N.C. Plans Push for Electric Truck Sales

North Carolina has adopted a new policy requiring manufacturers to gradually scale up sales of electric trucks over time in the Tarheel State.

Governor Roy Cooper signed an executive order mandating that the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) “establish a North Carolina Advanced Clean Trucks program” focused on ramping up sales of medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles, among other initiatives. Executive Order 271, which Cooper signed Oct. 25, instructs the state’s DEQ to present that program to the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission by May 15.

Unlike similar efforts in California and New York, North Carolina’s order does not impose restrictions on trucking firms. Instead, the multi-faceted order focuses on vehicle sales, upgrading the state’s own trucking fleets and recognizing transportation companies that go green of their own initiative.

The executive order also instructs the state’s Transportation Department to develop — in conjunction with other state agencies — a needs assessment for electric trucks “that evaluates charging and fueling needs to support successful implementation.”

“North Carolina is already a national hub for truck and bus manufacturing and supply chain development, and we should not miss the opportunity to lead the market-driven transition already underway to cleaner and increasingly cheaper zero-emission technologies that benefit our economy and our communities,” Cooper stated in an accompanying release.