Coffee + Kilowatts #7: How Should We Identify Electric Vehicles (and When Will They Be the Norm?)

In addition to an increasingly aggressive timeline towards banning the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles, the United Kingdom has unveiled plans to give electric vehicles green number plates - not "stickers", as I strangely phrased it in the intro - later this year. While we've lived with similar license plate requirements for some time here in Massachusetts, the reasons offered for doing so are very different.

Is it a good idea to clearly separate EVs from "normal" cars with combustion engines? And as a follow on question, at what point do EVs become the norm and when do we expect this to happen?

The UK has indicated 2035 - or possibly as early as 2032 - for the ban on new gas/diesel car sales, while France is aiming for 2030 and Norway is well on the road to realizing its 2025 target date. Even in North America, as I overlooked in this video, the Canadian province of British Columbia has legislation for a ban by 2040. While that currently seems unlikely in the USA as a whole, California is pointing policy in that direction, and accelerating EV sales could eventually turn the tide.

(Note that while California provides an attractive incentive for "Clean Air Vehicles" to use its HOV lanes with an identifiable decal, these are not exclusive to electric cars and not every EV has to add one. More on that here: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-registration/license-plates-decals-and-placards/clean-air-vehicle-decals-for-using-carpool-lanes/ and thank you to our friend Rennie for highlighting the distinction).

Let us know in the comments what you think about clearly marking out electric vehicles at this early stage of the transition to electrification, as well as how long you think it will take for that to happen.
Source Articles:
UK EV plates to go green - https://www.electrive.com/2020/06/16/uk-to-introduce-ev-license-plates-in-autumn/

Massachusetts RMV introduces EV plates - http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/rmv/rmv-electric-vehicle-plate/

UK moves up ban on sales of combustion vehicles to 2035 - https://www.thedrive.com/news/32084/united-kingdom-government-moves-up-ban-on-internal-combustion-engines-to-2035

London's ULEZ reduces emissions by one-third - https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/467058-london-says-new-emission-standards-have-dropped-air-pollution-by-a

Feel free to e-mail questions, comments, and topic suggestions to plugandplayEV@gmail.com.

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