EREVs Are Electric Vehicles. California's Incentive Program Should Treat Them That Way.

The American EV Jobs Alliance is advocating for California’s proposed $200 million electric vehicle incentive program. We’re proud to be part of that fight. But the program’s impact depends on getting one thing right: EREVs are electric vehicles, and they need to be included.

What Makes an EREV an EV

In a conventional plug-in hybrid (PHEV), the gasoline engine mechanically drives the wheels. In an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV), the electric motor drives the wheels 100% of the time. The gas engine is only a generator. It never touches the wheels.

That’s not a technicality. That’s the definition of an electric vehicle.

A real-world DOE/Idaho National Laboratory study of 1,154 Chevrolet Volt EREVs found drivers covered 73% of miles in all-electric mode. Company-fleet PHEVs in similar studies averaged just 13%. The International Council on Clean Transportation found real-world PHEV fuel use runs 42–67% higher than EPA label assumptions. Some PHEV owners aren’t plugging in at all.

As the Union of Concerned Scientists concluded in a February 2026 analysis, today’s PHEVs don’t actually help drivers transition to electric vehicles. EREVs are a different story, and the data proves it.

EREVs Are Coming. California Should Be Ready.

Ford is replacing the discontinued F-150 Lightning with an EREV pickup. Scout Motors is planning an EREV version of their new American SUV. These are electric-first vehicles with a generator backup for buyers who aren’t ready to go fully electric: single-car households, long rural commutes, towing needs.

Those buyers won’t purchase a BEV today. But they’ll buy an EREV. And when they do, they’ll learn to charge, drive, and think electric. That’s exactly the transition California’s program is designed to accelerate.

Include EREVs.

California’s EV incentive program should cover EREVs because they are primarily electric vehicles, and draw a clear line there. Conventional PHEVs, which the data shows operate mostly on gasoline, are not electric vehicles first and should not benefit from a program designed for electric-first transportation.

Battery electric vehicles are the goal. EREVs are a proven path to get more drivers there. California should fund both.