Since my last blog in October, leadership in Washington D.C. is changing and one thing is certain: public funding delivered through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is creating EV jobs across the U.S. and inspiring on-going private sector investment.
We’ve had three U.S. presidents since the first modern electric vehicle (EV) came to market in 2010. Regardless of who sat in the Oval Office, EVs continued to make huge strides in availability, affordability, range and market share across the globe. And the charging infrastructure to support the growing number of EVs on the road continues to expand exponentially. And EV sales are growing in blue, red and purple states because EVs are for everyone. Life-long, self-described “petrol heads” agree.
With falling EV prices, a strong used EV market, more incentives and rebates available than ever before, and better affordability overall, there is an EV for everyone. Recent data conducted by Probolsky Research, in partnership with Veloz reveals that nearly 80% of current EV drivers in California plan to purchase another EV for their next car, refuting a survey in the headlines that said most EV owners would choose to go back to a gas car. Another national survey found that almost 90% of EV owners said they are “likely” or “very likely” to purchase an EV as their next car.
Contrary to some media headlines, the electrical grid as it exists today is prepared to handle the electric vehicles (EVs) currently plugging in and, as EV sales continue to increase, electric utilities are already planning improvements to accommodate millions more of them. While industry and policy leaders are making preparations to welcome new EV drivers to the road, utilities are identifying new technology solutions that allow EVs to benefit the grid — from cost reductions for all utility customers to reliability improvements to climate pollution reduction.
Media headlines over the last six months questioning the future of the electric vehicle (EV) industry, while provocative and no doubt driving the clicks they were designed to elicit, are not painting the full picture of the evolution happening across the globe in the transition to electrified transportation. The transition to EVs is just reaching its adolescence. Sales continue to rise globally and second-quarter U.S. sales climbed 11.3% from last year.
At Veloz, our vision is that 100% of new cars sold throughout the state and the nation are electric. We often tout ditching the gas station and charging up at home — like you do your cell phone every night — as one of the greatest benefits of owning an electric vehicle.
However, if we’re going to achieve our transportation electrification goals and bring the benefits of pollution-free, gas-free car ownership to more people, we need to find more ways to plug-in at townhouses, apartments and condos — known as multifamily or multi-unit dwellings. Installing charging infrastructure at multifamily dwellings is one of the biggest hurdles facing the transition to electric vehicles.
There are two main issues that must be overcome to make multifamily dwelling charging easier:
1. The high costs of building new charging infrastructure.
2. The logistical difficulty of retrofitting older buildings that don’t have the power capacity or panel space […]
As we watch the war unfold in Eastern Europe, our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine, our colleagues whose family and friends are in danger and the people of Russia who do not want this war. As a global community, we rely on not only the generosity and kindness of our neighbors, but also on resources and goods from countries a world away.
Russia is the third largest producer of petroleum in the world and the current geopolitical crisis illustrates how imperative it is to transition away from a fossil-fuel based economy for the health and safety of all people and our planet. At Veloz, an important part of our mission is to eliminate our dependence on oil by replacing all gas-powered vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs) in California and beyond.
To do that, we need to think globally and act locally […]
Used electric vehicles are selling like hot cakes and are cheaper than comparable used gas cars! However, due to the technology being relatively new along with COVID-19 supply chain impacts, some unique trends are underway within the used EV market. According to Recurrent, two big trends are: 1) a low inventory of pre-owned EVs and 2) a global shortage of silicon chips, which EVs use ten times as many of. Dealerships that reduced supply during the COVID shutdown are now racing to replenish their used EV inventory. Recurrent reports that dealerships are so hungry for supply that some are going so far as to reach out directly to former customers to try encouraging them to sell back or trade-in their EVs.
On the bright side, approximately 70% of U.S. annual car purchases are used cars. This represents a huge market for EVs to tap into. With the combination of more and more early adopters’ three-year leases expiring and a huge new crop of increasingly affordable EVs hitting the market, the good news is that there will be used EVs starting as low as $10,000 soon […]
Electrified transportation is inevitable. Talk to anyone in the industry. We know it, and so do those who have a lot of money invested in fossil fuels. Some are moving quickly to adapt, while others are fighting the transition. To quote President Obama, “Hard things are hard.” A transition to an all EV future is hard but necessary. Recently, a private consulting group in the Midwest released a study claiming electric cars cost more to fuel than gas cars. It got some media traction, and a lot of pushback and scrutiny of their assumptions such as accounting for free charging at commercial rates. Car and Driver does a stellar job setting the record straight, however you can be sure that the study top-lines will be used again and again by those aiming to delay or derail electric vehicles. At Veloz, we are busting disinformation. We have the facts on our side and are laser-focused on making sure consumers are not fooled. That’s why we launched our EV mythbusting website and are planing a new Electric For All Mythbusters-style education campaign for next year […]
The federal bipartisan infrastructure bill’s recent Senate passage is a promising step toward building an accessible, abundant and reliable nation-wide EV charging network. Combining its $7.5 billion investment with the Department of Transportation’s $5 billion earmark for state and local grants marks an important leap forward in solving the chicken and egg challenge of electric vehicle adoption. Even when these federal investments are coupled with individual state’s infrastructure funding, more is needed. $87 billion more to be exact, according to Atlas Public Policy. GridLab, Energy Innovation, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and UC Berkeley project even higher. Utilities, automakers and EV charging providers are investing big and need to go bigger. This is a complex challenge though, so how we spend those dollars is as important as how much we spend. There is, of course, both risk and opportunity, so we must proceed wisely and swiftly.
We need to accelerate the shift in the EV market from the early adopters phase to the early majority […]
