Zero Emissions Commerical Vehicles (ZECV) or Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV) are any vehicles that use a propulsion technology which does not produce internal combustion engine exhaust or other carbon emissions when it operates.¹

The CARB and EPA definitions of ZEV vary slightly: 

• CARB Definition: produce zero exhaust emissions of any criteria pollutant (or precursor pollutant) under all possible operational modes and conditions. This is any exhaust emissions – CO2, Nox, PM, etc.  [What are Criteria Air Pollutants?]
  • Precursor pollutants, which are substances that react chemically to form other pollutants and include nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds that form ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that form fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and HAPs that are constituents or precursors of general pollutants that produce adverse effects on public health or welfare.
• EPA is regulating Carbon Emissions and Defines Zero-Carbon Technologies via their Greenhouse Gas Emissions Model (GEM) for Medium and Heavy duty Vehicle compliance. A zero Carbon vehicle is a vehicle that emits no CO2 out of the tail pipe. For example – Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) are classified as a zero-carbon technology enabling the same zero-carbon score as a FCEV or BEV powertrains in the EPA’s GEM model for OEM CO2 compliance.