New Mexico is getting the ball rolling on getting more electric vehicles on the roads after an executive order by President Joe Biden was put in place.
As part of the executive order, Biden hopes to have 50% of all vehicles as electric vehicles by 2030, according to KOB4.
Pew research shows that the county is at only about 2% of electric vehicles on the road right now.
"I don't know if that's realistic for New Mexico, but what a great target to try and shoot for,” Sandra Ely, director of the New Mexico Environmental Protection Division said in the KOB4 video. "So the phase in for those electric vehicles is a certain percentage of vehicles on the lot, the dealer's lot, has to be electric and that ramps up over time. We're looking at maybe 24% by 2026."
The City of Albuquerque began an initiative in July that incentivizes dealerships to boost their inventory of electric vehicles in exchange for free marketing, told by KOB4.
Electric cars are 4 cents cheaper per mile than gas vehicles, which translates into an estimated $12,000 in savings, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, as reported by KOB4.
"We hope ultimately the dealers will begin to prioritize electric vehicle sales more to make sure those vehicles are really top front and center and very visible for customers,” Kelsey Rader, chief sustainability officer for the City of Albuquerque said in the KOB4 report. "We know that we're only a few years out from EVs being the primary vehicles that are going to be marketed by these major auto companies, so because of all of that, it's really important the city of Albuquerque keeps pace with the EV market.”
