Government Will Buy Over 5,000 Hybrid Cars This Year

The White House will announce today the government will be buying 5,603 more hybrid vehicles to replace the same number of older, less fuel efficient vehicles. The government estimates the new fleet of cars will reduce petroleum consumption by the equivalent of an estimated 7.7 million gallons of gas, or 385,000 barrels of oil.

The new 5,000 hybrids and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) will double the federal hybrid car fleet. The purchases are made through the US General Service Administration. The hybrid cars will be bought this year, while the PHEVs will be purchased in 2011.

The general goal is to cut petroleum use by 30 percent by 2020.

“President Obama has called on the Federal Government to lead by example in sustainability and our efforts to build a clean energy economy. By doubling the hybrids in the Federal fleet, agencies are answering that call by reducing petroleum consumption and increasing fuel efficiency,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “These types of clean energy investments will help create new private-sector jobs, drive long-term savings, build market capacity, and foster innovation in clean energy industries.”

“By doubling the hybrid fleet and committing to purchasing plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, GSA is leveraging our position as the government’s centralized supplier to invest in emerging clean energy technologies, increase the government fleet’s fuel economy, and decrease the cost of government operations,” said Martha N. Johnson, Administrator of General Services. “GSA is committed to delivering solutions that help agencies deliver on the President’s call to increase sustainability and energy security.”

“The Department of Energy is committed to expanding the use of hybrids even as we reduce our fleet overall, saving gasoline and money for taxpayers,” said Secretary Chu.