In the News

California's $3,500 first-time electric vehicle rebate stopped being a promise on August 7, when Hyundai, Lucid, and Tesla began issuing instant discounts at the point of sale — no applications, no tax return required, no waiting.

With gas prices remaining high due to the war in Iran, California officials are hoping a new rebate program for electric cars can make the math work for buyers at a time when federal incentives have gone away under the Trump administration.

Gil Tal, director of the University of California, Davis’ EV Research Center, said that while car sales data shows California drivers rushed to buy electric models in April and May, there was a steep drop-off in June.

Gil Tal, director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at the University of California, Davis, explained why Mexico's EV market has shifted so quickly: "The demand was there. What changed was the supply."

The first ever low-cost electric car to be mass-produced in Mexico could herald a new age for electric mobility.

A report says Nigeria’s endowment of lithium, copper and bauxite aligns precisely with the minerals needed to accelerate the country’s green energy transition.

California’s Míocar program helps low-income residents find affordable rides that don’t contribute to smog or carbon pollution.

Researchers across our campus are continuing these efforts to make transportation more sustainable, including the Institute of Transportation Studies, which is working with governments, NGOs, and other partners worldwide to reduce the climate footprint of automobiles in the developing world and here at home.

Transportation funding has decreased for three main reasons and in this order: Inflation, fuel efficiency improvements, and the rise of EVs according to Allan Jenn, Associate Professor at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies.

Joel Löfving, PhD student at the Department of Environmental and Energy Sciences, recently spent six months at the University of California, Davis as a Fulbright scholar.

Americans still buy a lot of big pick-up trucks. On top of that, the Trump administration ended subsidies for electric vehicles and stopped enforcing fuel efficiency rules.

“If automakers aren’t making money from storage and not making money from EVs, they would prefer not to make money from storage because they’re not competing with their own gas car production,” says Gil Tal, who directs the EV Research Center at UC Davis’ Institute of Transportation Studies.

India has recognized that critical minerals are a central pillar of its energy security, industrial strategy and geopolitical positioning.

The Chinese automaker is racing ahead of global competitors—but don’t expect to see those gains in the US anytime soon.

"[E85] is being viewed as an option for some price relief given the increase in gas prices due to the Iran war," Murphy said.

As manufacturers like Ram, Ford, and Nissan look to invest in extended range, we’ll help explain what makes them unique.

Jenn said the kerfuffle crystallizes a significant political hurdle Democratic lawmakers will have to overcome before seriously pushing for an alternative to the gas tax: few drivers understand how gas taxes are collected, how much they actually pay or that a mileage tax would replace the old system.

With EV incentives no longer available, hybrid vehicle sales are gaining speed.

“The problem with a lot of current gas stations is [they’re] not that nice of a place to spend 15, 20, or 30 minutes,” said Scott Hardman of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis. “Hopefully in the future, we’ll see more of them turn into coffee shops, cafes — places you actually want to be.”