According to Bloomberg news, during this last quarter (from April 1 to June 30, 2023) EV (new car) sales in California climbed 70%. This compared to the same period last year in 2022, when one in five new cars sold in CA was a zero-emission vehicle according to the California Energy Commission. The CEC says 18.8% of new cars sold in the Golden State last year was an electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid vehicle or fuel cell EV.
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EV adoption grows 20% in five years in CA
Bloomberg’s news article mentions that in the past five years, new electric vehicle sales have gone from 2% to 22% in the Golden State. Californians, for a while now, have been proponents for a greener lifestyle leading the rest of the nation in its efforts for cleaner air and less climate-warming pollution.
California is leading the charge on zero-emission vehicles
The State was first to ban the sales of gas-powered vehicles (ICE) to curb climate change. Not surprising since CA has suffered from countless wildfires, storms, droughts, and smog in the recent years. The ambitious goal of electrification paved the way for others to join, with several states including Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and Washington also banning new ICE car sales.
SEE ALSO: ELECTRIC CARS 2023
EVs could save almost 90,000 U.S. lives by 2050
Since electric cars don’t emit exhaust gas or other pollutants into the air, the American Lung Association says it could save lives and lower healthcare cost due to improved air quality. A new report by the ALA says: If all new cars, pickups, and SUVs sold by 2035 were zero-emission, there would be up to 89,300 fewer premature deaths, 2 million fewer asthma attacks, 10.7 million fewer lost workdays, plus savings of $978 billion in public health benefits across America by 2050.
The entire U.S. is three years behind California
Once electric vehicles attained 5% of new-car sales in CA, EV adoption picked up considerably. A tipping point of some sort, flipping more mainstream buyers. By 2018, the Golden State has reached its tipping point. America as a whole is about three years behind California in electric vehicle sales.
Tesla is now the top-selling car brand in the Golden State
Tesla just recently outstripped Toyota’s title as the top-selling car brand in the Golden State, and accounts for 60% of America’s electric car market. Even eTags car registration and title company has seen an uptick on California orders for Tesla models. Tesla has sold 536,069 units in the U.S. in 2022 according to GoodcarBadcar.
The EV brand is so popular and has had such an effect on the EV landscape that several automakers are using its North American Charging Standard (NCAS) port. General Motors, Honda, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and more will have their electric cars equipped with the NCAS charge port.
1.4 million EVs in CA
About $200 billion is being spent on electric vehicle factories (100) and batteries. In fact, Ford alone got $9.2 billion to build three battery factories with two already in construction in Kentucky and Tennessee. The automaker plans to produce 2 million electric vehicles by 2026.
California has about 1.4 million EVs on the road and accounts for 40% of all zero-emission sales in the U.S. There’s much more to come from California, as EV adoption picks up the pace in the rest of the U.S. Infrastructure, MSRP, and anxiety/charge range are still obstacles for most Americans.
