{"id":7231,"date":"2026-08-19T17:07:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7231"},"modified":"2026-08-19T17:07:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:07:59","slug":"california-will-soon-start-regulating-tires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7231","title":{"rendered":"California will soon start regulating tires"},"content":{"rendered":"
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California has jumped into the tire-oversight business.<\/p>\n

The California Energy Commission on Monday unanimously approved the nation\u2019s first efficiency standard for replacement tires for passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks.<\/p>\n

Read more Two dead after suspected arson fires in Richmond<\/a><\/p>\n

The commission is confident the new regulations that start in 2029 will save drivers in the Golden State billions of dollars in fuel costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.<\/p>\n

But some tire makers and auto industry groups say the mandate will increase the costs of replacement tires and make 70% of tires currently on the market in California obsolete in seven years.<\/p>\n

How it will work<\/h4>\n

Tires on new vehicles are designed to give drivers better fuel mileage. But replacement tires tend to be less efficient and drivers lose mileage \u2014 and in the case of electric vehicles, lose range.<\/p>\n

The new standards aim to make sure replacement tires are as at least as energy efficient as tires on brand new cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and EVs.\u00a0The replacement tires may be more expensive but the energy commission estimates drivers will save money in the long run on gasoline and electricity costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis action will help Californians save approximately $1 billion a year on refueling while reducing pollution and extending the range of vehicles on the road,\u201d CEC chair David Hochschild said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The commission predicts the new rule will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2 million metric tons per year \u2014 the equivalent of taking about 400,000 gasoline-powered cars off California\u2019s roads and highways.<\/p>\n

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The first phase of the regulations start in 2029. The incremental during that time, the CEC says, will come to $1.50 per tire. In phase 2, which runs from 2033 and beyond, the incremental cost will increase to $6.50 per tire.<\/p>\n

A typical driver of an internal combustion engine vehicle with efficient tires will save $179 in gasoline over the life of a set of tires, the CEC says. That\u2019s based on a gas price of $4.60 per gallon. As of Tuesday, the average price for a gallon of regular in San Diego stood at $5.68, so by the CEC\u2019s reckoning, the savings would be even greater.<\/p>\n

The commission conducted laboratory tests and says its analysis shows the regulation will result in no \u201cadverse tradeoffs\u201d with regard to replacement tire lifespan, safety or other characteristics.<\/p>\n

Working with tire manufacturers and trade groups prior to Monday\u2019s 5-0 vote, the CEC carved out exemptions to the regulation for specialty tires such as competition tires, all-weather winter performance tires and large off-road tires.<\/p>\n

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Support and opposition<\/h4>\n

Nancy Skinner, one of the CEC\u2019s five commissioners, said the higher price of replacement tires will be more than offset by the financial savings in the long run.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, whatever type of standard we do is going to cost the manufacturer a little bit to meet it,\u201d Skinner told Ashley Zavala of KCRA-TV. \u201cWe want to make sure that that delta of the increased cost of the product is small enough that the consumer still reaps a huge savings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Consumer Federation of America supported passing the regulation, as well as a range of environmental groups.<\/p>\n

Read more Los Gatos council delays mosque\u2019s appeal hearing due to public records requests<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving inefficient tires causes your car\u2019s engine to work harder and burn more gas,\u201d said Chris Chavez, deputy policy director at Coalition for Clean Air. \u201cThis pollutes our air and costs you money.\u201d<\/p>\n

A major tire manufacturer also came out in favor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe support the efficiency goals and believe the proposed thresholds in this rulemaking are technically feasible within the defined timeframes,\u201d Michelin North America\u2019s director of state and local government affairs, Francesca Mosteller, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

But other tire companies and trade groups opposed the new rule.<\/p>\n

In an April 24 letter to the CEC, Goodyear, Yokohama, the California Tire Dealers Association and others predicted the cost of replacement tires would increase by about $6 to $10 per tire and that tires required under phase 2 \u201care typically priced hundreds of dollars more per set than baselinealternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter described the regulation as a \u201cone size-fits-all approach (that) is particularly problematic given the cost impacts involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pacific Research Institute, a Pasadena think tank that advocates for free-market solutions to policy issues, criticized the mandate as regulatory overreach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere does it stop? It seems like there\u2019s no corner of our lives where they think they can\u2019t become involved,\u201d said Kerry Jackson, the group\u2019s William Clement Fellow in California Reform. \u201cI know (the CEC has) a number out there of what they think it\u2019s going to save the consumer, but I don\u2019t think this ever turns out the way they want it to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skinner, in her interview with KCRA, said, \u201cWell, we regulate hair dryers, TVs, refrigerators, all kinds of appliances, right? And tires are really not much different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before her appointment to the energy commission last year, Skinner served in the state Senate from 2016 to 2024 and the Assembly from 2008 to 2014. Representing the East Bay and Berkeley, the Democrat carved out a niche in the statehouse for introducing and promoting environmental and climate legislation.<\/p>\n

Moving forward<\/h4>\n

Some manufacturers complained that 70% of current tire inventory would not meet the 2033 standards required in phase 2 of the regulation.<\/p>\n

But CEC officials say there are already replacement tires available today that meet the standards and tire companies \u201cwill have many years to adjust the design of tires\u201d that don\u2019t meet the new requirements.<\/p>\n

Ivan Drury, senior manager of auto insights at Edmunds, said he would not be surprised if some drivers will simply buy tires in neighboring states, especially when making trips to, say, Nevada or Arizona.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that for some people, their natural visceral gut reaction would be, \u2018I\u2019m opposed to this,\u2019 and do something like that,\u201d Drury said. \u201cBecause it\u2019s something in which you could just kind of circumvent the rules if you wanted to. It\u2019s like, what kind of enforcement\u2019s going to be put in place?\u201d<\/p>\n

The framework for the new rule goes back more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

Assembly Bill 844, passed in 2003, directed the CEC to adopt a replacement tire efficiency program, but it was delayed and sat idle until commission staff in November 2020 instituted an informational proceeding to obtain data, get comments from stakeholders and make recommendations.<\/p>\n

Read more Taste-Off: Mini pancakes brands ranked from pillowy perfection to doughy and bland<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The California Energy Commission unanimously approved the nation\u2019s first efficiency standard for replacement tires for passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia will soon start regulating tires - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7231\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California will soon start regulating tires - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The California Energy Commission unanimously approved the nation\u2019s first efficiency standard for replacement tires for passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7231\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-19T17:07:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7231#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7231\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"California will soon start regulating tires\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-19T17:07:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7231\"},\"wordCount\":1067,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7231#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/a00e892a829a19ebe7abc4495111954a.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7231#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7231\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7231\",\"name\":\"California will soon start regulating tires - 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