Family-owned Lamont auto shop lands grant to train young EV technicians in rural Kern County

May 21, 2026

A family-run auto repair shop in Lamont is training the next generation of technicians to work on electric vehicles, bringing new opportunities to rural Kern County.

Lamont Auto Repair recently secured a grant from California Jobs First and the Kern County Coalition for Jobs. The Lamont EV Workforce & Repair Center will establish an EV-certified facility, train and certify 4 to 6 local technicians, and launch full EV repair services for the public.

Emanuel Espinoza, the owner of Lamont Auto Repair, says the shop is the first independent shop to offer this service. After completing a two-week course in Boston earlier this year, the shop is ready to train young people to bring electric vehicle services to rural communities.

“So now we’re here developing this project where we can build this workforce, bring these students in, and send them out ready to tackle on electric vehicle repair,” Espinoza said.

Espinoza says the training empowers local workers — a vital skill set as more drivers are making the switch to electric vehicles.

“It seems like before people were tied to having to drive out to the dealerships to get these types of services done to their vehicles. But now we exist, we’re able to comfortably work on their vehicles after our training,” Espinoza said.

Leonardo Perez was part of the training that took place in February and says he learned a great deal.

“We studied everything from electric vehicles to hybrid vehicles, everything in between. Anything from the computers to the motors. We just studied everything from maintenance to prevention, safety,” Perez said.

Perez says mastering this skill unlocks a world of possibilities for the future.

“Everyone has their own path they can take. There some people that might want to work in the industry, hands on being a technician, maybe owning an owned shop as a business person that might be the route to go,” Perez said.

The shop also plans to expand the training to Arvin High School students, opening doors to good-paying jobs and bringing new opportunities to rural communities.

“We have students that would like to do things like this, but just never really had the opportunity,” Espinoza said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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