California Governor Jerry Brown Friday signed an executive order detailing aims to have five million electric cars on the state's roads by 2030 - by accelerating the production of such vehicles using financial incentives and rebates. The $2.5 billion, eight-year plan also involves the installation of 250,000 electric vehicle charging stations and 200 hydrogen fueling stations by 2025.
"To continue to meet California's climate goals and clean air standards, California must go even further to accelerate the market for zero-emission vehicles," the governor's office said in a statement. The order aims to "dramatically reduce carbon emissions from transportation - a sector that accounts for 50 percent of the state's greenhouse gas emissions and 80 percent of smog-forming pollutants," it added.
The previous target, from 2012, aimed to get 1.5 million "green" vehicles on the roads of the most populated US state - which boasts the biggest automobile market, with around 14.5 million vehicles for 40 million people.