Calif. to Purchase Medium- & Heavy-Duty ZEVs for State Fleet

The State of California has upped its fleet greening goals, mandating that 15% of specified medium- and heavy-duty vehicle purchases by state agencies must be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2025, and increasing to 30% beginning in 2030.

AB739 defines these vehicles as having a gross vehicle weight rating of 19,000 lbs. or more. Public safety vehicles are exempt.

Governor Edmund Brown Jr. signed the bill, as well as others to strengthen California’s zero- and near-zero-emission vehicle markets, on Oct. 10.

Another bill Brown signed Tuesday is SB498, which increases the light-duty vehicle purchase requirement by state agencies to 50% by 2025, up from the current goal of 25% by 2020. Public safety vehicles are exempt. This new goal was announced last year, in the state’s 2016 ZEV Action Plan.

SB498 states that low adoption of ZEVs can be partially attributed to lack of charging and fueling infrastructure. Demand from fleet owners can help expand the infrastructure available to the general public.

Brown’s goal is to have 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025. In 2016, the state reported that nearly 12% of new light-duty vehicle purchases were zero-emission vehicles, exceeding the goal for that year and putting state agencies in a good position to meet the 25% by 2020 rule.