The Minnesota state government’s plan to increase its electric vehicle fleet has hit some snags.
Minnesota’s Department of Transportation (DOT) set a goal of making 20 percent of its vehicle fleet electric by 2027, but process toward achieving that goal is stalling due to a lack of inventory and a shortage of fast-charging options in rural areas of the state, according to the Energy News Network.
A commitment to more electric vehicles, part of a plan to reduce state fossil fuel consumption by 30 percent by 2027, requires replacing more than 400 gas vehicles with electric per year since 2021, though the conversion has not matched that rate. According to the article, the state’s DOT has 14 electric vehicles, and the Department of Natural Resources has just four.
The state has more than 15,000 vehicles. A third of those vehicles are considered light-duty vehicles, of which 55 percent in the fleet are flex-fuel and another 22 percent are hybrids.
One of the reasons that availability of vehicles has been a problem in the state, according to the article, is that automakers are prioritizing other states that have requirements to make electric vehicles available. Since Minnesota is adopting clean car standards along the lines of California’s, the state access to more electric vehicles could happen soon.
“I think once that rulemaking is completed, and we actually sign off as one of the clean car states, I think we’re going to see more cars coming this way,” says Holly Gustner, fleet and surplus director of the Department of Administration.
Dave Lubach is managing editor of the Facility Market.
