With the variable gas prices and the need to create a more fuel-efficient mode of transportation, the electric vehicle (EV) has slowly entered the U.S. marketplace. Between 2026 and 2035, major automotive companies like Ford, General Motors, and Toyota plan on producing 2-3 million EVs annually. 

To the typical car-purchasing consumer, EVs shepherd a lot of promise, being the ‘future’ and helping decrease fuel emissions, saving money on fuel and helping those who are climate-conscious decrease their emissions. This question then begs, do we have all have access to an electric vehicle?

The answer is: it depends on location. 

Currently, the most popular areas to own an EV are in affluent metropolitan cities, where EV charging stations are abundant. This means rural, Black and Hispanic communities, those already most marginalized, are likely to be left behind or slow to adapt. 

Charging desserts are entire communities without charging stations. And in the next few years, minority communities could be disproportionately affected by air pollution because its members only have access to gasoline-powered cars.

Yet, recent news brings hope for EVs and charging accessibility in minority and rural communities. The Biden administration recently announced that by 2030, they plan to install 500,000 charging stations in place across the country. And then there are nonprofits like EVHybridNoire, who serve as voices for diverse EV drivers: their mission involves expanding charging infrastructure, EV education, and providing accessible resources to underserved communities around affordable sustainable energy vehicles. These are steps in the right direction to ensure that the future of EVs, and the future of sustainability, will also be about accessibility.

-Kimberly Heard