Southern Region

Counties include: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego




Vehicle Incentives


Provides affordable solutions for income-qualified residents and those in disadvantaged communities to purchase or lease cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars.


Car Scrap & Replace Program Replace Your Ride - Clean Cars 4 All

The Replace Your Ride program is for California residents living in or near the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). Get up to $9,500 to scrap your older, more polluting vehicle with a cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicle. Free charger & installation opportunities also available!

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights
Testimonial Video



Increased Public Fleet Incentives for CVRP-Eligible Vehicles Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP)

Funding for Individuals & Families
Get up to $7,500 to purchase or lease a new plug-in hybrid, battery electric, or fuel cell electric vehicle. CVRP is available to income-eligible California residents. Increased rebates for low-income applicants available! To apply for a CVRP rebate and for additional eligibility information visit the official CVRP program page.

Businesses, Nonprofits, and Federal Entities
Get up to $4,500 for the purchase or lease of one eligible zero-emission and plug-in hybrid light-duty vehicles. For more information on CVRP opportunities and additional eligibility guidelines, visit the Businesses, Nonprofits, and Federal Entities webpage on the official CVRP program page.

Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) for Public Fleets
Local, State, and tribal government entities can get up to $7,000 to purchase or lease new advanced light-duty technology vehicles, including plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV), battery electric (BEV), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) - up to 30 rebates per year.
For more information on CVRP for public fleets, and eligibility guidelines visit the Public Fleets webpage on the official CVRP program page.

Testimonial Video



Financing Assistance for Low-Income Consumers Financing Assistance for Low-Income Consumers

Clean Vehicle Assistance Program – CVA Program (Statewide)
The CVA Program is administered by the Beneficial State Foundation (BSF) and offers eligible applicants price buy-down grants of up to $7,500 and affordable financing opportunities (≤ 8% interest) towards the purchase of eligible clean vehicles, including up to $2,000 for a Level 2 home charger installation for eligible vehicle purchases or a $1,000 prepaid charge card and a free portable Level 1 charger. For more information on the CVA Program grant and loan application information, please visit the official CVA Program page.



Hybrid & Zero-Emission Truck & Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) Hybrid & Zero-Emission Truck & Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP)

Statewide program provides vouchers for California purchasers of up to $175,000 for zero-emission buses, up to $300,000 for fuel cell buses and Class 7 and 8 trucks, and up to $45,000 for Low NOx 11.9 liter natural gas engines. The program helps offset the higher costs of clean vehicles and additional incentives are available for providing disadvantaged community benefits.

For more information visit California HVIP website




Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project (CORE)

The Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project (CORE) is intended to accelerate deployment of advanced technology in the off-road sector by providing a streamlined way for fleets to access funding that helps offset the incremental cost of such technology. CORE targets commercial-ready products that have not yet achieved a significant market foothold.

For more information visit CORE website




The Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) The Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER)

The Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) Program provides funding through local air districts for agricultural harvesting equipment, heavy-duty trucks, agricultural pump engines, tractors, and other equipment used in agricultural operations.

For more information visit FARMER website






Clean Mobility Incentives


Funding available through community projects to improve clean transportation and mobility choices for residents of disadvantaged and low-income communities.


Clean Mobility in Schools Pilot Project Clean Mobility in Schools Pilot Project


El Monte Union High School District, $9.8 million

Project will be implemented at six high schools and one bus garage.

  • 10 battery electric school buses and charging infrastructure
  • Energy storage, new with existing solar
  • Zero-emission commercial grade landscape and custodial vehicles
  • Battery electric passenger vehicles for car sharing and van pooling for school purposes
  • Workforce training and zero-emission technology curriculum
  • Active transportation plan
  • Robust communication plan



San Diego Unified School District, $9.8 million

Project will be implemented at Lincoln High School and 14 nearby elementary and middle schools.

  • 13 battery electric school buses and charging infrastructure
  • Active transportation outreach and assessments
  • Electric Bicycle Pilot Program for senior students, staff and teachers
  • Vouchers for public transit for staff and teachers
  • Energy storage
  • Battery electric passenger vehicles for car sharing and van pooling for school purposes
  • A replicable template for other districts developed by a Technical Advisory Committee




Clean Mobility Options Voucher Pilot Clean Mobility Options Voucher Pilot Program (CMO)

Program Administrator CALSTART, $37,000,000 (CARB Contribution)

Voucher-based funding for eligible disadvantaged communities, as well as eligible tribal governments and affordable-housing in low-income communities.

  • Funded projects are responsive to community-identified needs and funds zero-emission shared and on-demand services such as carsharing, ridesharing, bikesharing, and innovative transit services
  • Two voucher types offered to eligible nonprofits, local governments, transit agencies, and Native American tribal governments:
    • Up to $1,000,000 for Mobility Projects Vouchers
    • Up to $50,000 for Community Transportation Needs Assessment Vouchers
  • A total of $21.15 million is currently being distributed to communities:

For more information visit Clean Mobility Options website



STEP Sustainable Transportation Equity Project (STEP)

Multiple grantees, $19,500,000 (CARB Contribution)

Funding for low-income, tribal, and disadvantaged communities

  • A new transportation equity pilot that aims to address community residents’ transportation needs, increase access to key destinations, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by funding planning, clean transportation, and supporting projects.
  • Funds include zero-emission carsharing, bikesharing, public transit and shared mobility subsidies, urban forestry, new bike paths, community transportation needs assessments, and active transportation education and outreach events. All projects incorporate significant community engagement during all phases of project planning, development, and implementation.
  • In 2020, CARB awarded 11 grants totaling $19.5 million to community-based organizations and local governments across California

For more information visit STEP Project website



Clean Transportation Demonstration and Pilot Projects


Demonstration and pilot projects aim to transform on-road and off-road fleets to clean technologies by demonstrating new technologies and advancing their commercial viability.


BlueLA Carsharing BlueLA Carsharing Pilot - Los Angeles

City of Los Angeles, $4,669,343 (CARB Contribution)

Serves the LA communities of Westlake, Koreatown, Pico-Union, Downtown, Echo Park, Boyle Heights, South-Central and Chinatown

  • All-electric carsharing with more than 80 stations, 400 charging points and 300 cars planned
  • Members have access to a network of shared electric vehicles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at self-service locations
  • Discounted memberships are available for low-income qualified community members

Lessons learned and project highlights



Clean School Buses Clean School Buses

Rural School Bus Pilot Project - $10 million
Statewide program to replace older school buses with new cleaner technology options. Funding is also available for charging and/or fueling equipment. The program is designed to give preference to school districts in small and medium sized air districts. The application process is expected to begin in February 2017.
The project will fund about 30 to 60 new school buses, and is expected to reduce carbon dioxide by 10,000 metric tons.
Lessons Learned and Project Highlights



Agricultural Worker Vanpool Agricultural Worker Vanpool Pilot - Statewide

California Vanpool Authority (CalVans), $6,000,000 (CARB Contribution)

Agricultural Workers in low-income and disadvantaged communities statewide

  • Deployed 154 new,15-passenger hybrid conversion vans that provide clean transportation to agricultural job sites in the San Joaquin Valley and other low-income agricultural areas in California
  • Expanded CalVans San Joaquin Valley fleet by 60 percent (or 77 vans), for a total of 188 vans serving agricultural workers in eight counties
  • The remaining 77 hybrid conversion vans funded serve other low income and disadvantaged agricultural areas in the state, such as the Coachella Valley and Salinas Valley

Lessons learned and project highlights



Clean Urban Transit Buses Clean Urban Transit Buses

SunLine Transit Agency Fuel Cell Bus Deployment - $12.6 million
Project includes five (5) New Flyer fuel cell buses with Hydrogenics fuel cells and upgrades to the agencies hydrogen refueling station with onsite renewable generation. The buses will be operated on two routes daily from Indio to Mecca/Oasis. The first bus arrived in Fall 2018.

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

Center for Transportation and the Environment Fuel Cell Bus Project - $22.3 million
Project proposes to build twenty (20) fuel cell electric buses to operate in Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (25 routes) in the Bay Area and the Orange County Transportation Authority (5 routes) in Southern California. The first bus arrived in Summer 2018.

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights



Clean Drayage Trucks Clean Drayage Trucks

Battery Electric Drayage Truck Demonstration - $23.7 million
A statewide demonstration of forty-four (44) zero-emission battery electric and plug-in hybrid drayage trucks serving major California ports, including the Ports of Los Angeles and Oakland. The Class 8 trucks and charging infrastructure will be used in five air districts (South Coast, Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento, and San Diego) providing emission reduction benefits in key areas of California. The first trucks began operation early in 2018 with a second wave of deployments starting in 2019.
  • This is the first large-scale demonstration of zero-emission Class 8 trucks that involves major manufacturers, including BYD, Kenworth, Peterbilt and Volvo.
  • Freight transport in California is a major economic engine for the state but also accounts for about half of toxic diesel particulate matter (PM 2.5), 45 percent of the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) that form ozone and fine particulate matter in the atmosphere, and 6 percent of all GHG emissions in California.

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights



Clean Trucks at Rail Yards & Freight Distribution Centers

San Bernardino County Transportation Authority MSF Demonstration Project - $9.1 million
In San Bernardino, Commerce, and Fontana, twenty-six (26) BYD zero-emission battery electric yard trucks and service trucks will replace diesel powered trucks at freight facilities. The trucks will operate at two BNSF rail yards and a Daylight Transport truck freight facility. This project will accelerate the commercialization of heavy-duty advanced, zero-emission technologies. The first truck is expected to start operating in early 2017.

  • The zero-emission trucks are expected to reduce carbon dioxide by 3,500 tons, nitrogen oxide by 3,250 pounds, and diesel soot (PM10) by 170.
  • The truck electrification will help provide a model that could be scaled to any facility.

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

Opposed Piston Engine Class 8 Heavy Duty On-Road Demonstration - $7 million
This project will build and demonstrate opposed piston engine equipped class 8 heavy-duty line haul trucks that will demonstrate the CARB ultra-low NOx emissions target (0.02 g / bhp-hr) with at least a 15% reduction in CO2 when compared to a 2017 commercial vehicle equipped with a current diesel engine.

  • Walmart and Tyson Foods will run these demonstration vehicles in revenue service on regional long haul routes, based from disadvantaged community locations in the central valley and LA area.
  • This engine will improve fuel consumption and NOx emissions in segment by 30-50% once mass adoption is achieved.

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights



Multiple Clean Technologies Used in Goods Movement Multiple Clean Technologies Used in Goods Movement

Fast Track Fuel Cell Truck Project - $5 million
GTI and TransPower will deploy a total of five (5) fuel cell- electric hybrid trucks in Southern California, operated by two major truck fleet operators in a phased roll-out. The three trucks deployed in the first phase will be operated for 15 months at the Port of Los Angeles. Two additional trucks, using a different fuel cell, will be deployed in a second phase and will be operated for 12 months throughout the San Diego and Los Angeles regions.
  • The trucks will be supported by charging and mobile hydrogen fueling infrastructure located at the Ports of Los Angeles and San Diego, much of which is already planned or in place.
  • Frontier Energy will coordinate training, data collection and reporting and Center for Sustainable Energy will coordinate local community outreach.
  • The proposed project will benefit disadvantaged communities near the Ports of Los Angeles and San Diego, and other disadvantaged communities through which the trucks will operate.

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

C-PORT: The Commercialization of POLB Off-Road Technology Demonstration Project - $5.3 million
C-PORT will advance the economic viability of three types of pre-commercial, zero-emission cargo handling equipment at the Port of Long Beach. The demonstration will include a head-to-head comparison of battery electric and fuel cell electric yard trucks at a single site in addition to three battery-electric top handers, helping to identify the benefits of each technology as relevant to specific duty cycles and applications.
  • Three (3) battery-electric top handlers, equipment that is critical in Port of Long Beach's ongoing operations.
  • A battery-electric yard truck, featuring TransPower's battery-electric drivetrain, advanced automated manual transmission.
  • A fuel cell-electric yard truck using LOOP Energy's advanced, pre-commercial eFlow hydrogen fuel cell system that increases fuel cell power production per unit of fuel cell area by 40 percent.
  • This project will be located in a disadvantaged community and will directly benefit the community via targeted education and outreach through high school and community college programs.

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

Demonstration of Zero-Emission Technologies for Freight Operations at Ports - $6.5 million
The project team, led by the Center for Transportation and the Environment, will build an electric top loader with wireless inductive charging and fuel cell range extender for demonstration at the Port of Los Angeles. The electric top loader with a fuel cell range extender will be developed, integrated, and built by Hyster Yale Group, with the fuel cell engine provided by Nuvera and wireless charging provided by WAVE. The vertical integration of zero-emission equipment by a major OEM provides a clear path towards commercialization and represents the commitment of the OEMs to develop and commercialize advanced technologies that are necessary to meet California's air quality and climate goals.


Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

Port of Los Angeles Green Omni Terminal - $14.5 million
The City of Los Angeles Harbor Department and Pasha Stevedoring and Terminal are implementing the Green Omni Terminal project that incorporates zero emission vehicles and cargo handling equipment to move goods from ships through the terminal to clean truck transportation to their final destinations. Vehicles/Equipment Funded:
  • Four Battery Electric Yard Tractors
  • Three Battery Electric 21-ton Forklift Repowers
  • Two Battery Electric On-road Drayage Trucks
  • One At-berth Vessel Emission Control System

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights



Zero and Near Zero Emission Freight Facility Projects

Zero-Emission for California Ports - $5.8 million
The objective of this project is to validate the commercial viability of zero-emissions hybrid fuel cell-electric yard trucks operating in a demanding, real-world cargo-handling application at the Port of Los Angeles. Vehicles/Equipment Funded:
  • Two hybrid fuel cell – electric yard trucks
  • HTEC’s stationary-placed mobile tube-trailer hydrogen fueling system
Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

Zero-Emission Freight "Shore to Store" Project - $41.1 million
This project consists of three major components, each combining with ongoing demonstrations at the Port to showcase a snapshot of the Zero Emission supply chain of the future, and will provide a model by which freight facilities can structure their operations. Vehicles/Equipment Funded:
  • Ten hydrogen fuel cell Class 8 on-road trucks, developed by Toyota and Kenworth
  • One large capacity hydrogen fueling station in Wilmington, CA
  • One large capacity hydrogen fueling station in Ontario, CA
  • Two electric yard tractors at the Port of Hueneme

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

Sustainable Terminals Accelerating Regional Transformation - $50 million
The project will demonstrate what sustainable supply chains of the future can look like: containers delivered by the world’s cleanest vessels, loaded onto zero-emission yard tractors, handled by zero-emission top handlers and rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes, transferred to zero-emission trucks headed for an off-dock cargo-handling facility. Vehicles/Equipment Funded:

Port of Long Beach (All Battery-Electric)
  • 33 Yard Tractors
  • 1 Top Handler
  • 9 Rubber-Tired Gantry Cranes
  • 5 Class 8 Drayage Trucks

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

Volvo Low Impact Green Heavy Transportation Solutions - $44.8 million
This project will create a zero emission goods movement system from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to four freight handling facilities in disadvantaged communities. Vehicles/Equipment Funded:
  • 23 Heavy-duty battery electric trucks
  • 29 Off-road battery electric tractors
  • 58 Non-proprietary Level 2 and DC fast chargers
  • 1.9 million kWh annual solar energy

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Delivery Van Deployment - $4.3 million
The objective of this project is to promote future commercialization of fuel cell system retrofit kits that will significantly transform the parcel delivery market while achieving greenhouse gas, criteria pollutant, and toxic emission reduction. Under the Zero-and Near Zero-Emission Freight Facilities Project grant, CARB will fund the following equipment:
  • Fifteen (15) fuel cell hybrid electric delivery vans integrated by Unique Electric Solutions.
  • Fifteen (15) “HD30” 30-kW fuel cell engines developed and built by Hydrogenics USA.

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

Next Generation Fuel Cell Delivery Van Deployment - $5.8 million
The project team, led by Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), will build and demonstrate four fuel cell hybrid-electric walk-in delivery vans featuring Linamar’s new Gen 2.0 eAxle design. Under the Zero-and Near Zero-Emission Freight Facilities Project grant, CARB will be funding the following equipment:
  • Four (4) fuel cell hybrid electric delivery vans integrated by Linamar Corporation.
  • Four (4) “HD30” 30-kWfuel cell engines developed and built by Ballard Power Systems.

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights

Zero-Emission Beverage Handling and Distribution at Scale - $5.5 million
The project will deploy 21 BYD Class 8 Day Cab (8TT) trucks and charging infrastructure in beverage handling and distribution services at four Anheuser-Busch (AB) distribution facilities in the LA region, and construct solar energy generation at one of the locations to offset energy demand from the chargers. This project will demonstrate how to reach zero-emissions across the range of activities at AB distribution facilities with minimal modifications to fleet logistics.

Lessons Learned and Project Highlights