The road to the future is electric, but several business groups in Alabama are worried the state might get left behind in the race to a gas-less future, hurting the state’s ability to recruit new businesses.

Alabama ranks 48th among states with just 2.3 electric vehicle charging stations per 10,000 registered vehicles. That’s far behind the national average of 9.7 outlets per 10,000 vehicles.

“As the number and type of electric vehicles dramatically increase in the next few years, it’s important for our state to be prepared in terms of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging,” said Michael Staley, president of the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition, in a phone interview.

The coalition, with the support of several conservative business groups, wrote a letter to Alabama’s State Senate leadershipand Gov. Kay Ivey urging the state to double its 2022 general fund spending on electric car charging stations from $2 million to $4 million to prevent the state from being left behind as electric vehicles grow in popularity across the country.