From electric garbage trucks to street sweepers, New York City announced today that it will spend $10.1 million to buy 925 electric vehicles and install 315 new EV chargers.
The US Department of Transportation is providing New York City with $10.1 million of federal grant funding. The money will be used to buy 382 Chevrolet Bolts, 360 Ford E-Transit vans, and 150 Ford F-150 E-Lightning pickup trucks.
The city is also buying 25 plug-in hybrid street sweepers for the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), and seven Mack LR BEV garbage trucks, which feature two 130 kW motors that produce a combined 496 peak horsepower. They will be the first electric garbage trucks owned by the DSNY following a successful pilot.
The federal funds will additionally support the first major investment by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) in all-electric pickup trucks and vans. DCAS recently registered its first requirements contracts for electric cargo vans, electric pickups, and a law enforcement model of the electric pickup.
This first order of electric pickup trucks and vans brings the agency closer to meeting the goal of an all-electric light- and medium-duty fleet by 2035.
In total, the city operates more than 6,000 pickup trucks and vans that represent 25% of New York City’s total on-road fleet.
As of September 2022 – three years ahead of schedule – DCAS reached its 2025 goal of transitioning 4,000 vehicles in the city fleet to electric. Currently, the electric fleet includes a wide range of vehicle types and categories, from over 200 Ford Mustang Mach Es — most of which are used for law enforcement — to nearly 850 Chevy Bolts.
DCAS expects to operate more than 5,000 EVs by June 2023. It’s also ordered the first three electric buses for the New York City Department of Correction and is working on EV contracts for box trucks, garbage trucks for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and more electric cars to replace gas cars.
DCAS also operates the largest EV charging network in New York State, with more than 1,300 charging ports for fleet vehicles. DCAS will deploy another 600 charging ports in the next 18 months. This funding announced today is going to support the purchase of 315 additional charging units.
Julie Tighe, executive director of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said:
Replacing 925 gas guzzlers — garbage trucks and street sweepers among them — with clean-energy vehicles is a huge step toward reducing air pollution and meeting the city’s goal of transitioning to an all-electric fleet.
And with 315 new EV chargers coming, the message to residents is clear: Replace your fossil fuel-burning car with one that is battery-powered, and the city will have the resources for you to power up.
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The State of California is moving to ban the sale of Tesla cars amid claims that the company and its CEO, Elon Musk, have misled buyers about the self-driving capabilities of their cars. We’ve also got market-leading news out of Vietnam and a pricey, pricey lesson for one VW ID.Buzz buyer on today’s lesson-learning episode of Quick Charge!
We also ask what this might mean for the recent Uber/Lucid autonomous taxi tie-up and go through a full rundown of the fastest depreciating EVs on the market (and yes, there are four Tesla models in the top 10 … because the Cybertruck was too new to qualify).
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Sunrun is putting tens of thousands of home batteries to work in Puerto Rico as the island’s electric grid faces a summer of high temperatures and energy shortfalls.
The company says it’s now dispatching energy from over 37,000 residential batteries to help grid operator LUMA keep the lights on. That stored power is being used to prevent rolling blackouts when demand spikes and centralized power plants can’t keep up.
Sunrun’s emergency power contribution has grown more than tenfold since last summer. LUMA expects more than 75 energy shortfall events between now and October, with each dispatch sending electricity to the grid for four consecutive hours. During several recent evenings, Sunrun and other virtual power plant (VPP) operators provided enough energy to offset a 50-megawatt generation gap, LUMA said.
Sunrun CEO Mary Powell said Puerto Rico’s aging infrastructure and intense weather patterns make home battery support increasingly critical:
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It’s going to be a very difficult summer, which is why Sunrun has ramped up our dispatch capabilities, using tens of thousands of home batteries to support the grid and people of Puerto Rico.
She added that distributed power plants like Sunrun’s serve the same role as natural gas peaker plants – offering fast, reliable power during high-demand moments – but with clean energy.
Sunrun customers enrolled in the VPP will get paid too. Each participating battery earns about $200 minimum for the season, and customers who allow more of their stored energy to go to the grid earn even more. Sunrun also earns revenue for operating the VPP.
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Volkswagen is advertising ID.4 leases starting at just $99 a month. It’s hard to find any car lease these days for under $100 a month, but for $45,000 electric SUV, it’s almost unheard of.
Volkswagen offers ID.4 leases as low as $99 a month
The Volkswagen ID.4 was the third top-selling EV in the US in January after the 2025 model year went back on sale.
Volkswagen’s electric SUV starts at $45,095 with an EPA-estimated driving range of 291 miles. It’s available in five different trims: Pro, AWD Pro, Pro S, AWD Pro S, and AWD Pro S Plus.
The base 2025 VW ID.4 Pro RWD is equipped with 282 hp from a single rear electric motor. Inside, it features a 12.9″ infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, and Volkswagen’s new ID.Cockpit digital instrument display.
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Upgrading to the AWD version will gain a tow hitch and an additional 53 hp, for a combined maximum of 335 hp. The added power comes at the cost of some range, with an EPA-estimated range of 263 miles.
Volkswagen ID.4 (Source: Volkswagen)
Volkswagen was already offering 2025 ID.4 leases as low as $129 a month, but some dealers are listing it for even less this month.
(Source: VW of Garden Grove)
A California dealership, Volkswagen of Garden Grove, has the 2025 ID.4 Pro RWD listed for lease at just $99 per month. The offer is for 24 months with $2,995 down. According to the dealer, the offer includes a $5,000 cash back bonus, good on a new ID.4 purchase or lease.
We thought the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 was a good deal with leases starting at just $179 per month, but for $99, now that’s a steal.