The Clean Cars 4 All Program Has Replaced More than 2,000 San Joaquin Valley Cars with Plug-in Electric Vehicles
The Coalition for Clean Air (CCA) announced the successful replacement of 2,000 older, highly-polluting cars with used plug-in electric vehicles in disadvantaged communities in the San Joaquin Valley. The milestone is the direct result of the Charge Ahead California Initiative (SB 1275), authored by then-Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin De León and sponsored by CCA and its partners in the Charge Ahead California campaign.
The announcement comes as Governor Gavin Newsom prepares to unveil details about his proposed $1.5 billion funding for transportation electrification, which prioritizes investments for the Clean Cars 4 All program.
“We’re thrilled to see climate investments delivering clean transportation to low-income Californians,” said Bill Magavern, Policy Director for CCA. “Making sure that the revenue from carbon auctions is spent in the communities that are already experiencing the impacts of climate change is the right thing to do in terms of both fairness and cost-effectiveness.”
SB 1275 directed the California Air Resources Board to create the Climate Equity Pilot Programs, which receive a portion of the revenue from California’s carbon auctions. One of those Climate Equity Pilots is Clean Cars 4 All, administered by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, which offers low-income drivers in state-designated disadvantaged communities up to $9,500 to replace their older, high-polluting cars with used plug-in vehicles, which are generally available for around $13,500. This program removes one of the largest sources of unregulated emissions from low-income communities, and replaces them with very affordable and reliable plug-in electric vehicles.
In total, Clean Cars 4 All in the Valley Air District has replaced more than 3,000 cars; it’s especially significant that 2,000 of these customers chose to replace their old cars with a very affordable used plug-in electric vehicle (either a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle or a battery electric vehicle). These results show that the San Joaquin Valley is a stronger market than assumed for electric vehicles, and that plug-in vehicles are a very affordable, practical option for low-income Valley families.
Clean Cars 4 All has shown that Fresno County is an especially strong market for used plug-in vehicles – 357 low-income customers have purchased a battery electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid since 2015, with 248 of those purchases occurring since January 2019.
To mark this occasion, CCA is sponsoring a series of TV and radio ads featuring Valley drivers telling their stories of how their plug-in electric vehicles have changed their lives. These ads are available here: https://www.ccair.org/san-joaquin-valley-hits-milestone-in-electric-vehicle-adoption/
“The right to clean air is critical for all Californians,” said Dan Jacobson , Director of Environment California and a leader with the Charge Ahead California campaign. “We are thrilled that Governor Newsom is supporting the Clean Cars for All program that is working to take dirty cars off our roads and replace them with clean, reliable cars. We can all breathe a little easier knowing that more Californians will have access to reliable transportation.”
Note: Please contact Coalition for Clean Air for additional details about Clean Cars 4 All results in the San Joaquin Valley as well as to schedule phone interviews with satisfied customers.