As the Trump administration pushes back against electric vehicle adoption, some Michigan cities pledge to continue buying EVs for their municipal fleets.

Grand Rapids has acquired nearly 30 EVs since 2018, ranging from security cars for parking lots to electric street sweepers. Ann Arbor has electrified nearly a third of its light-vehicle fleet, including all of its code enforcement cars. And Sterling Heights is running an EV pilot program of five vehicles.

“If we can reduce our fuel consumption, if we can save money on maintenance and repair costs, then EVs are an important part of the future in Sterling Heights,” said Mark Vanderpool, the community’s city manager.

Cities say EVs allow them to save money on fuel and maintenance. These communities also have climate-action plans ? plans to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the changing climate. Electrification of city fleets is part of those plans.

The Electrification Coalition, a Washington, D.C., based nonprofit that promotes policies and actions to deploy EVs on a mass scale, said it has has worked with 16 Michigan city and county governments over the last year on procuring EVs or planning charging infrastructure. The list includes Holland, Lansing, Ypsilanti, Traverse City and Oakland County.

On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order promising to eliminate an EV “mandate.” The order referred to President Joe Biden’s target for 50% of new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. by 2030 to be electric, as well as Environmental Protection Agency action to slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles over the coming years. The policies never required automakers to sell electric vehicles or consumers to buy them.

Trump’s “megabill,” which he signed into law last week, terminates a consumer tax credit for electric vehicles after Sept. 30. It also eliminates a commercial clean-vehicle credit, which local governments and businesses have used on EV purchases.

Despite the change in federal EV policy, Ann Arbor, Sterling Heights and Grand Rapids officials say they aren’t planning to pause their EV rollout.

Jason Hayes, director of energy and environmental policy for the fiscally conservative Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, said the average electric vehicle price is still “quite a bit” higher than the price of an internal combustion engine vehicle.

“The costs are going to be higher to do this, so as long as the ratepayer ? the taxpayer ? is looking at this and saying, ‘Yes, we’re OK with paying more for these cars,’ then OK. I would personally disagree with that, but if that’s what Ann Arbor residents are demanding, that’s their choice,” he said. “It’s a free country.”

Considering economics and environmental impact, cities would be “far better off” going to hybrid vehicles, he said. The city also wouldn’t need to invest in charging infrastructure, as hybrid vehicles that are not plug-in hybrids don’t require chargers.

Big push in Ann Arbor

Simi Barr, senior analyst of municipal operations for the city of Ann Arbor’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations, said the City Council declared a “climate emergency” in 2019 and adopted a climate action plan the following year. The plan, called A2Zero, includes electrification of the city fleet.

He said the city tried out EVs before 2020, but the passage of the A2Zero plan “really has brought renewed focus” to the electrification of the fleet.

Barr said when it’s time for a car or truck to be replaced, the city department using it considers whether it can be replaced with an EV.

If there isn’t an electric alternative on the market, they need to bring that information to the city’s green fleets team and explain why “a zero-emissions vehicle” will not be sufficient.

Barr said around 30% of the city’s light fleet is electrified. That fleet includes cars that inspectors use, pickups, police cars and parking enforcement vehicles.

“A lot of those have been vehicles that are a little bit simpler to electrify,” he said.

Barr said a snow plow is an example of a vehicle that is difficult to electrify. The so-called “heavy fleet” also includes garbage trucks, forklifts and dump trucks. Barr estimated the city’s heavy fleet is around 5-10% electrified.

Barr said there have been cost savings from electrifying the fleet, including not having to pay for oil changes.

Barr said the city is trying to “show the community our commitment for the sustainability and climate work that they sort of demanded” in the city’s climate emergency declaration.

He said the Trump administration’s pushback against EV policies has not changed the city’s long-term plans.

“The EV goals we have set forth … come from our green fleets policy and A2Zero plan, which are both accepted by City Council, so that’s really where we get our direction from, and that hasn’t changed,” he said.

Janet Mayor, an Ann Arbor resident who was walking her dog in the Kerrytown neighborhood recently, said “it makes sense” that Ann Arbor is getting more EVs for its fleet.

“I think that EVs, in the long run, are going to be an economical way to go,” she said. “I think we have a few issues to work out with EVs, but I think in the long run, it’s probably a good choice.”

Other Michigan cities

Sean Moeller, Grand Rapids’ equipment maintenance superintendent, said the city put its first two electric sedans into service in 2018. They were Ford Focuses. This city wanted to get feedback from its employees and “just dip our toes in the water,” he said.

Moeller said the vehicles could only travel about 40-50 miles on one charge. He noted that the administration office for the water department was roughly 45 miles away from the water filtration plant, so “getting there and back was an issue,” as there wasn’t charging infrastructure at the plant.

The city has expanded its EV fleet significantly since 2018, and the range of EVs has improved as well. Grand Rapids now has 27 full-electric vehicles, including three electric street sweepers and six plug-in hybrids.

The city uses Chevrolet Bolts and Nissan Leafs for parking security. It also uses Leafs for code compliance.

“I don’t think the political climate … since 2018 has really had any bearing on what we want to do, because we’re simply following our core values,” Moeller said.

Sterling Heights rolled out its EV fleet pilot program in spring 2024. It includes two F-150 Lightnings, a Mustang Mach-E, a Chevrolet Bolt EUV and an electric Chevy Blazer that is being used as a police pursuit vehicle.

“The electric vehicles in our fleet have been receiving very positive performance reviews,” Assistant City Manager Dale Dwojakowski said in a statement.

He said the city has saved money compared to internal combustion engine vehicles on maintenance and service. Sterling Heights plans to buy four to six more this budget year.

City manager Vanderpool said the city can potentially save money long term with EVs.

“Notwithstanding political agendas at the federal level, the reality is electric vehicles are here,” he said. “They’re going to continue to expand in one way, shape or form across the country and worldwide.”

The city of Detroit, for its part, is currently using 275 hybrid police vehicles, including pursuit vehicles; investigative vehicles; and code enforcement trucks. An additional 87 pursuit vehicles are being deployed now and will soon be in use. The city has fully electrified its municipal parking fleet, said Trisha Stein, Detroit’s chief strategy officer.

The Detroit Department of Transportation has numerous environmentally friendly vehicles, including four electric buses and 14 hybrid buses.

When asked if the federal pushback has made Detroit want to pause or stop its EV rollout, Stein didn’t answer directly, but said the city has a multi-year fleet replacement plan that it’s constantly reviewing to “make sure that we’re matching the use of our departments and type of vehicles that would be best for them.”

“But most importantly, we’re really trying to support Detroit automakers,” she said, adding that over 90% of the city’s light-duty EVs are made by Ford and GM.

Federal funding concerns

Matt Stephens-Rich, the director of programs for the Electrification Coalition, said his organization has worked with local governments applying for federal grants for their EV projects.

Cities have been concerned about losing that funding under the Trump administration, including some that already has been budgeted.

“It’s definitely a lot of question mark that surrounds it,” Stephens-Rich said, “but gratefully, a number of partners still able to proceed on their projects.”

Ann Arbor is closely watching changes in federal funding, but the city plans to continue in the direction it has been headed, said Barr, the analyst for city’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations.

He said that the city received federal funding for electric garbage trucks, but the grant agreements have been executed and the funding isn’t in jeopardy.

In Grand Rapids, equipment maintenance superintendent Moeller hopes that when residents see that EVs can be used for city business, they will become interested in trying the vehicles themselves.

“I’m hopeful that people seeing these vehicles on the streets and knowing that they’re full electric is helping to increase awareness and hopefully inspiring people to try them out,” he said.