Now Is the Time for US Leadership on Electric Vehicles

This RMI briefing argues that the United States must accelerate its leadership in electric vehicle (EV) adoption to address climate change, noting that transportation is the country's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The document highlights rapid technological advancements in battery design, increasing demand from state governments and major corporations, and the necessity of scaling charging infrastructure to meet a zero-emissions mobility system by 2050.

• To limit global warming to 1.5°C, it is estimated that at least 20% of cars must be electric by 2030, alongside a reduction in total vehicle miles traveled.
• Technological innovations in battery cells, specifically "tabless" designs and dry electrode coating, are expected to reduce costs and increase range, with Tesla aiming to offer high-quality long-range EVs priced at $25,000 by 2023.
• State-level policy shifts are creating strong demand signals, notably in California and New Jersey, both of which have announced plans to phase out the sale of internal combustion engine (ICE) passenger vehicles by 2035.
• Major US corporations are committing to fleet electrification to achieve economic savings and climate goals: Uber and Lyft plan to fully electrify US fleets by 2030, Amazon has ordered 100,000 electric vans from Rivian, and Walmart aims to electrify its fleet, including long-haul trucking, by 2040.
• Infrastructure planning is evolving, as seen in Colorado's Electric Vehicle Plan 2020, which led Xcel Energy to propose charging infrastructure capable of supporting 1.5 million EVs by 2030.

APA

RMI (2020). Now Is the Time for US Leadership on Electric Vehicles. https://rmi.org/resources/now-is-the-time-for-us-leadership-on-electric-vehicles/

Chicago

RMI. Now Is the Time for US Leadership on Electric Vehicles. 2020. https://rmi.org/resources/now-is-the-time-for-us-leadership-on-electric-vehicles/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Now Is the Time for US Leadership on Electric Vehicles |date=20 October 2020 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/now-is-the-time-for-us-leadership-on-electric-vehicles/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2020now, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Now Is the Time for US Leadership on Electric Vehicles}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/now-is-the-time-for-us-leadership-on-electric-vehicles/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }