Tackling the 2035 electric vehicle conundrum

Washington state is headed toward a new era when it comes to cars and gas emissions.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced last month that, by 2035, the state will end the sale of new gas-powered vehicles.

This means that by 2035, if you’re looking for a new car, you’ll be looking for a zero-emission vehicle.

What does that mean in the real world?

The first thing to note is that there are ZEVs and EVs. ZEVs are "Zero Emission Vehicles," and EVs are "Electric Vehicles."

ZEVs include hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that have water vapor that comes out of the tail pipe, whereas electric vehicles generally don't have tail pipes at all.

Joel Creswell of the Washington state Department of Ecology said the 2035 rule applies to smaller vehicles.

"It's vehicles under 10,000 pounds," Creswell said. "That would cover some delivery vans, but it is not covering your buses, heavy trucks, things like that."

This will mean an enormous shift in vehicle sales in the next 13 years. As of last year, only 7.8% of new vehicle sales were electric cars. That's higher than the national average, but still leaves more than 92% of new cars as standard internal combustion engine vehicles.

Matthew Phillips, a board member of the WA Auto Dealers Association, and the CEO of Car Pros, said auto dealers across the state have been pretty positive about the change.

"Overall, I think people are excited and, if you'll excuse the pun, electrified," Phillips said.

"One of the great things about dealers is we're independent business people," he continued. "We've always been very flexible and adaptable."

Phillips also said that his sales staff is getting lots of questions from potential customers, mostly about charging and about incentives.

That question about charging, that's the big one, and Joel Creswell said it's one the state is taking seriously.

"A lot of people are working on that issue right now," Creswell explained. "At the state level, there is a new entity that was just created in this year's big transportation bill, the 'Move Ahead Washington' package that created the 'Interagency Electric Vehicle Coordinating Council,' which is a mouthful."

A big part of this new group's job is to figure out what sort of infrastructure the state will need. They're mapping out all of Washington roadways in rural and urban areas to determine exactly what sort of charging infrastructure each part of the state will require.

For example, neighborhoods inside cities will need a vastly different system for folks who park their cars on the street overnight, versus cities and towns in more rural parts of the state where there are mainly single-family homes that can install charging stations on their own.

Automotive specialist and journalist Tom Voelk said there needs to be a focus on people who cannot charge their electric vehicles at their homes.

"One of the main problems for people who want to electrify their transportation is they can't charge where they sleep," Voelk said. "If you live in an apartment or a condominium, that's a problem."

Seattle City Light's media relations manager, Jen Strang, said the agency has two pilot programs that are developing public EV charging.

First, a program for fast-charging stations which has seven locations currently available, and five locations in various stages of development. These "Level 1" stations allow drivers to charge their cars quickly.

The second pilot is focused on residential curbside public "Level 2" charging. These stations can potentially be installed on power or telephone poles with charging cables that come down, or be installed on curbside bollards. These Level 2 chargers would be slower, potentially taking a few hours to overnight to fully charge a battery.

Driving distances for electric vehicles is also a concern that many people bring up, but Tom Voelk doesn't think it's as big of a deal as people make it out to be.

"A lot of people's opposition to electric cars is they feel like they don't go far enough," Voelk said. "If you want a car that goes 400 to 500 miles on a charge, then you have to have a much bigger battery. And that's expensive. It's heavy, and it reduces the efficiency of the car."

He said 250 miles on a charge is the sweet spot for most drivers, since if you're planning on traveling farther than that, typically people fly.

President Biden reiterated his commitment to having charging stations every 50 miles on the interstate highway system Wednesday at the Detroit Auto Show. Charging infrastructure is getting a lot of investment from both state and federal levels, but also from automakers themselves.

General Motors has a planned partnership with Flying J and Pilot gas stations to install charging stations at their locations across the country, while Ford offers their Blue Oval network of chargers. Tesla has their proprietary Supercharger network, and there are third-party stations like Electrify America and EV-Go.

One of the challenges these charging stations face, however, is maintenance. Most charging locations aren't staffed like a typical gas station, and when charging spots are out of order, it can take time to get them repaired.

"It's really important that these third parties maintain their chargers just the way Shell or Arco would maintain their gas pumps," Voelk said. "That's coming; there's been a lot of heat on them to do that."

Another option for drivers looking to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels is the Plug-In Hybrid. These cars travel a limited range on battery power before switching over to a traditional gas-powered engine. Right now, these hybrids can get between 40 to 60 miles on the battery before switching over, and for people who can charge at home, this means they may only have to hit the gas station a few times a year.

"I own two plug-in hybrids, they're brilliant," Voelk said. "And because they go most of the way on electric power for a daily commutes, I typically buy one to two tanks of gas a year."

Joel Creswell from the Department of Ecology confirmed that after 2035, new plug-in hybrids will be able to be sold, as long as they get at least 50 miles on the battery before switching over to gas.

What are your thoughts on switching to Zero Emission Vehicles? Are you looking forward to electrifying your commute? Let us know – soundside@kuow.org