FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2020
Statement by Ben Prochazka, National Director of the Electrification Coalition
“Our transportation sector is almost entirely reliant on oil, so we need to take critical action to accelerate the transition to electrification. These 15 states and the District of Columbia have taken an important step toward making freight movement a driving force for our electric transportation future. This ambitious action from state leaders will help reduce our oil dependency, diversify the fuel used to move freight across the country, lower vehicle emissions, and ensure our transportation network is powered domestically.”
Background
On Tuesday, 15 states and the District of Columbia announced a Memorandum of Understanding setting an aggressive goal that 100 percent of all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales be zero-emission vehicles by 2050, with an interim target of 30 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2030. This electrification effort spans large pickup trucks and vans, delivery trucks, box trucks, school and transit buses, and long-haul delivery trucks.
Earlier this year, Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a sister organization of the EC, released Get America Moving Again, which proposed expanding the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan program (ATVM) that supports the manufacturing of alternative fuel vehicles and taking additional steps to advance heavy-duty transportation electrification.
In addition, the EC is launching a freight electrification pilot project that will focus on reducing the barriers to early-stage freight electrification and is working with cities, states, and companies to launch a project in the coming year.
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About the Electrification Coalition: The Electrification Coalition is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group of business leaders committed to promoting policies and actions that reduce America’s dependence on oil by facilitating the deployment of electric vehicles on a mass scale. The members of the Electrification Coalition are leaders of companies representing the entire value chain of an electrified transportation system. For more information, visit www.electrificationcoalition.org.
Media Contact: Adam Snider, Electrification Coalition asnider@electrificaitoncoalition.org | 202-365-8971