Overview
- The California Energy Commission approved new rolling-resistance limits for replacement passenger and light-truck tires that require replacement tires to match the fuel efficiency of tires fitted to new vehicles.
- The regulation phases in initial limits by 2029 and stricter requirements by 2033 while the commission projects about $1 billion in annual driver fuel and energy savings and large CO2 reductions.
- Major tiremakers and some retailers warn the rule could remove a large share of current replacement models, raise per-tire costs, and affect availability and performance, a claim the commission disputes.
- The commission’s chair defended the rule publicly and said enforcement will rely on laboratory testing of certified models plus retailer spot checks while the agency allows exemptions for snow, competition, motorcycle, retreaded, and limited-production tires.
- The regulation implements authority from a 2003 state law and follows years of federal delay, making the rule part of California’s broader history of product-efficiency standards that regulators say will drive market changes for manufacturers and consumers.