A gasoline superuser can save thousands each year with an EV.
A recent study by the Ulupono Initiative found that a small fraction of Hawaii's drivers account for a quarter of the gasoline consumed each year. This suggests we can make immediate progress in reducing our dependence on gasoline imports, reducing emissions and local air pollution, and saving residents money by focusing on these drivers.
That’s a wrap - National Drive Electric Month 2025
September 12 - October 12 was National Drive Electric Month, a celebration of electric vehicles and their role in enabling our transition to a more sustainable energy future. One of the most effective ways to help others make the switch to an electric vehicle is to hear about the many benefits of EVs from actual owners and to experience one firsthand. This is what Drive Electric Month achieves across the nation.
This year, Hawaii EV and partners hosted events across Hawaii to raise awareness of the numerous benefits of electric cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles. Many mahalos to our volunteer EV ambassadors, local sponsors, and national organizers for making these events happen. Special thanks to our Governor and Mayors for declaring Drive Electric Month in Hawaii.
NEVI News
The U.S. Department of Transportation has just released “interim final” guidance for the NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) Program. This is effective August 13, 2025, and the comment period ends August 27, 2025.
This guidance offers the opportunity to streamline and speed up the deployment of the NEVI Hubs. It will be up to each State to optimize its policies regarding deployment, which is a positive. Overall, this creates the opportunity for Hawaii to accelerate its NEVI deployment.
EV Fires are Rare and Manageable
Electric vehicle adoption continues to rise in Hawaii. We now have 37,000 of them on our roads. They are paving the way to a cleaner and more resilient energy future. As with any emergent technology, there are questions and concerns raised that may create unnecessary hurdles to adoption.
One concern area that we’ve heard more about lately is the risk of fires. The Matson decision to pause shipments of EVs and recent headlines have heightened concerns about EV fire risk. The fact is that EV fires are rare and can be managed with modern firefighting technologies and techniques.
How many EVs are cruising Hawaii?
Adoption is accelerating across Hawaii, with very positive YoY growth. This is very positive, but more must be done to accelerate adoption. Hawaii consumes nearly 40,000,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel each month, and gas vehicles still represent about 94% of registered vehicles.
Image courtesy of unsplash.com/@robinpierre
Good news for VW fans!
This just in: The VW ID.4 qualifies for the $ 7,500 federal tax credit! Thanks to domestic manufacturing (in Tennessee) and their utilization of SK On batteries (manufactured in Georgia), the ID.4 is now on the list of EVs that qualify for the full credit.
Image courtesy of Andrea De Santis.
Pole-mounted EV chargers?
Earlier this year, EVSE LLC’s pole-mounted EV chargers were deployed in Melrose, MA as part of a pilot with the local utility, National Grid. The devices were installed 10 feet up several power poles around the city. To access the service, users utilized a mobile app offered by AmpUp, a California-based software company and network provider.