Partial zero-emissions vehicle
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A Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV) is an administrative category within the U.S. state of California for low emission vehicles.
This vehicle category was created as part of a bargain with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), so that the automobile manufacturers could avoid producing mandated zero emission vehicles (ZEVs), which would have required the production of electric vehicles, under the theory that a large number of low pollution vehicles would produce the equivalent pollution reduction of a lesser number of zero-emissions vehicles.
The vehicles constructed to meet the PZEV requirements are called Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (SULEVs). Various techniques are used to reduce pollution in these vehicles. In order to qualify as a PZEV, a vehicle must meet the SULEV standard and, in addition, have zero evaporative emissions from its fuel system plus an extended (15-year/150,000-mile) warranty on its emission-control components, which incidentally covers the propulsion electrical components of a hybrid electric vehicle.
Some PZEVs (such as the Toyota Prius) are classified as AT-PZEV, standing for Advanced Technology PZEV. This type of vehicle is typically just as clean as a PZEV vehicle, but gets much better fuel efficiency due to the use of an electric motor and energy recovery in batteries. This technology is also used for larger vehicles such as the Lexus RX400h, which offer greatly improved fuel efficiency compared to the base vehicle but lag behind the efficiency of small cars.
With the exception of some hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles, PZEVs do not come with any incentives for buyers from either federal or state government. In particular, PZEV vehicles do not automatically qualify for $2,000 hybrid car tax deduction or for the "clean air vehicle" decal that allows hybrid car drivers to use car-pool lanes.
