California Tops 1 Million Plug-In Vehicle Sales

California may be known as the Golden State but it’s drivers are going green, collectively purchasing more than 1 million plug-in vehicles.

California Governor Gavin Newsom talks with the owner of the 1 millionth plug-in electric vehicle sold in the state.

It’s not only the first state to get there but California is set to become the first state to hit the 2 million mark if its current sales pace holds. In 2021, buyers there purchased 250,279 EVs, 12.4% of total California new vehicle sales.

“This is a massive achievement,” said Josh D. Boone, executive director of Veloz, a public-private partnership that promotes the sale of electrified vehicles. “That said, there is a lot of work to be done. Accessibility, more charging infrastructure and education are obstacles that still need to be overcome” to make EVs ubiquitous.

Promoting EV sales

California has long promoted the sale of environmentally friendly vehicles, taking advantage of its unique ability to set mileage and emissions mandates stricter than federal standards. The Trump administration attempted to limit California’s powers but the Biden White House this month restored the state’s waiver. More than a dozen other states follow California’s stricter standards.

Tesla helped pave the way for the electric vehicle segment and was the top EV seller in California last year.

The 1 millionth California EV was sold just before the end of 2021. The figure included not only 663,014 pure battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs, but also 379,000 plug-in hybrids and around 12,000 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom traveled to Stockton to meet with Michael Macias, the owner of the millionth electric vehicle sold in California, a Volkswagen ID.4.

“Investing in a ZEV was the perfect opportunity to put my principles of being a good steward of the earth into practice,” said Macias.

Tesla tops the list

Despite the plant that builds it being shut down for part of 2021, the Chevy Bolt was the third best-selling EV in California.

The Tesla Model 3 was the most popular EV sold in California last year, with state residents purchasing 67,262 of the all-electric sedans, Tesla’s Model Y SUV was a close second, with sales of 61,022. All told, Tesla ended the year with a 10.5% market share in what has become the state with the largest demand for EVs.

Chevrolet managed to land in third with the Bolt, though it sold only 12,313 of the electric hatchbacks. Bolt sales were effectively suspended late in the year while Chevy moved to address a battery fire problem.

“Creating a clean transportation future is the most impactful step we can take to fight climate change,” Newsom said to mark the EV sales milestone. “We’ll continue using our market dominance and historic investments to accelerate the ZEV transition globally while expanding access and affordability across the state, especially in under-served neighborhoods.”

U.S. playing catch-up

The U.S., as a whole, saw EV sales surge 83% in 2021, though they still represented just 4% of the overall market. Globally, demand for electric vehicles more than doubled, reaching 8.57%, according to the International Energy Agency. China has the largest market, both measured by raw sales and share — exceeding 20% in 2021. Europe also reached the 20% share by the end of last year.

Demand in California should continue to accelerate, said Veloz chief Boone, noting, “In the next two years, we’ll have another 85 new models to choose from.”

That includes a wider selection of products targeting the most popular segments of the vehicle market, including both SUVs and pickups.

“The electric truck race is on and very soon electrified trucks will become a meaningful portion of overall truck sales.”

California is aiming to reach a total of 5 million EV sales by 2030. The Biden administration, meanwhile, wants to see plug-based vehicles account for a total of 40% to 50% of U.S. sales by decade’s end. At that rate, Americans would purchase somewhere between 6.5 million and more than 8 million EVs annually.

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