Secretary Serena McIlwain of the Maryland Department of the Environment and Hawaii Senator Chris Lee Join Veloz Leadership
Veloz has officially begun its nationwide expansion with its first leaders from outside of California — Secretary Serena McIlwain and Senator Chris Lee — joining Veloz’s Public Policy Board on July 18, 2023.
“Secretary Serena McIlwain and Senator Chris Lee, who have clearly demonstrated their dedication to combating climate change, are great additions to our Public Policy Board, and I welcome their energy and expertise,” said Caroline Choi, International and Southern California Edison Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Veloz Board Chair. “We are excited to work closely with them and our other leaders as we embark on the next phase of Veloz’s evolution.”
Since Veloz’s inception, the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) market has radically transformed in California and across the country. Veloz’s focus on national expansion is a core pillar of its recently approved multi-year strategic plan. “As General Motors works towards its goal of an all-electric future, we know that we cannot do it alone. We have long-supported Veloz’s efforts in California to support EV adoption and educate stakeholders and believe now is the time to expand this work nationwide,” said David Strickland, General Motors Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs and Transportation Technology Policy and Veloz Board Director.
Veloz’s readiness to leverage its policy and industry leadership to support ZEV adoption efforts nationwide led to the launch of a strategic planning effort in October 2022. This effort included securing support from funders like the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, hiring an outside strategic planning consultancy, creating a task force made up of board leadership, executing an internal and external landscape analysis, and facilitating multiple focus groups and staff sessions to assess Veloz’s position in the market, organizational strengths and areas of opportunity. The plan, which was approved by the Veloz Board in March 2023, includes core strategies, tactics and outcomes, along with a reinvigorated vision and mission, an expanded theory of change, and a clear set of organizational values.
VELOZ STRATEGIC PLAN KEY PILLARS:
- National Expansion
Per the International Energy Agency’s 2023 Global EV Outlook report, there was a 55% increase in ZEVs sold in 2022 in the U.S., reaching a share of 8%. California reached its 1.5 million ZEV sales goal two years early in April 2023 and, according to a new Ernst and Young survey of 1,500 U.S. consumers in March 2023, nearly half of U.S. car buyers plan to go electric in the next two years — which is 20% jump from the prior year. This means ZEV interest across the nation continues to climb and, with its highly-successful Electric For All consumer education campaign, Veloz is uniquely positioned to execute high-leverage opportunities to overcome the three most common barriers to zero-emission vehicle adoption in California and beyond: consumer awareness, upfront cost and charging infrastructure. - ZEV Light-Duty Sector Expansion
Consumer ZEV adoption is just one side of the coin. Electrification of light-duty fleets, electrification within the ride-hailing and autonomous ride-hailing sector and light-duty fleet refueling infrastructure are also within Veloz’s newly expanded purview. With the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule and Clean Mile Standard requiring a phased-in transition toward zero-emission fleet and ride-hailing vehicles, Veloz will leverage our credibility with consumers to create a pathway inviting fleet operators and ride-hailing services to the California table to advance shared climate goals. - ZEV Public Policy Education Expansion
The federal government and many U.S. states will invest billions of dollars over the next five years in ZEVs, ZEV incentives and ZEV infrastructure with an increased focus on priority populations. Beyond the light-duty ZEV market, the medium-and-heavy duty ZEV market is accelerating, along with electric aviation (e.g., eVTOL, short-haul planes, etc.) and electric school buses. Veloz will keep our foot on the pedal to ensure wise ZEV investments, including refueling infrastructure and incentives, while amplifying clean transportation public policies through our communications and convening expertise, reputation and political know-how.
“Consumers now have access to more ZEV makes and models than ever before, infrastructure is expanding, and the market share of new ZEV light-duty vehicles sold in California reached 25% in Q2 2023,” said Veloz Executive Director Josh D. Boone. “We are on the precipice of massive organizational expansion to meet increased demand and our new strategic plan positions us to support the rapid growth of the market across the country.”
To learn more about Veloz’s work, visit veloz.org/about.