26 Chapter 3 There is another term that is occasionally used in reference to electric vehicles, that is Light Electric Vehicle (LEV). The LEV ranges from both two- and three-wheeled electric motorcy- cle-type platforms to electric bicycles. The LEV market is actually the largest electric vehicle market in the world with between 25 and 30 million LEVs sold annually throughout the world. The vast majority of these are electric bicycles (e-bikes), pedelecs (electric assist bicycles), and electric scooters that are sold in Asia, but demand is growing strongly in the Western markets for this type of technology. There are also a couple of EV industry terms that should be understood.
The California Air Resource Board (CARB) or sometimes referred to as the Air Resource Board (ARB) is one of the biggest reasons for the growing demand for electric vehicles in the United States. In 1990, CARB passed into legislation the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which required that by 1998 two percent of all vehicles sold in California must emit zero emis- sions, increasing to 5% in 2001 and 10% in 2003 (California Air Resource Board, 2014). While this early mandate for vehicle electrification missed its initial targets, it has become the driving force for both electrification and hybridization in the United States.
By 2009, there were at least 21 other states that had either adopted ZEV mandates or were consider- ing doing so. In 2013, eight US states including California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massa- chusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to put 3.3 million ZEVs on the roads by 2025 through a combination of R&D, infrastructure, education, and incentivization. This move would increase ZEV penetration to about 15% of all vehicle sales in the United States (Green Car Congress, 2013) ( Figure 4 ). States with California’s emission standard States considering adopting California’s emission standard Note:
The Maryland Legislature passed the clean cars bill, but the governor has not yet signed it. He has stated that he will sign it. Source: Union of Concerned Scientists MERCURY NEWS Figure 4 States that have enacted ZEV emissions standards.