesel) vehicles based on the number of zero emission vehicles we sell in the state,鈥� Daimler Truck North America officials said.
DEQ and Daimler were set to talk Friday.
Understanding the Clean Truck Rules
Back in 2021, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality鈥檚 . The stricter standards for medium to heavy-duty trucks, including requiring truck manufacturers to meet tougher emission standards for particulate matter and for nitrogen oxides pollution, or the combustion of fossil fuels in vehicles.
The rules also require manufacturers of medium to heavy-duty vehicles, like large pick-up trucks, buses and 18-wheelers, to sell a certain percentage of zero emissions electric vehicles starting with the 2025 model year.
Adopting California鈥檚 rules means the rules must be implemented exactly as California created them, DEQ鈥檚 transportation strategy section manager Rachel Sakata said. That鈥檚 because under the federal Clean Air Act, only California is allowed to set separate emissions standards from the federal emissions requirement, and states that opt to follow California must do so identically, she said.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 deviate at all because otherwise it creates a patchwork of different requirements and anything that California adopts, we also adopt identically, and then we would follow also identically,鈥� she said.
For example, , another state that opted to follow California鈥檚 rules, and all have the same sales requirements and percentages manufacturers need to meet in zero emission vehicle sales.
Even though adoption of the California rules needs to be identical in all the states that have opted in, Daimler Truck North America officials said the company has seen some 鈥渆xemptions鈥� in other states. For Oregon, they said the issue was the interpretation of 鈥渟ales鈥� versus 鈥渞egistration.鈥�
In November, the state鈥檚 the tougher emissions standards 鈥� but not the sales portion of the rule, which trucking industry advocates in Oregon have been calling for a delay of implementation. They are asking to wait until the technology improves, like better battery life for big rigs.
Under the updated rules, in 2025 all medium to heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers would need at least 7% of their overall new pickup truck, van and big rig sales to be electric vehicles.
鈥淭he requirements do ramp up over time to where, by 2036, the requirements will range between 40% to 75% depending on the class of vehicle,鈥� Sakata said. 鈥淢anufacturers will still be able to sell internal combustion engines like diesel trucks, even when the rules are fully implemented in 2036.鈥�
But that鈥檚 a sticking point for the trucking industry, as some have said there is not enough infrastructure like charging stations to support the switch to electric trucks. In Oregon, there is only one high-powered public station for trucks like big rigs. It鈥檚 located at Daimler Truck North America鈥檚 headquarters on Swan Island in Portland.
Sakata said the updated rules allow truck manufacturers an additional three years to be in compliance.
鈥淲e adopted some additional compliance flexibilities for the manufacturers, so that they have an additional 3 years to make up any what we call compliance deficits,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o if they weren鈥檛 able to meet their sales targets in 2025, they actually have through 2028 to make up those deficits.鈥�
Once truck manufacturers sell these electric vehicles, they can receive credits, which are broken up by different class vehicles.
But selling electric vehicles is not the only way to be in compliance with the rules, Sakata said.
Other options include selling plug-in hybrids, purchasing credits from other truck manufacturers or earning early action credits from electric truck sales made between 2022-2024, Sakata said.
Daimler Truck North America officials said there needs to be a comprehensive approach, as the company鈥檚 electric vehicle sales are less than 1% of their overall sales. They said the transition to electric vehicles should be gradual for a smooth transition.
Miscommunication through email
In the Dec. 20 note to its dealers, the Daimler Trucks North America cited 鈥渁mbiguity鈥� in how the company could receive early credits from DEQ. That led to the company halting sales of its diesel trucks in Oregon until the issue can be resolved.
According to Sakata, DEQ was working on verifying sales from the company to provide early action credits for the company.
鈥淚n an email, we were just requesting some additional information, such as proof of registration, because under the previous rules, it did require that manufacturers had to, in order for them to earn a credit, show that it was delivered to the ultimate purchaser, which would mean that you鈥檇 be registered in the state.鈥� she said. 鈥淪o we had requested some of that information to verify those early action credits. I think that鈥檚 sort of what created some of the confusion between Daimler and DEQ.鈥�
The new rules adopted in November updated how manufacturers can earn credits when in the state when new trucks are delivered in the state, Sakata said, rather than waiting for registration confirmation through the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicles database.
But in its note to dealers, Daimler claims no electric vehicle sales showed up in Oregon鈥檚 DMV database, despite sales occurring for the past 18 months.
鈥淭he DEQ has not recognized the products we have sold in the state as zero emissions vehicles, which prevents us from selling even a small number of internal combustion engine products in Oregon,鈥� Daimler Truck North America officials said.
DEQ met with Daimler Truck North America immediately on Dec. 20 after the agency was made aware of the note. According to Sakata, the agency cleared up the miscommunication and clarified the company did not need to show proof of registration.
Despite the meeting, Sakata said Daimler Truck North America emailed DEQ saying the company still had issues with the rules and the pause will remain in place.
鈥淲hile the DEQ later confirmed that they won鈥檛 require DMV registration to receive credits, it wasn鈥檛 confirmed that we will receive credits for zero emission vehicles sold. We hope for more clarification on this issue soon,鈥� Daimler Truck North America officials told OPB on Friday.
Both Daimler and DEQ said they are in talks to find a solution soon.
