| California wants electric vehicle sales to triple in the next four years to 35 per cent of all new car purchases, an aggressive target set as part of the goal to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by the middle of next decade.
California has set a goal of 250,000 charging stations by 2025, and right now there are fewer than 80,000 stations in public spaces or in parking lots at office buildings, apartment buildings and other shared spaces.The California Energy Commission last year approved spending $US314 million over three years for passenger car charging stations and governor Gavin Newsom added more in his proposed state budget.
A group representing the auto industry said meeting the requirements will be “extremely challenging”.Emissions spewed from gas-powered passenger vehicles make up about a quarter of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions — more than any other single source, according to the state air board. That requirement ramps up to 100 per cent of all new sales by 2035. New gas-powered cars wouldn’t be completely banned; up to 20 per cent of sales by 2035 could be plug-in hybrids that run on a combination of battery and gas power, though the regulations boost how far such cars must be able to travel on battery power alone.Major automakers including Ford and Toyota deferred to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group, for a statement on the proposal.