Volkswagen Proposal To Boost Electric Vehicle Use In California Calls For More Charging Stations

A $200 million plan to convert drivers to electric vehicles was proposed to the California Air Resources Board on Wednesday.

This most recent proposal is the second phase of a four-part settlement with Volkswagen over the automaker's emissions cheating scandal.

The first phase rolled out last year and phase two is set to kick-in on July 1 of next year.

It calls for expanding the network of charging stations, including some ultra-fast versions that can power a vehicle at the rate of 20 miles of range per minute.

Today's cars can't handle that rate, but Brendan Jones, a spokesman for Electrify American, the VW company tasked with rolling out the plan, says that will change quickly once phase two begins.

"You have multiple vehicles coming on to the market,” he said. “There's over 62 new EV vehicles expected to be launched in the United States by 2022 and that number expands even larger by the time you get to 2025."

Other aspects of the plan call for increasing the number of charging stations along key highway routes and creating autonomous vehicle charging stations.

Phase one targeted the state's major cities, including Sacramento, Fresno, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Phase two reaches into new areas including Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and the Inland Empire.