U.S. to buy 101 Volts, 10 Leafs and 5 Think City EVs

The Obama administration is buying the first 116 plug-in electric vehicles for the federal fleet -- 101 Chevrolet Volts, 10 Nissan Leafs and five Think City EVs, the U.S. General Services Administration said today.

As KHABAR KHODRO reports ,The purchases are part of a pilot project aimed at advancing President Obama’s goal of having 1 million EVs on the road by 2015.

The 116 vehicles will be leased to 20 agencies, including the Energy Department, the Treasury Department.

The cities are Detroit, Washington, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

"Diversifying our transportation fleet with hybrids, electric vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles is a critical element in President Obama’s long-term plan to break our dependence on foreign oil and invest in America’s growing clean energy economy," U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said.

GSA, which manages the federal fleet, said it will help install charging infrastructure in federal buildings in the five cities.

Last fall, GSA asked automakers to bid on supplying the first 100 EVs for federal purchase. The U.S. government is the nation’s largest vehicle fleet operator.

GSA said it applied four criteria in selecting the vehicles: technical capability, management capability, past performance and price.