California is at the forefront of the electric vehicle (EV) revolution, having surpassed a significant milestone in its charger infrastructure. The state now boasts more than 150,000 EV chargers, solidifying its position as having the most extensive network in the nation. This announcement came directly from Governor Gavin Newsom's office on Monday.
Among the installed chargers, 137,648 are Level 2 chargers and 14,708 are fast chargers, crucial to keeping the increasing number of electric vehicles on California roads powered and ready to go. This deployment doesn’t just stand as a testament to the state’s commitment to clean transportation, according to Newsom, it’s also part of a larger build more, faster agenda aimed at improving the state's infrastructure. And with more than 24,000 chargers added in the first half of 2024 alone, California is indeed building both bigger and better — faster. "When it comes to zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, California has no peers. The state is all-in on clean transportation, dedicating unprecedented investments to supercharge our transition. We’re building a bigger, better charging network — faster," Newsom said in a statement.
California is also expected to bolster its charging infrastructure with more than $380 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, an investment that will likely multiply these numbers. Additionally, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has funneled over $1 billion into EV projects. This funding is not just about adding numbers but spreading the wealth of clean transport, extending into underserved communities and busy state corridors alike. Notably, this includes an outlay of $390 million for electric school bus charging and $30 million to increase in-state manufacturing of ZEVs and related equipment.
However, California understands that installation is just one facet of the complex gem of transportation evolution. The state has prioritized data collection to further refine the charger deployment strategies. The CEC's improved data collection efforts, which utilize additional data sources, helped identify an update in charger totals, revealing the addition of 24,202 new chargers in the first half of 2024. Each day, more chargers are coming online — an effort that makes the life of an EV driver that much simpler. Since Governor Newsom's 2020 executive order targeting all new car sales to be zero-emission by 2035, there's been a dramatic increase in ZEV sales. As per the California Energy Commission, a quarter of all new cars sold in California during the second quarter of 2024 were ZEVs, with sales of nearly 2 million to date.
With these aggressive advancements in infrastructure, California is cementing its place not only as a leader in ZEV sales – claiming 34% of the nation's new ZEVs, according to the California Air Resources Board – but also as a juggernaut in the industry of cleaner transport. This holistic approach across manufacturing, charging options, and legislative actions exemplifies California's vision for a greener future on the road.
