--- title: "Stellantis Says California’s to Blame for Making It Harder to Buy an ICE Jeep" description: "The carmaker is fighting what it calls a \"double standard\" in California emissions rules making it easier for its rivals to meet regulations." date: "2023-12-07" modified: "2023-12-07" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/stellantis-says-californias-to-blame-for-making-it-harder-to-buy-an-ice-jeep" categories: - "Car Buying" - "Chrysler News" - "Dodge News" - "Jeep News" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "RAM News" - "Stellantis News" --- # Stellantis Says California’s to Blame for Making It Harder to Buy an ICE Jeep ![]() *\Stellantis\* [Stellantis]() has formally lodged a petition against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for subjecting it to stringent emissions requirements that not all automakers are required to meet. It's the latest chapter in a saga that has impacted the [Chrysler](), [Jeep](), [Ram](), and [Dodge]() vehicles available for sale across the country, that Stellantis said in a statement "destabilizes our production schedules, the livelihoods of our 56,000 U.S. employees, and the thousands of spinoff jobs generated by our operations." First, some background. Over the summer, Stellantis confirmed it was [allocating only electrified versions of its vehicles, when possible, to dealer lots]() in the 14 CARB-compliant states. What this meant is that if you happened to shop in one of those states, the only [Wranglers]() or [Pacificas]() readily in stock were plug-in hybrid vehicles. Pure internal-combustion variants of those models were still available, but they had to be special-ordered for a customer. Meanwhile, dealers in non-CARB states suffered the opposite scenario: few or no hybrids stocked for people to buy and drive away same day, and a predominantly gas-only inventory. ![]() *Dodge Hornet R/T* The reason Stellantis moved to do this was because of CARB rules. Under its regulations, most manufacturers are required to sell a certain percentage of zero-emissions vehicles and plug-in hybrids within those 14 states. That's why Stellantis has prioritized sending such vehicles to those areas of the country. The sticking point for Stellantis is, a group of automakers that signed the department's "framework agreement" in 2020—BMW, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, and Volvo—get to play by different rules. For those automakers, compliance is measured by sales nationwide, not just in CARB states. And that makes those numbers much easier to hit. You may ask why Stellantis didn't just join 'em, if they couldn't beat 'em. It tried. According to the [company's petition](), it applied for the framework group in 2021 but was "barred" from entry. And, the way Stellantis sees it, this was a form of punishment because it [publicly questioned California's authority to set its own regulations]() back in 2019 when the Trump administration was vying to undermine CARB. Stellantis, then just Fiat Chrysler, wasn't alone at the time; General Motors and Toyota were on the same side of the fight. On the other was BMW, Ford, Honda, and Volkswagen, if it's any surprise. Regardless of the cause, Stellantis' position today is that CARB's selective rules violate the California Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by creating an alternate, favorable criteria for certain players, and that the board also violated the company's First Amendment rights by rejecting Stellantis due to arguments made against California regulators in the past. "If CARB had gone through the APA procedures, it would have had to publicly explain and justify the classification of OEMs into a two-tiered regulatory structure, and the regulated community would have had the opportunity to comment on the issues it would create," the petition reads. ![]() *Jeep Wrangler 4xe Willys Stellantis* It's not surprising that Stellantis and GM would've opposed CARB back when it seemed there was an outside chance they wouldn't be forced to play by its rules, which are more stringent than the EPA's national criteria. Both SUV- and truck-centric automakers reportedly paid the government record fines for exceeding Corporate Average Fuel Economy limits in the final years of the previous decade, according to [*Reuters*](). But for Stellantis, these hurdles are still affecting what the company can sell to customers right now in every state, in one manner or the other. A Stellantis representative told *The Drive* that "because of the disparities created by our exclusion from the Framework Agreement, our inventories of unsold electrified vehicles in California have become excessive." They also added that "excluding companies from the Framework Agreement is forcing Stellantis to undertake a production strategy that pits 'California states' against 'non-California states,'" decreasing product availability in some markets and hampering the company's EV rollout, which it's investing $35 billion in. *Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach him here: adam.ismail@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()