California Senate Bill 1213 is calling out truck makers for playing games with zero emission truck pricing by requiring manufacturers to make truck pricing public if they want access to the state’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) and Clean Transportation Programs.

Authored by California State Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes, SB 1213 passed out of the Environmental Quality Committee yesterday with a unanimous (7–0) vote, the bill moves California one step closer towards forcing transparency in electric heavy truck pricing.

That’s significant, because medium- and heavy-duty trucks don’t come with the kind of “sticker price” you’d see at a car dealership. Instead, deals are typically negotiated behind closed doors, with pricing that can vary widely depending on the customer, the dealer, the number of vehicles involved, and promises to more products in the future – to say nothing of the government, utility, or even manufacturer incentives that can influence how the final numbers shake out.

That lack of transparency makes it difficult to pin down what these trucks actually cost – and whether rebate and incentive programs are actually lowering consumers’ costs or just goosing corporate profits.

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If the bill eventually makes it law, OEMs would be required to report their manufacturers’ suggested retail pricing (MSRP) for all zero-emission truck models offered in California to remain eligible for state incentive programs. The bill reads:

This bill, beginning January 1, 2027, would require a state agency administering any medium- or heavy-duty vehicle incentive program that receives funding from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, including, but not limited to, the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, and any program that receives funding through the California Clean Fuel Reward administered by the state board through the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations, or through the Clean Transportation Program, to condition the inclusion of any medium- or heavy-duty vehicle model in that program upon certain transparency requirements. The bill would require these transparency requirements to include, among other things, the original equipment manufacturer providing the manufacturer suggested retail price for all zero-emission vehicle models offered for sale in California that may be funded by the above-described incentive programs and receipt by the administering agency of a final itemized purchase order, as provided.

This bill would require the state board, in coordination with the Energy Commission, to compile and make publicly available on its internet website the data provided pursuant to these requirements. The bill would also authorize the state board to recover previously dispersed incentive funds that are found to be dispersed based on false data that was knowingly provided or through anticompetitive pricing or sales behavior, as provided. The bill would require immediate suspension of a vehicle model’s eligibility for the above-described incentive programs for failure to comply with the reporting requirements.

CALIFORNIA SB 1213

What’s more, dealers would have to submit final, itemized purchase orders showing the selling vehicle price (before incentives), along with line-item breakdowns listing any additional fees, accessories, warranties, and service agreements.

The new legislation is intended to ensure that any incentive money actually works to lower the barrier to entry for fleet operators, and deliver “direct and meaningful” benefits to fleets operating in the sort of disadvantaged communities that are most vulnerable to the effects of excess air pollution and harmful carbon emissions.

And, as consumer protections go, it’ll make it harder for dealers to “price the customer” instead of pricing the product.

SOURCE: California Legislature; via Clean Trucking.

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