States with the Most Electric Cars
Lisa Steuer McArdle
· 3 min read
Electric cars
in the United States are increasing in production, as states like California
and Massachusetts
pledge that by 2035, all new vehicles sold must be electric. Automakers are making similar pledges. For instance, Volkswagen and
General Motors
say they will stop selling internal-combustion-engined vehicles by 2035. In 2020, electric vehicles accounted for 1.8% of all new car registrations, according to
IHS Markit
, and that number is only expected to grow. Some states are ahead of others when it comes to electric vehicles, according to
iSeeCars
, which looked at more than 4.2 million used cars sales from January to March 2021. To rank all the U.S. states, iSeeCars calculated the percentage share of electric vehicle sales within each state.
Which states buy the most electric cars?
When it comes to the electric cars movement, California is a leader, according to the data. It was reportedly the first state to announce a zero-emission vehicle mandate.
California also has the highest shares of electric vehicles, and accounts for 25.1% of the country’s electric vehicles.
Following California for most electric cars are Texas, Florida, and Washington. Together, the four states account for more than half of the country’s electric vehicles.
Interestingly, Washington and Oregon have a disproportionately high share of used electric vehicles. While Washington accounts for 2.2% of all used cars on the road, it accounts for 5.2% of the country’s used electric vehicle share.
At the same time, Oregon accounts for 1.2% of all the used cars on the road, and 3.2% of the country’s used electric vehicle share.
Lowest share of electric vehicles
Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, North Dakota, and Wyoming all have the lowest share of used electric vehicles. In fact, all the states are listed as having 0% of the country’s used electric vehicle share.
Other states ranking very low, at .1%, are Mississippi, Vermont, Delaware, and Alaska.
Zero-emission vehicle states
In addition to California, there are 12 states that have zero-emission vehicle mandates: Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
New Jersey
, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.These states have put rules in place to achieve long-term emission reduction goals, and require manufacturers to supply the cleanest cars possible.
In general, the zero-emission vehicle states tend to have more electric vehicles than the states without emissions standards, according to the report. The idea is that with the rules in place, electric vehicles are more available to consumers in states that require manufacturers to supply clean cars.
The future of electric vehicles
More states are expected to follow suit, so there may be an increase in electric vehicles in more states in the near future.
Electric vehicle sales are set to exceed a 3.5% overall market share in 2021, according to IHS Markit, which also says that sales of electric vehicles will increase to a more than 10% share in 2025.
This increase can most likely be attributed to broader product offerings—more than 100 new electric vehicle options are expected to launch between 2021 and 2025.
