Why is this a Climate Smart indicator? 

• Transportation creates almost half of our city's greenhouse gas emissions. If more of the vehicles on the road were electric, this would reduce our emissions. It would also reduce air and stormwater pollution.  

• Fully electric vehicles (also known as Battery Electric Vehicles, or BEVs) require little maintenance, saving money and time. In addition, both fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids save money on fuel costs. 

• One of our Bold Goals is for 60 percent of all passenger vehicles in the city to be electric by 2030, making us the electric car capital of the U.S. 

• The Advanced Clean Cars II regulations, approved by the California Air Resources Board in November 2022, require all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the state to be 100% zero-emission by 2035. Zero-emission vehicles include BEVs, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel-cell electric vehicles.

What is the City doing to make progress on this indicator? 

Completed 

• Reach code EV charging infrastructure requirements (adopted 9/17/19), including an update requiring EV ready charging infrastructure for 100% of residential parking spaces in new multifamily development (2024)  

• Electric Mobility Roadmap (accepted by City Council 1/14/20) 

• Drive Electric EV discount program (2020) 

• Drive Forward program offering financial counseling and EV education (2020) 

• Dealer education program (2020) 

• EV Ride-and-Drive events (2021-2025) 

• Emerging Mobility Action Plan (adopted 4/5/22) 

• Green Fleet Policy (2007) and Vehicle Replacement Policy (2021) for City vehicles 

• Move San José, a citywide Access and Mobility Plan that includes strategies to make it easier for people to use and purchase electric vehicles and for the city to meet air quality goals (adopted 8/9/22) 

• Transportation Electrification (TE) needs assessment to promote TE within the community and support the development of future San José Clean Energy programs (2025)

• San José Clean Energy Electric Vehicles webpage with information on rebates, incentives, EV electric rates, and more

In Progress/Ongoing 

• Expand e-mobility options such as e-bikes in East San José

• Develop a Fleet Electrification Master Plan for City vehicles

• Provide funding for new EV chargers through the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (CALeVIP; partnership between San José Clean Energy and California Energy Commission)

  • 197 Level 2 and 32 direct current fast EV chargers have been installed to date
  • All projects to be installed by end of 2025

• Multifamily EV charger assistance pilot program

• Climate Smart Challenge and GoGreen Teams programs for San José residents, which encourage switching to electric vehicles 

• EV Shopping Tool for San Jose residents

• EV education program that includes ride and drive events, workshops, and one-on-one assistance navigating the purchase process and rebates and incentives

• Electric mobility educational events (sponsored by the City and by area non-profits with City as partner) to provide information and allow more residents to experience a variety of electric vehicles and devices

• Planning and engagement efforts to introduce EV infrastructure and EV services in low-income communities, such as EV charging/fast charging hubs, shared EVs, and community shopping tools

 Planned

• Fast Charging Hubs Pilot for libraries and community centers (expected March 2027)
• Grant funded L2 charging and e-bike charging stations at six libraries and community centers in East San Jose (expected 2027)
• EV infrastructure siting and planning tool
• A telematics-based charging program for San José Clean Energy EV customers
• An EV Incentive Program to increase EV adoption from low to middle income residents
• An EV Advisor service to provide support to customers in their EV transition by answering EV-focused questions, support customers in finding charging, assist in layering incentives, provide technical assistance for installing EV charging, and referring San José residents to other beneficial EV-focused programs.

About the data 

Sources  

California Energy Commission Light-Duty Zero Emissions Vehicle dashboard. Data are presented for vehicles registered in ZIP codes that lie entirely within San José’s city boundary. Each year’s dataset includes all vehicles that were registered as of December 31st of that year. 

Limitations 

Due to the complex nature of San José’s incorporated boundary and overlapping ZIP codes with other cities, it is not possible to exactly count vehicles in the City of San José using ZIP code data.