HUNTSVILLE – Polaris will be shipping the first of its all-new electric Ranger XP Kinetic vehicles from its Huntsville manufacturing plant this week.

Polaris manufactures the fully electric vehicle at the more than 900,000 square-foot plant in Huntsville. The company said today it plans to take additional orders on the Ranger this summer.

The Ranger XP Kinetic features an all-electric powertrain and is engineered for off-road use through Polaris’ exclusive 10-year partnership with Zero Motorcycles, the company said.

“Since announcing our electrification efforts and partnership with Zero Motorcycles, it has been major milestone moments like today’s announcement that have motivated and driven our team to engineer and deliver category-redefining powersports vehicles,” said Steve Menneto, president of Off Road, Polaris. “The Ranger XP Kinetic demonstrates the game-changing performance advantages that an electric powertrain can provide, and we look forward to getting these vehicles into the hands of our dealers and consumers across the country.”

At each of Saturday’s three EV showcases, electric vehicle owners talked one-on-one with visitors.

Not long after purchasing a Tesla, Steve Johnson and his family took the electric vehicle on a long road trip.

“We thought we were crazy in Alabama to get an EV,” said Johnson, co-leader of the Wiregrass chapter of Drive Electric Alabama and owner of Wiregrass EV Charging. “The first thing we did was take a road trip to Missouri, and it basically cost us nothing. It turned out great.”

Johnson later bought a Rivian pick-up truck to replace his full-sized, gas-powered truck and said he’s put 23,000 miles on it less than year. He showed off the Rivian at Saturday’s Wiregrass Drive Electric Alabama Earth Day EVent at Johnny Henderson Park in Enterprise as part of the Weevil City Cruisers’ 26th Annual Car Show.

The EVent gave Johnson and other EV owners the opportunity to showcase their EVs and talk 1-on-1 with anyone interested in learning more about EVs.

A new campaign is charging up support from drivers across the state.

The Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition debuted an official Alabama license plate available for pre-commitments now.

With new manufacturers taking electric vehicles to market and it being easier than ever to make the switch, a lot of Alabamians are starting to ask good questions.

“Electric vehicle owners are already asked very often about their cars and most of them are very active in sharing the good experience they’ve had with their EVs,” said coalition President Michael Staley.