5 Steps to Electric Trucks

Determine Disadvantaged Community Enhanced Funding

Identify if your fleet is located in a Disadvantaged Community. Many parts of Oxnard (in red below, see the map for more detail and explanation) are eligible for enhanced funding, additional grant opportunities, and special Transportation Advisory services from SCE.

Learn About Funding Opportunities and Loan Assistance Programs

Once quotes are received, apply for funding. Some of these funding sources are stackable.
If eligible, engage SCE’s Grant Writing Assistance program to scope and fund your project. Funding sources include:

• The California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Voucher Incentive Project lowers the cost of EVs by providing a voucher to the dealer, so they can offer a lower cost to the customer. Vouchers are structured to offset the increased cost of electric technology so they are similar in cost to diesel or CNG vehicles.

• SCE’s ChargeReady Transport is a $342.6 million program to support 870 sites, and  8,490 medium- and heavy-duty EVs. The program pays for much of the cost to bring charging stations to a site, and provides construction and logistical support, including site design and permitting. Program participants are also entered into special EV rates, benefit from demand charge holidays and may receive up to a 50% charger hardware rebate (for eligible customers).

• The Low Carbon Fuel Standard is designed to decrease the carbon intensity of California’s transportation fuels. Electric vehicles have the highest earning potential due  to their high efficiency and low emissions. In some cases, earnings could entirely pay for the cost of fuel, and even generate excess revenue. Recent prices indicate a Class 8 electric truck driving 60,000 miles annually could generate credits worth $33,900/year or even more if it is powered with 100% renewable energy, which is available through utility programs or by installing on-site solar.

• The Volkswagen Mitigation Trust offers $360 million for large vehicles. There is a $90 million carve-out for zero emission Class 8 freight and port drayage trucks, with awards up to $200,000, and $70 million for zero emission freight and marine projects. For the latest information about the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust, visit their website here.

• The Federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 instated Section 45W, a 30% tax credit or maximum of $40,000 for commercial EVs from 2023 through 2032. Section 30C extends a 30% or $100,000 tax credit for EV charging infrastructure through 2032. Properties must be in a “qualified census tract” disadvantaged community to qualify for the EV charging credit.

• The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District offers various incentive programs, sometimes aimed at medium and heavy duty electric vehicles. Recent programs have targeted replacing diesel trucks, agricultural equipment and other categories with zero emission vehicles.

• California Cap and Trade funding puts billions of dollars annually into reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Every month, various grant opportunities are awarded for different sectors. These opportunities are often targeted toward getting more EVs on the road. By knowing your needs, our team or SCE can alert you to various opportunities and introduce you to larger projects and grants that you could be written into.

• The Empower Innovation Funding Portal has a searchable directory of public and private funding opportunities. It rolls up federal and state funding opportunities, so it goes beyond California's Cap and Trade Investments. If fleet operators create an account, they can use the website to network with funding providers and potential partners. People can filter their search for funders and partners who are focused on Transportation, EV Charging/Infrastructure, and other categories based on interest/need.

• The CalCAP Heavy-Duty Vehicle Air Quality Loan Program is designed to provide truck loan assistance for the purchase of heavy-duty vehicles driven primarily in California to comply with the State’s engine emission standards. In a funding partnership that began in 2009 with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), CalCAP has contributed $187 million to support more than 35,000 loans to assist California small business owners purchase more than 36,000 cleaner trucks.

Install Chargers and Order Trucks

Once your grant is approved and additional funding secured, work with SCE’s ChargeReady Transport program to install EV charger infrastructure and order your trucks. An SCE Account Manager will guide you from beginning to end.

Regulatory Framework 

California is mandating a transition to cleaner diesel vehicles now and Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) in the near future. Drayage and high priority fleets may be mandated to purchase ZEVs as soon as 2024. Fleets should note it may take 18-24+ months to develop charging stations and have ZEV trucks delivered.

CARB’s Truck and Bus regulation requires heavy-duty diesel vehicles that operate in California to reduce toxic air contaminants emissions from their exhaust. Diesel exhaust is responsible for 70% of the cancer risk from airborne toxics. By January 1, 2023, nearly all trucks and buses will be required to have 2010 or newer model year engines to reduce particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions. To help ensure that the benefits of this regulation are achieved, starting in 2020, only vehicles compliant with this regulation will be registered by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Executive Order N-79-20 gave the California Air Resources Board a mandate to regulate the phaseout of gasoline and diesel vehicles. Passenger light-duty vehicles are ramping up new vehicle sales through the Advanced Clean Cars II rule to 68% by 2030 and 100% by 2035. The Executive Order also set a goal of 100% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles be ZEVs by 2045 where feasible, and by 2035 for drayage trucks and off-road vehicles and equipment.

For heavy-duty vehicles, transit buses were the first to be regulated, with the Innovative Clean Transit rule in 2018. It mandated that large bus fleets purchase 25% ZEVs by 2023, ramping up to 100% ZEVs by 2029. With fleet turnover, this would lead to the goal of all 10,000+ of California’s transit buses be ZEVs by 2040. According to the latest Comprehensive Review, the California transit industry appears to be well positioned to meet the 2023 25% ZEV purchase target. Five large transit agencies plan on meeting the 100% ZEV target by 2030, much earlier than the 2040 mandate. The early experiences with deploying charging infrastructure, funding programs, manufacturing, and other aspects are helping other medium- and heavy-duty sectors transition to ZEVs.

CARB’s medium and heavy-duty ZEV strategy has also established regulations on airport shuttles, and the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation in 2021 requires manufacturers to sell an increasing number of ZEV trucks. Beginning in 2024, manufacturers must increase ZEV truck sales to between 30-50% by 2030 and 40-75% by 2035, depending on class. This chart shows the percentage of new truck sales by class that must be ZEVs through 2035.

The proposed Advanced Clean Fleets regulation complements Advanced Clean Trucks and is currently being considered by CARB. While not final, the Board directed CARB staff to ensure that fleets, businesses, and public entities that own or direct the operation of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in California purchase and operate ZEVs to achieve a smooth transition to ZEV fleets by 2045 everywhere feasible, specifically to reach:

• 100 percent zero-emission drayage trucks, last mile delivery, and government fleets by 2035

• 100 percent zero-emission refuse trucks and local buses by 2040

• 100 percent zero-emission capable utility fleets by 2040

The proposed regulation would apply to fleets performing drayage operations, those owned by State, local and, federal government agencies, and high priority fleets. High priority fleets are entities with $50 million or more in gross annual revenue and that own, operate, or control at least one vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) greater than 8,500 pounds, or are entities that own, operate, or control a total of 50 or more vehicles with a GVWR greater than 8,500 pounds. The proposed regulation would affect medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, off-road yard trucks, and light-duty mail and package delivery vehicles.

Proposed drayage and high priority fleet rule

• Drayage fleets. For drayage fleets, starting 2024, only zero-emission trucks may be added to drayage service, and legacy vehicles must be removed from drayage service at the end of their useful life. By 2035, all drayage trucks must be zero-emission.

• High priority and federal fleets. High priority and federal fleets must comply with a Model Year Schedule or may elect to use the optional ZEVMilestone Schedule to phase-in ZEVs into their fleets:

  • Model Year Schedule: Fleets must purchase only ZEVs beginning 2024 and must remove internal combustion engine vehicles at the end of their useful life as defined in Senate Bill 1 (Beall, Statutes 2017, Chapter 5).

  • ZEVMilestone Schedule (Optional): Instead of the Model Year Schedule, fleets may elect to meet ZEV targets as a percentage of the total fleet starting with vehicle types that are most suitable for electrification. The proposed schedule is laid out below: