MEDFORD, Ore. – Gas-powered cars, trucks and SUVs are on their way out in Oregon.
On Monday, the Environmental Quality Commission voted to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035.
The ruling does not include the sale of selling used cars that run on gas.
Earlier this year, California also announced a statewide ban on new gas-powered cars by 2035.
The general manager of Butler Kia in Medford believes there is plenty of time for the EV market to take off in the next 13 years.
“It is a smaller part of our market right now,” Butler Kia GM Craig Hansen said. “It’s definitely a market that’s grown for us. It’s enough of a timeline, 13 years for his to pivot from gas engines to the full electric so I think that is a good opportunity.”
Hansen said Kia itself is already pivoting to electric vehicles, with 6 new ones expected in the coming years.
However, the commission estimates that at least 65% of vehicles on the road in 2035 will still be powered by internal combustion engines.
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