A while back, California set an aggressive goal of obtaining statewide carbon neutrality by 2045. A big part of that is taking as many gas-powered vehicles off the roads as possible, which includes finding a solution for the hundreds of thousands of tractor trailers and large commercial trucks that move more than five million tons of freight through California each day.
The CARB (California Air Resources Control Board) has sent clear messages to the trucking industry that this means finding an all-electric solution for what many experts consider a mom-and-pop industry, with many unable to afford the cost of what should be expensive new vehicles. Remember, two years ago California pledged to have the entirety of its public bus fleet go electric by 2040, so a precedent has already been set. Meanwhile, pundits like Chris Shimoda, Vice President of Government Affairs for the California Trucking Association, are quick to right set expectations given the devastating effects of COVID-19 thus far.
“There is probably a middle ground between where the advocates on the other side of this are and where we are,” said Shimoda. “We are in month one of assessing what the true impacts to the economy over the longer term are going to be from the pandemic and with the initial timeline for the vehicles.”
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