Washington, D.C. – Today, the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) published a new white paper on medium- and heavy-duty fleet electrification. The report analyzes the opportunities and challenges to electrifying the United States’ public and private vehicle fleets. It also makes recommendations to policymakers, utility companies, charging companies, and fleet managers to accelerate the electrification of this vehicle segment.

“Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles represent only 4% of the vehicles on the road, but they are responsible for nearly a quarter of all pollution from the transportation sector—which is the most polluting sector in the U.S.,” said Leilani Gonzalez, the report’s lead author. “It is imperative that the federal government follows ZETA’s recommendations to facilitate the electrification of these vehicles as expeditiously as possible. After all, because of their long lives, gasoline- and diesel-powered fleet vehicles that roll off the production line in 2030 will still be polluting communities for the next two decades and beyond.”

ZETA recommends that federal policymakers amend the tax code to allow businesses to receive tax credits for purchasing commercial medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles and installing electric charging infrastructure. ZETA also encourages federal regulators to collaborate with utility companies and charging companies to modify the electrical grid to accommodate emerging technologies like managed charging practices and discounted time-of-use rates to incentivize EV charging during off-peak hours.

The report shows that electrifying the United States’ medium- and-heavy-duty vehicle fleets will provide fuel and maintenance cost savings for fleet operators, improve public health and minimize environmental damages by significantly reducing the emission of toxic pollutants, increase domestic energy production and ensure the United States’ energy security, and generate new jobs in the vehicle manufacturing, charging installation, and trucking industries.

“As these vehicles travel throughout the country, individuals living near roadways, railyards, and ports—who are often disproportionately low-income and people of color—experience the worst health and environmental impacts,” continued Gonzalez. “Electrifying the United States’ medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets will create more environmental equity for the United States’ frontline communities by boosting public health and mitigating environmental degradation. And, these fleet transitions will create jobs and save fleet operators money, too.”

The full report is available here.

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About ZETA

The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) is a federal coalition focused on advocating for 100% EV sales by 2030. ZETA is committed to enacting policies that drive EV adoption, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, secure American global EV manufacturing leadership, drastically improve public health, and significantly reduce carbon pollution.