GCC: California Governor’s office releases ZEV action plan update

The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development has released its ZEV Action Plan Priorities Update. The plan updates the 2016 report, directing State of California departments to coordinate and implement specific actions that advance the uptake of electric vehicles.

Governor Brown’s Executive Order B-48-18, signed in January, reaffirmed California’s commitment to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) and set a new goal of 5 million ZEVs on state roads by 2030, as well as infrastructure targets for PEV chargers and hydrogen fueling stations to support this substantial growth. . . .

The 2018 Priorities Update focuses specifically on state agency actions and is designed to serve three fundamental purposes:

• Provide direction to state agencies on the most important actions to be executed in 2018 to enable progress toward the 2025 targets and 2030 vision.
  
  Give stakeholders transparency into the actions state agencies plan to take (or are taking) this year to further the ZEV market.
  
  Create a platform for stakeholder engagement, feedback, and collaboration.

The 2016 plan was organized around six core topic areas: consumer awareness, affordability, infrastructure, economics and jobs, market growth outside of California, and leading by example by integrating ZEVs into state government. These topic areas are maintained in the update document.

Stakeholders who download the 2018 Priorities Update will find the 2016 Plan included as a reminder that the 2016 Plan remains active. The majority of the 39 actions defined in the 2018 Update are new actions that have been identified as the ZEV market has developed over the past two years. The remaining 2018 actions are included to clarify and emphasize near-term priorities. . . .

As of July 2018, more than 410,000 ZEVs have been sold in California, an increase of approximately 150,000 ZEVs since the publication of the 2016 Action Plan in October 2016. In 2017, ZEVs constituted 5% of new car sales in California, up from 3.8% in 2016.

As of the publishing of this update, 48 passenger ZEV models are available, more than double the models available in October 2016, and nearly all major traditional automakers have announced their intention to electrify significant portions of their portfolio, in addition to automakers focusing exclusively on ZEVs.

While positive ZEV trends continue to climb, work remains to be done to reach 5 million ZEVs by 2030. Five million ZEVs means about 40% of all new purchases would be ZEV by 2030. It means rapid expansion beyond the 2025 targets of 250,000 chargers and 200 hydrogen stations. And it means ZEVs and supporting infrastructure that can meet the demands of the majority of Californians. All of this is possible, but it will only happen with sustained focus on bridging the gap from today’s hard-earned market foundation and tomorrow’s economically driven market.

—“ZEV Action Plan Priorities Update”

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The zero-emission bus market is rapidly expanding and seven transit districts in California, representing
25% of the State’s market, have committed to making the transition to full zero-emission buses. More than a
dozen medium-duty zero-emission truck models are currently available and about 400 are already in service
in parcel and beverage delivery fleets nationwide as interest in this market segment continues to grow. Early
trials of Class 8 zero-emission trucks are showing tremendous promise with both battery and fuel cell drive
trains.

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