EV Acceleration Challenge Aimed at Speeding Up Electrification Efforts

As part of President Joe Biden’s goal of having 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, the White House recently announced its first set of public and private commitments to support America’s historic transition to electric vehicles (EV) under the EV Acceleration Challenge.

The commitments are part of the president's Investing in America agenda to spur domestic manufacturing, strengthen supply chains, boost U.S. competitiveness, and create good-paying jobs.

EVs in America at a Glance

Currently, there are more than three million EVs on the road and over 132,000 public EV chargers across the country.

The Inflation Reduction Act adds and expands tax credits for purchases of new and used EVs, helping bring the benefits of clean energy to communities across the nation. The law also provides incentives to electrify heavy-duty vehicles, and includes support for the installation of municipal EV charging infrastructure. The Biden Administration believes the incentives will lower the cost of EVs and EV charging infrastructure, increase consumer demand and competition, and accelerate the growth of the EV market.

Federal Electrification Effort Update

Federal agencies are committing to deploy an additional 24,000 charging stations at federal facilities by the next fiscal year, adding to the more than 5,000 charging stations already installed at federal facilities nationwide.

The federal government announced that federal agencies have already acquired 13,000 light- and medium-duty zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) in fiscal year 2023. That's about four times the number of ZEVs acquired in the previous year. President Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan requires federal agencies to transition the largest fleet in the world to all electric by acquiring 100% light-duty ZEVs annually by 2027 and acquiring 100% medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs annually by 2035. 

Several large organizations have committed to expanding information and resources to teach the public about electrification opportunities and incentives. Google intends to provide up-to-date information about availability and coverage of tax credits across eligible passenger vehicles through a new search tool that incorporates federal guidance to surface eligible EV tax credits, alongside other critical information.

The Biden administration is asking stakeholders in the public and private sectors to share details about new or not yet publicly announced commitments being made in support of the transition to EVs for a chance to have them highlighted.