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Governor Gavin Newsom of California announced $3.6 billion in investments aimed at accelerating the state's transition to zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) and making electric vehicles (EVs) more accessible and affordable.
The new funding includes a $2.6 billion investment plan approved by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for a variety of ZEV projects, including more than $2 billion for zero-emission trucks and buses, and off-road equipment including school buses, transit buses, and drayage trucks, $326 million for vehicle purchase incentives, and $55 million for clean mobility investments.
The CARB investments also assist low-income families in purchasing an EV by offering up to $19,500 in incentives for EV purchases with an older vehicle to be scrapped, or $15,000 without an older vehicle, a major increase from the current $3,000 incentive.
Priority will be given to investments in charging infrastructure for low-income, tribal, and underserved utility customers. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) also adopted a $1 billion transportation electrification program that provides a funding structure for utility transportation electrification efforts through 2030.
70% of the revenue from the CPUC program will be allocated to charging for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which, according to the state, are responsible for a disproportionate amount of air pollution from the transportation sector.
The statement is the latest in a series of steps California has taken to transition to cleaner transportation, including the adoption of a law earlier this year requiring all new car, pickup truck, and SUV sales in the state to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
Governor Newsom said:
"California is leading the globe in the movement toward zero-emission vehicles, while also ensuring that those most afflicted by air pollution reap the advantages. These innovative investments to provide cost-saving incentives and extend access to ZEV charging infrastructure in all of our communities bring us one step closer to realizing California's clean transportation future."