California

EV sales continue to rise steadily in California, reaching a record 22.3% market share in Q3. But Tesla has returned to its position as second-best selling overall car brand in the state, behind longtime leader Toyota, after briefly eclipsing the brand last quarter.

California governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed legislation that mandates all new school buses in the state to be electric starting in 2035.

California has added a new $2,000 incentive for low- and moderate-income EV buyers, bringing the total state incentives to $9,500.

On top of the federal $7,500 EV tax credit and potential local or regional credits, this means some new EV buyers can get $17,000 or more back on the purchase of a new EV.

The Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, the world’s largest lithium-ion battery energy storage system, has been expanded to 750 MW/3,000 MWh.

An electric truck charging depot that can charge up to 96 trucks at once will service fleets moving cargo to and from the Port of Oakland.

Califooooorniaaaaaa here we coooommmmeeeee (autonomously). Mercedes-Benz has just announced that its SAE Level 3 autonomous driver assist system, DRIVE PILOT, has been certified to operate in the entire state of California, beginning with a couple of familiar models.

Tesla continues to have the two top-selling vehicles in California, with the Tesla Model Y extending its No. 1 sales lead over the competition and the Model 3 holding strong at No. 2. But other manufacturers’ sales are picking up too, leading the state to a 23.2% market share for vehicles with plugs – 19.5% BEV and 3.7% PHEV.

A bill has been introduced in California which would require all EVs to have bidirectional charging capability starting in model year 2027.

The California Air Resources Board has voted unanimously to finalize its Advanced Clean Fleets rule, a massive new regulation on medium- and heavy-duty fleet vehicles that, among other things, requires all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold or registered in the state of California to be zero-emission come 2036.

California has reached 1.5 million electric vehicle sales two years ahead of its planned 2025 target for the sales milestone, according to the California Energy Commission.

With EV demand soaring, California is not the first place to reach its EV sales goals early, and it won’t be the last.

Vietnamese EV automaker Vinfast just relayed that its new VF 8 electric SUV has been added to the list of eligible vehicles under the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) created by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). New and existing VinFast customers can now qualify for up to $7,500 in tax rebates in California, which can extend to other participating states. Learn how to apply below.

Solar electric vehicle startup Aptera Motors shared encouraging news today as it has been awarded a grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to the tune of $21 million. The grant comes as welcomed news for Aptera as it looks to reach scaled production of its namesake solar EV as one of the few startups left trying to successfully scale the sustainable technology for the masses.

You read that right. Poop. Manure. Cow pies. US Dairy farming remains a massive contributor of greenhouse gas methane emitted by its endless lanes of cattle providing milk to the public. California in particular currently sits at as the US dairy farming mecca, but also accounts for nearly half of the methane emissions in the entire state. New recycling methods have been put into place and automakers like BMW have utilized their carbon offsets to power its EVs, but many argue this is greenwashing and the entire incentive program encourages more emissions, not less.

During a press conference yesterday, supervisors in Imperial County, California, announced they had voted unanimously to offer tax rebates, property tax deductions, and the potential for further incentives to any and all battery manufacturers willing to produce Lithium products within the county’s lines. The county shared it is also seeking federal funding and state programs to support its “Lithium Valley” project with hopes of bringing more battery manufacturing to California.

Endera, which manufactures mid-sized commercial EVs, just scored the largest state EV bus contract in the United States to date. 

Construction has started on a power line between California and Arizona that’s going to have the capacity to carry 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy.

California is set to join a number of other cities and states in the US by offering rebates and tax credits for electric bicycles. California’s Electric Bicycle Incentives Project has been over a year in the making, and we recently saw new updates to the planned rebates.

Eco Wave Power is officially unveiling its onshore wave energy power station at public-private ocean institute AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles tomorrow.

There’s a growing number of affordably priced electric motorcycles hitting the US market, but many are still produced overseas. Thanks to a $20M California grant though, electric motorcycle manufacturer RYVID will be able to build its RYVID Anthem bikes in the Golden State and create hundreds of jobs in the process.

Tesla is showing some strong resilience in California’s crashing car market and is helping boost EV market share to a new record.

California announced that electric car sales represent nearly 18% of new car sales in the state compared to 6% for the whole of the United States.