Earlier today Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced an initiative to accelerate the adoption of EVs by the public.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich issued a challenge to County residents and businesses today to “Lead the EV Charge” by pledging to buy electric vehicles as the County launched the Washington Region’s first Electric Vehicle (EV) Purchasing Cooperative pilot program. The initiative is designed to accelerate the adoption of EVs by the public in an effort to reach the County’s Climate Action Plan goal of an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2027 and a 100 percent reduction by 2035.
According to the press release:
“If we are to achieve our Climate Action Plan goal of zero emissions by 2035, we will need to completely transition our transportation system away from fossil fuels, and we need to start right away,” County Executive Elrich said. “Community members and businesses who take the pledge to make their next vehicle electric will help demonstrate consumer demand for electric vehicles in Montgomery County. We are working to get more people into electric vehicles by making the purchasing process easier. Electric vehicles have lower emissions and operating costs and the program will make them more accessible. It’s going to take all of us doing our part to realize a cleaner future for our community.”
The pilot phase of the program is scheduled to run from January through May 2022. As a centerpiece of the pilot, County Executive Elrich is challenging residents and businesses to sign an online pledge stating that their next vehicle purchase will be a new or pre-owned electric vehicle. The County set a goal of getting 1,000 Montgomery County residents and 50 businesses to take the pledge this year.
The pledge is available on the County website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/zev.
The program also will provide EV information resources for consumers and dealerships. The program includes an “EV Ambassador” program that encourages EV owners to share their experiences with community members and an “Electrified Dealer” program that offers EV training to dealerships sales teams.
Read more about Montgomery’s Electric Vehicle Purchasing Co-op Pilot.
