Comstock's magazine 1217 - December 2017 | Page 73

Electrify America anticipates its statewide investment will
support up to 8,500 jobs over its 10-year investment cycle.
The local investment is anticipated to create up to 176 jobs
and $27 million in economic output. The job site Indeed.
com already has Electrify America job openings in Sacra-
mento for staff f leet administrator, and f leet maintenance
and claims admin.
“Transportation has slowly evolved over time,” Car-
penter says. “We’re in a state of significant disruption and
change. It’s exciting, and that’s why investments like this
really jump start us in moving to the future.”
The opportunities to attract and grow Sacramento’s
automotive and technology climate are already gaining
footing. The “like attracts like” concept of industry clus-
tering is already manifesting, which officials expect to
continue.
“The Green City initiative is an exciting platform to
launch other initiatives to layer on top of it, to create an
environment in Sacramento that’s excited for electric vehi-
cles,” Gress says. “It’s the excitement of Sacramento being a
hub for electric vehicles, and how that can attract new ven-
tures.”
Mercedes-Benz recently chose Sacramento and Colum-
bus, Ohio, as markets to deploy dealer education on electric
vehicles. According to Gress, Envoy, a new car-sharing
service, is assessing the Sacramento market, as is Veloz, a
nonprofit that’s grown from the California Electric Vehicle
Collaborative that focuses on community education and
outreach related to electric vehicles.
“They know this is going to be the place to be,” Gress
says, of both big players and smaller startups taking inter-
est in the region. “I firmly believe it is a result of this electric
vehicle activity occurring that [companies] are coming.”
There’s also buzz around establishing a research and
development center, Gress says, who adds that the types of
jobs created through the automotive technology industry
will be high paying.
“There’s such an incredible amount of activity on so
many fronts, there’s a lot of momentum” she says. “In five
to ten years this will be a really different city in regards to
transportation.” n
Karen Wilkinson is a journalist, writer, communications
consultant and yoga teacher. She gained newspaper
experience along California’s North Coast.
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December 2017 | comstocksmag.com
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