Four local government agencies in Northern California - San Jose, Los Gatos, Campbell, and Mill Valley - have deployed 50 Mitsubishi all-electric vehicles in their fleets. The vehicles were secured under highly favorable lease terms, removing the up-front cost barrier and risk of traditional vehicle procurement, according to a release from the Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC). The BACC said this is the single largest deployment of light-duty all-electric vehicles to municipal fleets in the nation to date.

“Combined, these 50 vehicles could save the participating municipalities over $110,000 in fuel costs and reduce CO₂ emissions by nearly 400,000 lbs. over three years,” noted Rafael Reyes, executive director of the Bay Area Climate Collaborative. “For fleets, EVs bring improved total-cost-of ownership and insulation from gas price hikes.”

The City of San Jose, which received 38 of the 50 vehicles, is aiming to power 100% of its fleet with alternative-fuel vehicles by 2022 as a part of its Green Vision and is currently 40% of the way toward achieving this goal. This deployment also is enabling smaller municipalities to both demonstrate the benefits of EVs in fleets and emerge as sustainability leaders. The Town of Los Gatos, City of Campbell, and the City of Mill Valley are using the rest of the vehicles.

“Many of our fleet vehicle routes are predictable and take place within the City itself,” explained City of Campbell Mayor Evan Low. “These i-MiEVs are ideally suited for such applications and, using the network of 11 charging stations we’ve installed, we’ll be able to charge the vehicles throughout the day. The EV proposition makes a lot of sense for our fleet.” 

Other public fleets that have deployed EVs recently are the State of Illinois and the Town of Normal, Ill. The State of Rhode Island also announced an interest in adopting EVs into its own fleet.

Supporting the region’s efforts to establish the Bay Area as the “EV Capital of the US” and Governor Brown’s goal of 1.5 million EVs on California roads by 2025, this deployment is one in a series the BACC and partners are facilitating, which collectively could result in more than 250 EVs deployed over the next 12 months. 

This opportunity was the result of a multi-partner, cross-sector collaboration. Mitsubishi Motors North America is the supplier of the all-electric i-MiEV. Active International, a corporate trading and marketing solutions provider with services that increase market share, funded the leases through its corporate trading program, and worked with Mike Albert Fleet Solutions, a national fleet management and services provider, to develop the highly favorable leasing terms. The BACC validated the Bay Area market for Active International, facilitated key business relationships in support of the deal, and coordinated with the public agencies to help finalize agreements.