According to figures released on Friday by the state’s Energy Commission, electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell cars accounted for 18.8 percent of all new automobile sales in California last year (CEC). In 2022, California citizens purchased 345,818 zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), a 38 percent increase over the previous year and a 138 percent increase over 2020. It should come as no surprise that Tesla cars accounted for the majority of ZEVs purchased in California last year. According to France’s AFP News Agency, the manufacturer produced around two-thirds of the 345,000 ZEVs sold in the state in 2022.
With EVs and other zero-emission cars accounting for over one-fifth of new car sales in California, the state still has some adoption work to do. Electric cars, for example, accounted for 65 percent of new car sales in Norway in 2021 and 79.3 percent in 2022. Nonetheless, the nation’s major automobile market performed well in comparison to the rest of the country. According to the CEC, California sold 40% of all ZEVs sold in the United States. It’s also worth noting the size of the California automobile market. When EVs accounted for 65 percent of new vehicle sales in Norway, dealerships sold 113,715 EVs. This is around one-third of the total number of zero-emission automobiles sold in California last year.
In any event, EV usage in California is expected to skyrocket in the next years. The CEC stated last month that it will invest around $2.6 billion to create 90,000 additional chargers throughout the state ahead of the state’s 2035 prohibition on the sale of new gasoline and diesel-powered automobiles. The California Air Resources Board has put aside an additional $2.6 billion to encourage consumers and businesses to transition to electric cars.
