Photo via Wikimedia

Photo via Wikimedia

Volkswagen released its plan for national and California-specific zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) investments, as part of its diesel emissions settlement. The automaker agreed to invest $2 billion in ZEV technology, including education, access initiatives, and infrastructure. All ZEV investments will be carried out through the company’s newly created subsidiary Electrify America.

Electrify America’s ZEV investments will be split up into four cycles of funding, for a total of $800 million in California and $1.2 billion in the rest of the country over the next ten years. The first cycle of investments began in January, and will continue through the second quarter of 2019.

For its first cycle of investments in California, Electrify America will spend $120 million on installing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, $20 million on brand-neutral public education activities, and $16 million on operating expenses. It will also spend $44 million on building a green city to focus on ZEV car sharing, delivery fleets, and taxi fleet providers. Foundational work for the first Green City initiatives is set to begin later this year, and will include the installation of 75 supporting chargers.

In the rest of the country, Electrify America will invest $250 million in installing charging infrastructure, $25 million in public education initiatives, $25 million on operational costs, and additional funds on ZEV access initiatives that are still being developed.

For its first investment cycle, Electrify America accepted suggestions for ZEV investments from the public between December 2016 and early February 2017. It received 484 submissions, including 187 from government agencies.

To read Electrify America’s California plan, click here. To read its plan for the rest of the country, click here.

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