Here's When Gas Cars Could Be Banned In Your Country

With an objective to fight climate change and promote sustainable energy, countries around the world are embracing electric vehicles. It's not just governments that are pushing for a greener future; car manufacturers are too. Most governments, states, automotive manufacturers, and fleet operators have pledged to transition to 100% electrified vehicles over the next decade.

In the United States, the Biden administration introduced a new law with tax credits for electric vehicles that puts popular brands like Tesla and General Motors back on the menu — as long as the EVs are manufactured locally. The U.S government is also working on an economic strategy that will increase the production of electric vehicles so that one out of every two vehicles that will be sold by 2030 will be an EV (via The White House).

But people are curious when most countries and states will completely ban the sale of new gasoline vehicles. Here is what we know.

According to the COP26 declaration, most countries have committed to selling 100% electric vehicles by 2040. However, states that have leading markets are expected to phase out gasoline cars by 2035. Most countries in Europe signed the COP26 declaration, and the E.U. is planning to ban fossil fuel vehicles by 2035 — as reported by CNBC. The U.K,. although it's no longer a member of the E.U., also plans to restrict the sale of gasoline vehicles by 2035. Other emerging markets like India, Kenya, Mexico, Turkey, and Rwanda that are part of the COP26 declaration have set up a deadline to ban gas cars by 2040.

Currently, Norway is the leading country in implementing government policies to support electric vehicles. According to Canary Media, 86% of vehicles sold in Norway are electric vehicles — and it could be the first country to have an auto market with 100% electric vehicle sales over the next decade. Iceland is also setting a good example with 72% of total car sales constituting electric cars, while Sweden is third with 43%.

The United States is inconspicuously missing from the COP26 declaration. However, states such as California, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Virginia are planning to ban the sale of gasoline vehicles by 2035 — as reported by The Hill. In addition to that, other U.S. cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, and Charleston are signatories of the COP26 declaration.

The U.S. federal government has yet to pass a bill that will ban gas-powered vehicles in the near future, but Reuters reports that the government fleet will switch to electric vehicles by 2035. President Joe Biden also approved the inflation reduction bill that seeks to promote local EV manufacturers and offer tax incentives when buying electric cars.

Over the border, Canada announced that it will phase out gasoline cars by 2035. Similarly, China, the largest EV market in the world, will transition to only selling electric, fuel-cell, and hybrid vehicles by 2035 — according to Nikkei Asia.

Most major auto manufacturers currently producing gasoline cars will shift to selling electric cars by 2035. More succinctly, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo Cars are signatories of the COP26 declaration. Beyond that, Toyota expects 70% of its total vehicle sales in the U.S. by 2030 will be electrified vehicles, and Honda is working on a strategy to phase out 100% of its gas-powered cars by 2040.

Other major automakers such as Hyundai, Volkswagen, and BMW are also ditching gasoline cars for electric vehicles. Not to mention, iconic American muscle cars like the Charger and Challenger will be discontinued by 2024 and replaced by electric car models.

In a nutshell, the great migration from gas-powered vehicles to zero-emission vehicles is happening gradually — it's not a question of "if" but "when." After most automakers transition to selling electric cars, you could be forced by market dynamics to buy an electric car, even if your state or country doesn't ban internal combustion vehicles over the next decade. Of course, there will still be gasoline vehicles on the road after 2035, but it could be difficult to buy a brand-new gas-powered car since most dealerships won't sell them.