WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency said on Friday it has not made a decision yet

on whether to approve California's landmark plan to end the sale

of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035.

A senior California Air Resources Board official told

Reuters in October the state expects the EPA to grant a waiver

under the Clean Air Act to California to implement its plan to

require that at least 80% of new cars sold be electric by 2035

and up to 20% plug-in hybrid models. California's rules have

been adopted by 11 other states including New York,

Massachusetts and Oregon.

California has seven other waivers pending with the EPA.

"EPA continues to review California's waiver requests

closely to make sure its decisions are durable and grounded in

the law. We have no updates to share on timing," an EPA

spokesperson said.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to rescind waivers

granted by the EPA to California to require more EVs and tighter

vehicle emissions standards.

California's rules require 35% of vehicles in the 2026 model

year to be a zero-emission model, rising to 68% by 2030. The

state says the rule is crucial to meeting greenhouse gas

emission reduction targets and cutting smog-forming pollutants.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group

representing General Motors ( GM ), Volkswagen,

Toyota Motor ( TM ) and other automakers, said the "program

will depress economic activity, increase costs and limit vehicle

choice" and will require automakers to sell fewer vehicles in

the 12 states to comply.

"Achieving the mandates will take a miracle. There needs to

be balance and some states should exit the program," the group

wrote.

On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a bid by fuel

producers to challenge the waiver California received in 2022

for vehicle emissions rules.

California, the most populous U.S. state, has received more

than 75 waivers since 1967, requiring increasingly better

emissions performance and EV sales.

The EPA in March 2022 reinstated a waiver for California to

set its own tailpipe emissions limits and zero-emission vehicle

mandate through 2025, reversing a 2019 decision under Trump's

first administration.