Delivering a clean economy

Have you seen one of those Rivian electric vans making Amazon deliveries in your neighborhood? Last month Amazon deployed the first of what will be 100,000 Rivian vans as it aims for a 100% zero-emissions fleet.

Not to be left in the dust, Fedex is buying electric delivery vans from GM’s BrightDrop, and Walmart is buying electric delivery vans from Canoo.

Meanwhile, dogs that chase the mail truck will breathe easier, as the United States Postal Service will electrify nearly half of its new fleet with EVs from Oshkosh Defense. 

Closer to home (if you live near this writer), Town & Country Markets partners with  PacWesty to deliver “extra-green groceries”.

Why is this newsworthy? An analysis by RMI shows that in California and New York, approximately 65 percent of medium-duty trucks and 49 percent of heavy-duty trucks are regularly driving short enough routes that they could be replaced with electric trucks that are on the market today. The opportunity in Washington state is likely similar.

That’s why Clean and Prosperous Washington is launching an effort to establish a statewide purchase incentive for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. And now with incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, coupled with statewide purchase incentives like California, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have, fleet managers may find that this is the right time to make the up-front investment toward cleaner, more efficient EVs:

Credit for Clean Commercial Vehicles – Section 45W

The IRA will provide a new business tax credit for qualified commercial vehicles acquired after 2022 and before 2033. A qualified commercial vehicle must be made by a manufacturer and acquired for use or lease by the taxpayer, be depreciable, be either a motor vehicle or machinery, and have an electric or fuel cell motor.

The amount of the credit is generally the lesser of 15% of the vehicle’s basis (or 30% for vehicles not powered by a gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine); or the incremental cost of the vehicle (the amount the purchase price of the commercial clean vehicle exceeds that of a vehicle comparable in size and use powered solely by a gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine). The credit is capped at $7,500 for vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds, and $40,000 for all other vehicles. (Source: JD Supra)

If your business has a vehicle fleet, you’ll want to attend the Green Transportation Summit & Expo in Tacoma, Aug 16-18. 

The Green Transportation Summit & Expo is the West Coast’s premier fleet modernization and sustainable transportation event, offering attendees an inside look at the latest in fleet technologies and innovation.

Register here.