California – The electric semi will now make a percentage of new semi-truck sales in the state. This move works to further the environmental impact of high carbon emissions.

In a statement by Jimmy O’Dea, senior vehicles for the Union of Concerned Scientists:

“The sales standard is the biggest step to date for electric trucks. It will move the industry from press releases and pilot projects to large-scale production of electric trucks. Fortunately, multiple manufacturers already offer electric truck models so the industry will be able to meet these targets.”

The mandate seeks to slowly replace diesel semi truck purchases and sales with their electric counterpart.

The Electric Semi Will Not Overtake Diesel At The Start

The process will take a while, with the assurance that the diesel trucking industry will be around for years to come.

A statement from Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the advocacy group Diesel Technology Forum mentions the environmental impact in a statement.

“Meeting the climate and clean air challenges in the future will require many solutions, and we are confident the newest generation of diesel technology is one of them.”

These actions are being put forth at the same time electric semi’s have been drawing buzz. Thus, Tesla and its rival Nikola are making big moves to bolster electric semi sales. California is looking to be the front-runner in cleaner methods.

A few weeks back, Nikola became the first to sell their electric semi program to Anheuser-Busch. The beer company is one of the first to implement electric semi-trucks into its fleet. Alongside big names like Walmart and Amazon, Tesla is looking to sell limited runs to improve their operations.

Each company that is entering the electric industry is carving its niche in the market. With GM focusing on commercial utility vans to Tesla and Nikola battling it our for E-semi dominance, the world is seeing the start of a complete industry shift.