Fairfax County won’t be able to meet its goal of electrifying its vehicle fleet by 2035.
County officials told the Board of Supervisors’ environmental committee last week (Nov. 25) that the goal is unattainable because fully electric alternatives to all the county’s vehicles aren’t available.
“Even if a few emerge over the next eight years, the volume of needed replacements is daunting and conversion all at once is unrealistic,” said John Morrill of the Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination.
The determination was made after a study of the county’s fleet needs by the consulting firm AECOM. The study said a cost-effective transition to a full electric fleet would only be likely by 2050.
The county hoped to transition to electric vehicles and eliminate carbon emissions from its fleet by 2035 as part of its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040.
However, the goal was adopted in 2021 during the first year of former President Joe Biden’s term in the White House. Electric vehicle manufacturing increased under Biden, as he instituted tax credits for electric vehicle purchases and implemented tailpipe emissions standards aimed at shifting automakers away from fossil fuels.
But President Donald Trump swiftly abandoned or reversed those policies as he came into office this year. On the day of his inauguration, he issued an executive order calling for the repeal of what he called Biden’s “EV mandate” — regulations intended to make electric vehicles comprise at least 50% of all new vehicle sales by 2030.
The tax and spending bill signed by Trump on July 4 ended Biden’s clean vehicle tax credits for purchases made after Sept. 30.
“Obviously there’s some pretty hurdles that are out of our hands here nationally and it might be some time before we’re going to get back on the right path,” said Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez.
With the federal government backing off electric vehicle support, manufacturers have pumped the brakes on design and production. Because of that, Fairfax County Vehicle Services Director Mark Moffatt said, there just aren’t electric vehicle equivalents that meet many of the needed fleet requirements, such as large vans and heavy-duty vehicles with hydraulics.
The county fleet comprises about 6,200 vehicles and equipment, including 2,500 for Fairfax County Public Schools. Of that, 76 vehicles are currently fully electric and 440 are hybrid.
Moffatt said the light vehicle category, which makes up about 17% of the fleet, is all that can be fully electrified right now. It includes cars, SUVs, light pickup trucks and some vans.
Meanwhile, most of the police department and Sheriff’s Office vehicles — about 27% of the total fleet — are being transitioned to hybrid.
County Executive Bryan Hill said that while costs are a hurdle for electrification, reducing emissions remains the mission.
“We’re not stopping that goal,” he said. “We’re going to keep going.”
The push to transition to electric vehicles has been taken up by the general public as well. There were approximately 37,193 electric vehicles registered in Fairfax County in 2024 compared to fewer than 10,000 in 2020, county staff said, citing data from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
To support that increased EV usage, the county is also expanding its network of electric vehicle charging stations. Over the next three to four years, Moffatt said the county expects to add 213 ports across 26 facilities that can be used by the public. It will also add 50 ports at five facilities that are county-use only.
Photo via FCDOT
