A bill that would provide California motorists with easy and affordable access to electric vehicles will be considered by the Senate on Saturday.
Assembly Bill 326 creates a legal framework for automakers, commercial truck manufacturers and rental car companies to offer month-to-month electric vehicle memberships as an alternative to the more expensive option of buying, leasing or renting.
A broader range of EV drivers
Authored by Assembly members Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, and Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, the measure is designed to make EVs available to a broad range of Californians, including people from low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Muratsuchi’s office estimates month-to-month memberships could start at around a couple hundred dollars a month.
The memberships would also help the state meet its goal of having 5 million zero-emissions vehicles on the road by 2030. Mass adoption of electric vehicles will be slow to happen as long as EVs continue to be more expensive than combustion-engine vehicles.
Rosemary Shahan, president of Sacramento-based Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said her organization is firmly behind AB 326.
“I’ve helped consumers for decades who bought or leased cars from dealers and got ripped off,” she said. “From price gouging to the way the financing is done, there’s a whole list of problems. But consumers won’t have to worry about that with this business model. They won’t have to buy the car or go way into debt.”
Under the wire …
AB 326 was approved by the Assembly but has since been updated. If the Senate green-lights the measure it will head back to the Assembly for final approval before the legislative session adjourns at midnight Monday.
“I feel pretty optimistic,” Muratsuchi said. “This is a win for jobs, for the economy and for the environment.”
Americans are now carrying more than $1.2 trillion in auto loans, an increase of more than 75% since 2009, according to the California Public Interest Research Group. Moreover, the average length of new auto loans in 2019 exceeded 68 months.
Muratsuchi’s office notes that California is home to 13 EV companies that have a strong presence with design, research and development or warehouses. The network currently supports 275,600 good-paying jobs throughout the state.
AB 326, he said, will help keep those jobs in California with the potential for additional employment growth.
Range anxiety
A Volvo/Harris poll reveals the biggest reason drivers avoid buying EVs is “range anxiety.” Fifty-eight percent of drivers said they were afraid of running out of power before being able to charge their EV, while another 49% feared the low availability of charging stations.
Those numbers drop significantly among EV drivers.
EV drivers who initially worried about staying charged (65%) said that fear went away after a few months.
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August 29, 2020 at 09:00AM
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Bill would create month-to-month electric vehicle memberships - OCRegister
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