Pickup trucks, vans and SUVs account for a disproportionate share of the gasoline consumed in Washington state.

On Tuesday, an engineering and consulting firm offered state lawmakers on the Senate-House Joint Transportation Committee ideas on how to replace those gas guzzlers with electric vehicles.

Jeff Doyle, a project technical leader from the Seattle office of Boston-based CDM Smith, told lawmakers that 10% of Washington’s vehicles account for 26% of the gasoline consumed in the state. Meanwhile, 6.3% of the state’s vehicle burn more than 1,000 gallons of fuel a year — the majority of those being pickup trucks, vans and SUVs.

The owners of those so-called “high-consumption fuel users” value them for their hauling and towing, Doyle said. Also, they are used for heavy commuting, rideshare programs and delivery services.

CDM Smith provide four suggestions to encourage owners of those heavy fuel users to switch to EVs:

• • • • Incentivizing owners to lease EVs for trips that don’t require medium-duty capacity. CDM Smith said the heavier vehicles average 25,000 miles annually, compared with an average of 9,000 miles a year for all vehicles. The incentives could be based on miles driven in the leased EVs.
      • Incentivizing trade-ins of fuel-burning pickup trucks and vans for EVs. The incentives could be based on miles driven annually in the new vehicles or on how much fuel is expected to be saved by switching to electric.
      • Creating a program in which drivers switch to EVs but are provided financial assistance to rent high-consumption fuel users when they need a vehicle to haul or tow. This program would be phased out as more medium-duty electric trucks and vans hit the market.
      • Providing rebates to all drivers — light- and medium-duty — to install electric chargers at their homes. The State Legislature has already exempted such installations from the state’s sales tax.

According to CDM Smith, gas-powered vehicle models still far outnumber EVs on dealer lots in the U.S. The company’s breakdown showed:

• • • • 138 models of gas-powered light-duty cars, compared with 25 EV models;
      • 174 models of gas-powered SUVs, compared with 22 electric models;
      • 34 models of gas-powered pickup trucks, compared with four electric;
      • 23 models of gas-powered vans, compared with one electric.

CDM Smith acknowledged that EVs are currently more expensive than gas vehicles but said their price tags are shrinking.

While some lawmakers asked clarifying questions on the presentation, none offered comments.