The City of Carlsbad continues to electrify more of its vehicle fleet, acquiring nine Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We are also installing 20 additional electric vehicle charging stations at two new locations – the Faraday Center and the Carlsbad City Library on Dove Lane – to keep those vehicles moving.
The city will add two more plug-in hybrids to these nine by the end of the year, for a total of 11, underlining our commitment to reduce tailpipe emissions and meet the goals of the city’s Climate Action Plan. These electric vehicles will replace 11 older, heavier vehicles that run on fossil fuels.
An advantage to these Kia Niros is they are equipped with an extended battery pack that gives a fully charged vehicle a range of 26 miles using only electric power. This 26-mile range means that staff using the vehicles can perform most of their daily duties on battery power alone with no emissions. They are designed like crossover SUVs and have fold-down back seats to stash equipment and tools.
The ten charging stations at Faraday Center are operating, and the 10 at Dove will come on line soon. These will be for city use only; we have added 16 charging stations at city parks and lots for public use, with more on the way.
Charles Balteria, Shawn Gaskari and Mike Grim have been spearheading the effort to reduce tailpipe emissions and meet Climate Action Plan goals.