New York’s governor Kathy Hochul announced the signing of some new legislation that would ban the sale of vehicles that use internal combustion engines from 2035 on.
The electrified future is upon us whether you like it or not. Even if consumers don’t want it, state legislations do.
This bill signed would impact all cars, trucks, off-road vehicles, and equipment. Motorcycles and scooters are not specifically called out but it stands to reason they would be included.
New York’s Decision Could Ripple Across the Country
RideApart reached out to the Governor’s office to find out for sure if motorcycles and scooters and other two-wheeled vehicles would be included in this decision.
It only makes sense that they would. And while I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing (the effects of climate change are a real and serious threat), I wonder if motorcycles and scooters should be targeted. They represent such a small portion of the issue here.
There are far bigger fish to fry when it comes to excessive amounts of greenhouse gasses including the shipping industry, cruise ships, military activities, and so much more. Pushing this requirement onto regular consumers seems to be a silly way to address the issue as a whole.
A better move would be to focus and incentivize the companies producing vehicles and put restrictions on oil companies and some of the other largest polluting organizations in the state.
This decision could also have ripple effects across the country, pushing other states to implement similar legislation. While any move to help fight climate change and protect the environment is going to be touted as a step in the right direction, these kinds of moves are only scratching the surface.
With all that said, I’m certainly not opposed to more electric motorcycles and more electric infrastructure being created. Companies like Cake keep innovating, and Zero recently revealed its new 2022 lineup. LAND continues to do amazing work and Damon Motorcycles is moving right along. I’ll be chatting with Damon’s CEO later this week about their move towards producing their motorcycles. That article will appear on Web Bike World.
Also, mainstream motorcycle companies are getting more and more into electric bikes with new concepts, swappable battery technologies deals, and more.
The progression of electric motorcycles will continue, and this kind of legislation will only fuel the fire. I just wonder if the state of New York couldn’t address the concerns of climate change in a more impactful way.
