NEWSNOTES | August 4, 2025
News Notes

Listen on the Go! News Notes in Audio
Welcome everyone to another episode of NewZE. There is no intro music, the audio may not be as good, but I am not in studio. Instead, I’m in the mountains of North Georgia, getting some time away from the heat of Florida to enjoy the stifling heat of Georgia. For those who don’t know, my name is Jared Schnader, and I’m a VP at the national non-profit, industry-building organization CALSTART. Where we focus on transportation, decarbonization, and clean air for all. Let’s dive into this week’s news from CALSTART members around the globe.

WattEV’s New Charging Depot
WattEV is breaking ground on its sixth heavy-duty electric truck charging depot in California, located at the Port of Oakland. This move will enable zero-emission freight transport from key ports like Oakland and Stockton into Sacramento and Nevada, according to Salim Youssefzadeh, CEO and Co-founder of WattEV. The depot is designed for megawatt charging, reducing charging “dwell times” to 30 minutes or less, comparable to diesel refueling times. WattEV’s public charging depot will be capable of charging 25 medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks concurrently at up to 240KW each or six trucks at 1.2 MW.

EO Charging Expands Electric Bus Infrastructure in the UK
Fleet charging firm EO Charging and green energy financiers Horizon Energy Ventures have launched a new partnership, in an effort to jointly deliver fully funded energy infrastructure projects for the UK’s electric public transportation fleets. Under the partnership, London’s transition to a zero-emission public transport network will further be enabled, in a city which already operates over 1,400 fully electric buses. Previously, EO Charging has worked with a number of bus operators in the capital, including Transport for London and Go-Ahead, helping create suitable charging infrastructure. With Horizon Energy Ventures’ backing, EO Charging is also set to accelerate the rollout of its ‘Charging-as-a-Service’ model, offering an all-in-one charging solution with minimal upfront investment to more public transport fleet operators across the country.

Ford Deliveries for DHL Fleet in Germany
Under a new agreement with Ford Pro, the automaker is set to supply an additional 2,400 fully electric Ford vans to DHL Group’s German fleet by the end of the year. Once achieved, DHL will operate nearly 5,000 electric Ford vans across its Post & Parcel Germany business unit and add to the 35,000+ electric vans it operates across its German delivery fleet. In 2022, Ford Pro and DHL signed a mutual letter of intent to accelerate the deployment of electric vans for global logistics, and DHL has a target to electrify 60% of its last-mile delivery vehicles around the world by 2030. As part of the agreement, Ford Pro is also providing the group with its E-Telematics software, alongside mobile technicians trained to work on electric vans directly at DHL Group sites for any required maintenance and repair.

Policy Spotlight
Automotive News spoke to CALSTART's Federal Policy Director, Levi Kamolnick, to break down the consequences of the presidential administration’s decision to eliminate fines for automakers that fail to meet CAFE standards:
"The new law effectively eliminates CAFE, which will 'undercut decades of effort to build and design a regulation that benefits all Americans and promotes a more globally competitive U.S. auto market.'”
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program has been in effect for nearly fifty years and shines brightly as an example of regulatory success. CALSTART has consistently spoken out in favor of CAFE standards because they have led to reduced emissions, consumer savings, and lower dependence on volatile foreign oil markets. Further, the continuation of this program would have only strengthened U.S. export potential, while providing market certainty.
We thank Molly Boigon, as always, for going behind the headlines with industry news and views. Read her full article here.
If you missed last week’s Members-Only Policy Update webinar and would like to receive a copy of the slide deck, please reach out to Rachel Baker (rbaker@calstart.org).

Louisiana Clean Fuels on the Transition to Zero Podcast
In the latest Transition to Zero podcast episode, Ann Vail of Louisiana Clean Fuels, a CALSTART member organization, joins host Jared Schnader to talk about clean transit projects, workforce development, and how Clean Cities coalitions are transforming transportation in the South.
Watch or listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5XkW07VDjLhnrJgcLKnBV3

NJ ZIP Pilot Voucher Program for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero Emission Vehicles
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) is now accepting applications from qualified vendors for the third phase of the New Jersey Zero-Emission Incentive Program (“NJ ZIP”) for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero Emission Vehicles. To be guaranteed as listed on the NJ ZIP website as an eligible vendor prior to Purchaser application launch, Vendors must submit their application by Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM EST. Apply Here!

Join this year’s World EV Day™ on September 9th, 2025!
World EV Day™ is the most significant emobility event of the year, bringing together the global emobility industry from the UK and U.S., to Argentina, Australia and India, World EV Day™ is the ideal platform to celebrate emobility. Find out more about the campaign today!
 

RESOURCES

• WattEV Breaks Ground on its Sixth Heavy-Duty Electric-Truck Charging Depot in California, The Trucker
• EO Charging and Horizon Energy Ventures Partner to Expand UK Electric Bus Infrastructure, Electric Drives
• Ford to Deliver 2,400 More Electric Vans to DHL Group’s German Fleet, Electric Drives
• Return of the Gas-Guzzler? Trump’s New Law May Mean Thirstier Engines, Automotive News