SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California and eight states have outlined an 80-step plan to increase the number of zero-emissions vehicles on the roads, The Wall Street Journal reports. The plan addresses ways that government officials, utilities, dealers, automobile makers and charging/fueling companies can accelerate adoption of electric vehicles and other environmentally friendly cars.
The plan includes more advertisements to promote these vehicles, ride-and-drive events and putting together a network of charging stations throughout the United States. The recommendations also seek to push hydrogen fuel cell cars.
The recommendations come as the Trump administration takes steps to loosen federal rules related to tailpipe emissions. Currently, car makers must sell vehicles that slash emissions enough to average more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025, according to U.S. regulations.
While electric vehicles make up about 1% of auto sales, the coalition’s plan would translate into about 12 million zero-emissions vehicles by 2030 in those nine states—a 26-fold jump. The coalition of states includes California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.
In response to this announcement, NACS, along with other industry stakeholders, sent a letter to the governors of these coalition states outlining concerns about governments’ preference for electric vehicles over other clean and efficient fuels. Specifically, the letter outlines the concerns about governments’ selection of specific transportation technologies without consideration for consumer preferences and demand. Rather than choosing one fuel technology over another, the letter says, state and federal governments should encourage all clean fuels—whether they be electric or liquid motor fuels. NACS is working with all stakeholders to ensure that the fuel retailing industry is part of these discussions and can compete on the same level as any other industry on the future of transportation technologies.
If you want to have a role in the future of fueling, join the The Fuels Institute (a public policy think tank founded by NACS) at an upcoming event. The Institute is hosting a series of collaborative, single-day stakeholder meetings to review current research on the role of octane and other fuel properties related to producing fuels that could enable the design of more efficient spark ignition, internal combustion engines. Each session presents the latest research on fuels and engine options that might enhance vehicle efficiency and reduce emissions, as well as the opportunities and challenges with delivering those products to market.