Fact: Electric vehicles are NOT perfect.
BUT they are "cleaner" than combustion engines for our planet.
HOWEVER, I don't advocate you check out an EV just for the environmental aspect. I suggest it because they're safer and just more fun to drive, generally speaking.
With an administrative judge giving Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency authority to implement emission rules for clean cars, there's fresh hope that the state will see an even steeper rise in the sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
How it works: The initiative would require manufacturers to deliver more EVs and hybrids here. We'd become the 15th state to adopt such rules.
Context: Minnesota has a very small number of EVs on the roads — just 18,759 as of February, or about 1 in every 400 cars, according to MPCA data.
In 2018, EVs accounted for roughly 1 of every 100new vehicle sale in Minnesota, according to EV adoption.
But we lag way behind California and Washington, where 1 of 13 and 1 of 23 new vehicles sold were electric, respectively.
Supporters of the rules for “clean cars" say forcing dealers to carry more EVs will lead to more sales. But dealers argue it will stick them with unpopular cars that don't sell.