There’s no doubt that California is ahead of the curve when it comes to using electric cars. We looked at California’s progress on zero-emission vehicles earlier this year and came to the conclusion that stopping the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines by 2035 was very possible.
This week, sales data from the first half of 2023 shows that 24.3% of ZEVs, which California describes as battery electric, certain fuel-cell electric, and plug-in hybrid vehicles with at least 50 miles of all-electric range, were bought. One out of every four new cars sold is a ZEV, even though plug-in hybrids also have internal combustion engines. In the second quarter alone, the share of ZEV sales was even higher, at 25.4%. And some places are doing even better. In the second quarter of 2018, Alameda, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties all had a 40% share of ZEV sales. Overall, 223,298 ZEVs have been sold just this year, but in 2022, over 28 million light-duty vehicles were on the road in California.
The first half of the year is also a turning point for California. With a 14.6% market share, Tesla has passed Toyota to become the best-selling brand in California. In the same way, the Tesla Model Y was the best-selling car overall in California, beating out the Toyota Camry and Toyota RAV4, which had been the best-selling cars. Also, the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV made up 8% of sales of battery-electric vehicles, which is a win for small, cheap EVs.
Another important number from the second quarter is the number of new ZEVs registered in Los Angeles County. Between April and June, nearly 63,000 new ZEVs were registered. Over 28,000 new ZEVs were also registered in Orange County, making Southern California a close second to the Bay Area in terms of ZEV use. The Union of Concerned Scientists’ graphs of ZEV sales in California from 2021 to 2023 show a big jump from 2021 to 2023, with a rise of over 10% in just two years. It’s possible that the COVID-19 pandemic is a big reason why sales of EVs slowed down in 2019 and 2020, but since 2022, they’ve been going up quickly.
What needs to happen next if California is really going to sell only electric vehicles by 2035? Well, in its study of California’s EV trends, the Union for Concerned Scientists lists a few key things that should be done. In particular, the group wants automakers to accept or create a single charging standard, because charging that works well and is easy to find is the public’s top priority.
The group says that making the EV market more diverse by adding cheaper cars and startups that compete with big automakers will make the market cheaper, better developed, and more fair. According to Dr. Gil Tal, Director of The Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Centre at the University of California, Davis, an academic study of California’s progress towards its ZEV goal shows that the state has the same needs.
Tal says that in the push for 100% EV sales, low-income people and other marginalised groups could be left behind. This means that government regulations and market forces need to push automakers to make cars that are cheap to buy and cheap to run. Tal says it will also be important for the government to offer rewards that are always changing.
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