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North American Electric Vehicle & Infrastructure Conference Show

3 December 1998

North American Electric Vehicle & Infrastructure Conference Show Comes on Heels of New Clean Air Ruling

    PHOENIX, Dec. 2 -- Major automakers and electric utility
companies gathering in Phoenix for an electric vehicle conference this week
will discuss new vehicle emissions regulations approved by California's Air
Resources Board (ARB) last month.  Under terms of the new regulatory package,
partial zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits will be allowed for vehicles that
achieve near-zero emissions, such as hybrids, fuel cells and cars meeting the
new super ultra low emission vehicle (SULEV) standard.
    The North American Electric Vehicle & Infrastructure Conference, NAEVI 98,
sponsored by EVAA, will draw major auto companies and EV component suppliers,
electric utility representatives, fleet customers and government officials
from throughout North America.  The new California rules are sure to be a hot
topic of discussion.
    "The ARB's action to allow partial zero-emission credit for some vehicles
in addition to battery-powered EVs mirrors a profound development in the
transportation industry," said Robert T. Hayden, executive director of the
Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas (EVAA).  "Conventional internal
combustion engines are no longer the only show in town.  Electric motors, in a
variety of drivetrain configurations, increasingly will be part of our
transportation equation."
    California's clean air rules, which are watched closely by industry and
government regulators throughout the U.S. and around the world, call for 10
percent of the passenger cars offered for sale in the year 2003 to be
zero-emission vehicles, or ZEVs.
    "We will see many types of vehicles on the roads, using many types of
electric drive systems -- vehicles powered solely by batteries that are
recharged from the electric utility grid; vehicles powered with electricity
generated by fuel cells housed on-board the vehicle; hybrid vehicles that use
both electric motors and combustion engines; and perhaps other types of
electric systems," Hayden said.  "The ARB's new provision for partial ZEV
credits is a way of acknowledging that electric vehicles will encompass a wide
spectrum of clean, energy-efficient and quiet technologies."
    NAEVI 98 will be held December 3-4 at the Phoenix Civic Plaza.  The
general public is invited to visit displays and test drive electric and other
advanced technology vehicles on Saturday, December 5.
    Located in San Francisco, EVAA is the industry association working to
advance the commercialization of electric vehicles and supporting
infrastructure in the United States, Canada and Latin America through public
information and market development programs.  EVAA members are major industry
stakeholders, including auto companies and other vehicle manufacturers,
electric utilities, EV component suppliers, research institutions and
government agencies.  The Association serves as the industry's central source
of information about electric vehicles.