International ZEV Alliance grows to 11 member Governments
After launching the International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alliance (ZEV Alliance) in August, the governments of California, The Netherlands and Quebec have signed on as ﻿new partners to join the alliance. Eight more North American and European governments have pledged to help accelerate global adoption of ZEVs, including Norway and the UK; and Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont in the US. Members of the A﻿lliance, which together account for nearly a third of global electric vehicle sales, will cooperate to set ambitious targets to drive ZEV deployment, share data and best practise policies, and encourage other governments to join. An agenda for expanding collaboration is outlined in a report released yesterday by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

The members will cooperate to set targets to drive ZEV deployment, share data and best practice policies, and encourage other governments to join them. (The 11 members account for 7% of global car sales, but represent 38% of the global market for electric vehicles.) A new report released by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) outlines an agenda for expanding collaboration. The ICCT serves as Secretariat to the International ZEV Alliance.

Eleven European and North American governments are the founding partners of the International ZEV Alliance, which has the mission of accelerating global adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont in the United States; Québec in Canada; and The Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom in Europe are the founding members.

The alliance was launched last month; the founding members were announced today at a signing event at the Québec government office in New York.

The ICCT report, “Transition to a Global Zero-Emission Vehicle Fleet: A Collaborative Agenda for Governments,” highlights how the world’s leading electric vehicle markets are being shaped by new and innovative public policies, including consumer incentives and infrastructure investments. The report also identifies a variety of ways that governments can improve collaboration to accelerate ZEV adoption.

This month, ICCT estimated that the number of plug-in electric vehicles on the world’s roads reached one million. The milestone was achieved in about six years—several years faster than it took for non-plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to reach the first million in sales.

However, with global vehicles approaching two billion, electric vehicle growth will have to ramp up significantly to achieve long-term climate goals.

These governments have been crucial to early adoption of electric vehicles. Each government has helped grow the early market with a mix of financial and non-financial incentives, vehicle policy, consumer awareness and outreach, and the installation of a charging infrastructure. —Nic Lutsey, Program Director and author of the ICCT report

The most comprehensive electric vehicle promotion actions globally are seen in International ZEV Alliance markets, the ICCT report found. In several of these markets, their actions are resulting in electric vehicle deployment that is more than 10 times the average for electric vehicle sales internationally.

All seven of the US states joining the alliance are also members of a multi-state task force to support electric vehicles in the United States. (Earlier post.) Created in 2013, the task force is working to implement a joint action plan that includes encouraging fleets to acquire ZEVs, planning and investing in ZEV infrastructure, and tracking progress toward the goal of a combined 3.3 million ZEVs on U.S. highways by 2025. The International ZEV Alliance is the next step in their commitment to accelerate deployment of zero-emission vehicles.