In August 2014, California reached an electrifying milestone: it became the first state to sell more than 100,000 plug-in electric vehicles. To put that into perspective, it’s about forty percent of all plug-in vehicles sold in the U.S.

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Driving the market are state incentives — cash rebates and permission for people with plug-ins to drive in carpool lanes with just the driver.

But the state has a loftier goal: one million electric vehicles in California by 2020.

Christine Kehoe, Executive Director of the California Plug-in Electric Vehicle Collaborative, says installing chargers in workplaces and multi-family buildings will help, as will encouraging potential buyers to just take the cars for a spin.

KEHOE: “Consumers need more education and more familiarity with the vehicles themselves. Driving electric cars is fun.”

Fun and a way to drive California towards a more sustainable future.

KEHOE: “If we’re serious about climate change, we have to electrify our transportation sector. Here in California, forty-percent of our greenhouse gas emissions comes from our transportation sector alone.”

Other states are watching closely as California leads the charge.

Reporting credit: ChavoBart Digital Media.
Photo: Copyright protected.

More Resources
California Plug-in Electric Vehicle Collaborative
ChargePoint
The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project

Bruce Lieberman, a long-time journalist, has covered climate change science, policy, and politics for nearly two decades. A newspaper reporter for 20 years, Bruce worked for The San Diego Union-Tribune...