The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States is actively supported by the American federal government, and several state and local governments. As of December 2017, cumulative sales in the U.S. totaled 764,666 highway legal plug-in electric vehicles since the market launch of the Tesla Roadster in 2008, As of December 2016, the American stock represented 28.1% of the global light-duty plug-in stock, and the U.S. had the world's third largest stock of plug-in passenger cars after China and Europe.
The U.S. market share of plug-in electric passenger cars increased from 0.14% in 2011 to 0.62% in 2013. The plug-in segment reached a market share of 0.75% in 2014 and fell to 0.66% in 2015. Then climbed to 0.90% in 2016, and achieved a record market share of 1.13% in 2017. California is the largest plug-in car regional market in the country, with 365,286 plug-in electric vehicles registered through December 2017, and accounted for approximately 48% of cumulative plug-in sales in the American market from 2011 to June 2016. The other nine states that follow California's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulations accounted for another 10% of cumulative plug-in car sales in the U.S. during the same period.
As of December 2017, there were 41 highway legal plug-in cars available in the American market from over a dozen car manufacturers, plus several models of electric motorcycles, utility vans and neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs). As of December 2017, the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid is the all-time best selling plug-in electric car with 133,838 units (both generations), followed by the Tesla Model S all-electric car with 118,817, and the Nissan Leaf with 114,827. The Model S has been the best selling plug-in car in the U.S. for three consecutive years, from 2015 to 2017. As of 31 January 2016, the United States had 12,203 charging stations across the country, led by California with 2,976 stations (24.4%). In terms of public charging points, there were 30,669 public outlets available across the country by the end of January 2016, again led by California with 9,086 charging points (29.6%).
The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 granted tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric vehicles. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) also authorized federal tax credits for converted plug-ins. The federal tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) is worth between US$2,500 and US$7,500 depending on battery capacity. As of November 2014, a total of 37 states and Washington, D.C. have established incentives and tax or fee exemptions for BEVs and PHEVs, or utility-rate breaks, and other non-monetary incentives such as free parking and high-occupancy vehicle lane access. The U.S. government also has pledged US$2.4 billion in federal grants to support the development of next-generation electric cars and batteries, and US$115 million for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in 16 different metropolitan areas around the country.
In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama set the goal for the U.S. to become the first country to have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. Considering the actual slow rate of PEV sales, since mid-2012 several industry observers have concluded that this goal is unattainable. In January 2016, with only about 40% of Obama's goal achieved by the end of 2015, Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, said that the one million goal may not be reached until 2020. Industry analysts forecast that the goal could be achieved in 2018. Cumulative plug-in sales achieved the 500,000 unit milestone in August 2016. The Governor of California, Jerry Brown, issued an executive order in March 2012 that established the goal of getting 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on California roads by 2025. In September 2014, the Charge Ahead California Initiative set the additional goal to have at least 1 million zero-emission vehicles and near-zero-emission vehicles in California by January 1, 2023.
Video Plug-in electric vehicles in the United States
Government support
In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama set the goal for the U.S. to become the first country to have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. This goal was established based on forecasts made by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), using production capacity of PEV models announced to enter the U.S. market through 2015. The DoE estimated a cumulative production of 1,222,200 PEVS by 2015, and was based on manufacturer announcements and media reports accounting production goals for the Fisker Karma, Fisker Nina, Ford Transit Connect, Ford Focus Electric, Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, Smith Newton, Tesla Roadster, Tesla Model S and Th!nk City.
Considering that actual PEV sales were lower than initially expected, as of early 2013, several industry observers have concluded that this goal was unattainable. According to a July 2012 study by Pike Research, cumulative sales will reach the one million goal set by the Obama Administration only in 2018. Other analysts agree that the goal could be achieved in 2018. With only about 400,000 plug-in electric cars sold in the United States by the end of December 2015, Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, said in January 2016 that the one million goal may not be reached until 2020. According to the Secretary purchases have fallen well below President Barack Obama's goal due to low gasoline prices, which had a negative impact on sales. Also improvements in battery technology are required as lowering battery costs is "absolutely critical" to boost electric vehicle sales. U.S. cumulative plug-in sales since 2008 achieved the 500,000 unit milestone in August 2016.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
President Barack Obama pledged US$2.4 billion in federal grants to support the development of next-generation electric vehicles and batteries. $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce highly efficient batteries and their components; up to $500 million in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce other components needed for electric vehicles, such as electric motors and other components; and up to $400 million to demonstrate and evaluate plug-in hybrids and other electric infrastructure concepts--like truck stop charging station, electric rail, and training for technicians to build and repair electric vehicles (greencollar jobs).
In March 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the release of two competitive solicitations for up to $2 billion in federal funding for competitively awarded cost-shared agreements for manufacturing of advanced batteries and related drive components as well as up to $400 million for transportation electrification demonstration and deployment projects. This initiative aimed to help meet President Barack Obama's goal of putting one million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015.
In 2008, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums announced a nine-step policy plan for transforming the Bay Area into the "Electric Vehicle (EV) Capital of the U.S.". Other local and state governments have also expressed interest in electric cars.
A 2013 study published in the journal Energy Policy explored the relative benefits of a vehicle-charging network and plug-in hybrid vehicles with larger batteries. Across the battery-capacity and charging-infrastructure scenarios examined, the lowest-cost solution is for more drivers to switch to traditional hybrid electrics or low-capacity plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Installing charging infrastructure would provide lower gasoline savings per dollar spent than paying for increased PHEV battery capacity. In addition, the study determined that current federal subsidies are "not aligned with the goal of decreased gasoline consumption in a consistent and efficient manner."
Tax credits
New plug-in electric vehicles
Federal incentives
First the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and later the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) granted tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) also authorized federal tax credits for converted plug-ins, though the credit is lower than for new PEVs.
As defined by the 2009 ACES Act, a PEV is a vehicle which draws propulsion energy from a traction battery with at least 5 kwh of capacity and uses an offboard source of energy to recharge such battery. The tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles is worth US$2,500 plus US$417 for each kilowatt-hour of battery capacity over 5 kwh, and the portion of the credit determined by battery capacity cannot exceed US$5,000. Therefore, the total amount of the credit allowed for a new PEV is US$7,500.
The qualified plug-in electric vehicle credit phases out for a PEV manufacturer over the one-year period beginning with the second calendar quarter after the calendar quarter in which at least 200,000 qualifying PEVs from that manufacturer have been sold for use in the U.S. Cumulative sales started counting sales after December 31, 2009. After reaching the cap, qualifying PEVs for one quarter still earn the full credit, the second quarter after that quarter PEVS are eligible for 50% of the credit for six months, then 25% of the credit for another six months and finally the credit is phased out. Both the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle and the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, launched in December 2010, are eligible for the maximum $7,500 tax credit. The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, released in January 2012, is eligible for a US$2,500 tax credit due to its smaller battery capacity of 5.2 kWh. All Tesla cars and Chevrolet Bolts are eligible for the 7,500 tax credit.
A 2016 study conducted by researchers from the University of California, Davis found that the federal tax credit was the reason behind more than 30% of the plug-in electric sales. The impact of the federal tax incentive is higher among owners of the Nissan Leaf, with up to 49% of sales attributable to the federal incentive. The study, based on an stated preference survey of more than 2,882 plug in vehicle owners in 11 states, also found that the federal tax credit shifts buyers from internal combustion engine vehicles to plug-in vehicles and advances the purchase timing of new vehicles by a year or more.
State incentives
As of November 2014, a total of 37 states and Washington, D.C. have established incentives and tax or fee exemptions for BEVs and PHEVs, or utility-rate breaks, and other non-monetary incentives such as free parking and high-occupancy vehicle lane access regardless of the number of occupants. In California, for example, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) was established to promote the production and use of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). Eligible vehicles include only new Air Resources Board-certified or approved zero-emission or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Among the eligible vehicles are neighborhood electric vehicles, battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and fuel cell vehicles including cars, trucks, medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and zero-emission motorcycles. Vehicles must be purchased or leased on or after March 15, 2010. Rebates initially of up to US$5,000 per light-duty vehicle, and later lowered to up to US$2,500, are available for individuals and business owners who purchase or lease new eligible vehicles. Certain zero-emission commercial vehicles are also eligible for rebates up to US$20,000.
All electric vehicle purchases made in any of the 50 states are eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit. Local governments may offer additional rebates.
The following table summarizes some of the state incentives:
New proposals
Several separate initiatives have been pursued unsuccessfully at the federal level since 2011 to transform the tax credit into an instant cash rebate. The objective of these initiatives is to make new qualifying plug-in electric cars more accessible to buyers by making the incentive more effective. The rebate would be available at the point of sale allowing consumers to avoid a wait of up to a year to apply the tax credit against income tax returns.
In March 2014, the Obama Administration included a provision in the FY 2015 Budget to increase the maximum tax credit for plug-in electric vehicles and other advanced vehicles to US$10,000, over the current US$7,500. However, the new maximum tax credit would not apply to luxury vehicles with a sales price of over US$45,000, such as the Tesla Model S and the Cadillac ELR, which would be capped at US$7,500. According to the Treasury Department, the proposal intends to transform the existing tax credit into a rebate available at the point of sale that will be claimable by dealers and passed along to the consumers. The proposal also seeks to remove the 200,000 vehicle cap per manufacturer after which the credit phases out over a year. Instead, the incentives would begin to phase out starting in 2019 for all manufacturers, and the credit would be completely phased out by 2022, and fall to 75% of the current credit starting in 2019. Despite President Barack Obama's unsuccessful attempts to raise the tax credit to US$10,000 in his previous three annual budgets, the proposal was included again in the FY 2016 Budget.
In November 2017, House Republicans proposed scrapping the $7,500 tax credit as part of a sweeping tax overhaul.
Charging equipment
Until 2010 there was a federal tax credit equal to 50% of the cost to buy and install a home-based charging station with a maximum credit of US$2,000 for each station. Businesses qualified for tax credits up to US$50,000 for larger installations. These credits expired on December 31, 2010, but were extended through 2013 with a reduced tax credit equal to 30% with a maximum credit of up to US$1,000 for each station for individuals and up to US$30,000 for commercial buyers. In 2016, the Obama administration and several stake holders announced $4.5 billion in loan guarantees for public charge stations, along with other iniatives.
EV Everywhere Challenge
On March 7, 2012, President Barack Obama launched the EV Everywhere Challenge as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Energy Grand Challenges, which seeks to solve some of the U.S. biggest energy challenges and make clean energy technologies affordable and accessible to the vast majority of American households and businesses. The EV Everywhere Challenge has the goal of advancing electric vehicle technologies to have the country, by 2022, to produce a five-passenger electric vehicle that would provide both a payback time of less than five years and the ability to be recharged quickly enough to provide enough range for the typical American driver.
In January 2013 the Department of Energy (DoE) published the "EV Everywhere Grand Challenge Blueprint," which set the technical targets of the PEV program to fall into four areas: battery research and development; electric drive system research and development; vehicle lightweighting; and advanced climate control technologies. The DoE set several specific goals, established in consultation with stakeholders through a series of workshops held during the second half of 2012. The key goals to be met over the next five years to make plug-in electric vehicles competitive with conventional fossil fuel vehicles are:
- Cutting battery costs from their current US$500/kWh to US$125/kWh
- Eliminating almost 30% of vehicle weight through lightweighting
- Reducing the cost of electric drive systems from US$30/kW to US$8/kW
Achieving these goals in the next five years will result in an automotive propulsion battery with five-times the present range capacity, costing one-fifth present lithium-ion batteries. The DoE aim is to level the purchase plus operating (fuel) cost of an all-electric vehicle with a 280 mi (450 km) range with the costs of an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle of similar size. The DoE expects than even before the latter goals are met, the 5-year cost of ownership of most plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and of all-electric vehicles with shorter ranges, such as 100 mi (160 km), will be comparable to the same cost of ICE vehicles of similar size.
In order to achieve these goals, the DoE is providing up to US$120 million over the next five years to fund the new Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), a research center led by the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. JCESR is a consortium of five DOE national labs, five universities, and four private-sector enterprises, and it is being likened to the Manhattan Project of battery technology.
An initial progress report for the initiative was released in January 2014. Four key successes of the first year of the initiative were reported:
- DOE research and development reduced the cost of electric drive vehicle batteries to US$325/ kWhr, 50% lower than 2010 costs.
- In the first year of the Workplace Charging Challenge, more than 50 U.S. employers joined the Challenge and pledged to provide charging access at more than 150 sites.
- DOE investments in EV Everywhere technology topped US$225 million in 2013, addressing key barriers to achieving the Grand Challenge.
- Consumer acceptance of electric vehicles grew: 97,000 plug-in electric vehicles were sold in 2013, nearly doubling 2012 sales.
- Workplace Charging Challenge
In January 2013, during the Washington Auto Show, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced an initiative to expand the EV Everywhere program with the "Workplace Charging Challenge." This initiative is a plan to install more electric vehicle charging stations in workplace parking lots. There are 21 founding partners and ambassadors for the program, including Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, Nissan, Tesla Motors, 3M, Google, Verizon, Duke Energy, General Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, Siemens, Plug In America, and the Rocky Mountain Institute. The initiative's target is to increase the number of U.S. employers offering workplace charging by tenfold in the next five years. Initially, the DoE will not provide funding for this initiative.
U.S. military
The U.S. Army announced in 2009 that it will lease 4,000 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) within three years. The Army plans to use NEVs at its bases for transporting people around the base, as well as for security patrols and maintenance and delivery services. The Army accepted its first six NEVs at Virginia's Fort Myer in March 2009 and will lease a total of 600 NEVs through the rest of the year, followed by the leasing of 1,600 NEVs for each of the following two years. With a full eight-hour recharge, the NEVs can travel 30 miles (48 km) at a top speed of 25 mph (40 km/h).
U.S. Air Force officials announced, in August 2011, a plan to establish Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, as the first federal facility to replace 100% of its general purpose fleet with plug-in electric vehicles. As part of the program, all Air Force-owned and -leased general purpose fleet vehicles on the base will be replaced with PEVs. There are approximately 40 eligible vehicles, ranging from passenger sedans to two-ton trucks and shuttle buses. The replacement PEVs include all-electric, plug-in hybrids, and extended-range electric vehicles. The initiative would not include force protection, tactical and emergency response vehicles. The program is also subject to environmental review. Electrification of Los Angeles AFB's general purpose fleet is the first step in a Department of Defense effort to establish strategies for large-scale integration of PEVs.
By May 2013, it was announced that, as part of a test program created in January 2013, 500 plug-in electric vehicles with vehicle-to-ground (V2G) technology would be in use at six military bases, purchased using an investment of $20 million. If the program succeeds, there will be 3,000 V2G vehicles in 30 bases.
Safety laws
Due to the low noise typical of electric vehicles at low speeds, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ruled that all hybrids and EVs must emit artificial noise when idling, accelerating to 19 mph (30 km/h) or going in reverse by September 2019.
The Chevrolet Volt and other hybrid and plug-in cars have included a noise generator when operating at low speeds to alert pedestrians to the car's presence since their inception.
Maps Plug-in electric vehicles in the United States
International cooperation
U.S. commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement
As a signatory party to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, the United States government committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, among others, from the transportation sector. Already in 2015, the Federal government had set targets to reduce its own carbon footprint 30% by 2025, and acquire 20% of all new passenger vehicles as zero emission (all-electric of fuel cell) or plug-in hybrid by 2020, and 50% by 2025. These goals are part of the U.S. nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to achieve the worldwide emissions reduction goal set by the Paris Agreement.
U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative
Building on the first-ever U.S.-China Electric Vehicle Forum in September 2009, US and China unveiled the U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative, which will include developing joint standards, building demonstration projects in more than a dozen cities, creating technical roadmaps, and carrying out public education projects. Both nations said they share an interest in accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles in order to reduce oil dependence, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and promote economic growth.
Operating costs and fuel economy
The following table shows the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official ratings for fuel economy (miles per gallon gasoline equivalent) and EPA's estimated out-of-pocket fuel costs for all plug-in electric passenger vehicles rated by EPA in the United States since 2010 up to December 2016.
Air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
Electric cars, as well as plug-in hybrids operating in all-electric mode, emit no harmful tailpipe pollutants from the onboard source of power, such as particulates (soot), volatile organic compounds, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and various oxides of nitrogen. The clean air benefit is usually local because, depending on the source of the electricity used to recharge the batteries, air pollutant emissions are shifted to the location of the generation plants. In a similar manner, plug-in electric vehicles operating in all-electric mode do not emit greenhouse gases from the onboard source of power, but from the point of view of a well-to-wheel assessment, the extent of the benefit also depends on the fuel and technology used for electricity generation. From the perspective of a full life cycle analysis, the electricity used to recharge the batteries must be generated from renewable or clean sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, or nuclear power for PEVs to have almost none or zero well-to-wheel emissions.
EPA estimates
The following table compares tailpipe and upstream CO2 emissions estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for all series production model year 2014 plug-in electric vehicles available in the U.S. market. Total emissions include the emissions associated with the production and distribution of electricity used to charge the vehicle, and for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, it also includes emissions associated with tailpipe emissions produced from the internal combustion engine. These figures were published by the EPA in October 2014 in its annual report "Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends." All emissions are estimated considering average real world city and highway operation based on the EPA 5-cycle label methodology, using a weighted 55% city and 45% highway driving.
For purposes of an accurate estimation of emissions, the analysis took into consideration the differences in operation between plug-in hybrids. Some, like the Chevrolet Volt, can operate in all-electric mode without using gasoline, and others operate in a blended mode like the Toyota Prius PHV, which uses both energy stored in the battery and energy from the gasoline tank to propel the vehicle, but that can deliver substantial all-electric driving in blended mode. In addition, since the all-electric range of plug-in hybrids depends on the size of the battery pack, the analysis introduced a utility factor as a projection of the share of miles that will be driven using electricity by an average driver, for both, electric only and blended EV modes. Since all-electric cars do not produce tailpipe emissions, the utility factor applies only to plug-in hybrids. The following table shows the overall fuel economy expressed in terms of miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (mpg-e) and the utility factor for the ten MY2014 plug-in hybrids available in the U.S. market, and EPA's best estimate of the CO2 tailpipe emissions produced by these PHEVs.
In order to account for the upstream CO2 emissions associated with the production and distribution of electricity, and since electricity production in the United States varies significantly from region to region, the EPA considered three scenarios/ranges with the low end scenario corresponding to the California powerplant emissions factor, the middle of the range represented by the national average powerplant emissions factor, and the upper end of the range corresponding to the powerplant emissions factor for the Rocky Mountains. The EPA estimates that the electricity GHG emission factors for various regions of the country vary from 346 g CO2/kWh in California to 986 g CO2/kWh in the Rockies, with a national average of 648 g CO2/kWh.
Union of Concerned Scientists
2012 study
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published a study in 2012 that assessed average greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. resulting from charging plug-in car batteries from the perspective of the full life-cycle (well-to-wheel analysis) and according to fuel and technology used to generate electric power by region. The study used the Nissan Leaf all-electric car to establish the analysis baseline, and electric-utility emissions are based on EPA's 2009 estimates. The UCS study expressed the results in terms of miles per gallon instead of the conventional unit of grams of greenhouse gases or carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year in order to make the results more friendly for consumers. The study found that in areas where electricity is generated from natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric or renewable sources, the potential of plug-in electric cars to reduce greenhouse emissions is significant. On the other hand, in regions where a high proportion of power is generated from coal, hybrid electric cars produce less CO2-e equivalent emissions than plug-in electric cars, and the best fuel efficient gasoline-powered subcompact car produces slightly less emissions than a PEV. In the worst-case scenario, the study estimated that for a region where all energy is generated from coal, a plug-in electric car would emit greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to a gasoline car rated at a combined city/highway driving fuel economy of 30 mpg-US (7.8 L/100 km; 36 mpg-imp). In contrast, in a region that is completely reliant on natural gas, the PEV would be equivalent to a gasoline-powered car rated at 50 mpg-US (4.7 L/100 km; 60 mpg-imp).
The study concluded that for 45% of the U.S. population, a plug-in electric car will generate lower CO2 equivalent emissions than a gasoline-powered car capable of combined 50 mpg-US (4.7 L/100 km; 60 mpg-imp), such as the Toyota Prius and the Prius c. The study also found that for 37% of the population, the electric car emissions will fall in the range of a gasoline-powered car rated at a combined fuel economy of 41 to 50 mpg-US (5.7 to 4.7 L/100 km; 49 to 60 mpg-imp), such as the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Lexus CT200h. Only 18% of the population lives in areas where the power-supply is more dependent on burning carbon, and the greenhouse gas emissions will be equivalent to a car rated at a combined fuel economy of 31 to 40 mpg-US (7.6 to 5.9 L/100 km; 37 to 48 mpg-imp), such as the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus. The study found that there are no regions in the U.S. where plug-in electric cars will have higher greenhouse gas emissions than the average new compact gasoline engine automobile, and the area with the dirtiest power supply produces CO2 emissions equivalent to a gasoline-powered car rated at 33 mpg-US (7.1 L/100 km).
The following table shows a representative sample of cities within each of the three categories of emissions intensity used in the UCS study, showing the corresponding miles per gallon equivalent for each city as compared to the greenhouse gas emissions of a gasoline-powered car:
2014 update
In September 2014 the UCS published an updated analysis of its 2012 report. The 2014 analysis found that 60% of Americans, up from 45% in 2009, live in regions where an all-electric car produce fewer CO2 equivalent emissions per mile than the most efficient hybrid. The UCS study found several reasons for the improvement. First, electric utilities have adopted cleaner sources of electricity to their mix between the two analysis. The 2014 study used electric-utility emissions based on EPA's 2010 estimates, but since coal use nationwide is down by about 5% from 2010 to 2014, actual efficiency in 2014 is expected to be better than estimated in the UCS study. Second, electric vehicles have become more efficient, as the average model year 2013 all-electric vehicle used 0.325 kWh/mile, representing a 5% improvement over 2011 models. The Nissan Leaf, used as the reference model for the baseline of the 2012 study, was upgraded in model year 2013 to achieve a rating of 0.30 kWh/mile, a 12% improvement over the 2011 model year model rating of 0.34 kWh/mile. Also, some new models are cleaner than the average, such as the BMW i3, which is rated at 0.27 kWh by the EPA. An i3 charged with power from the Midwest grid would be as clean as a gasoline-powered car with about 50 mpg-US (4.7 L/100 km), up from 39 mpg-US (6.0 L/100 km) for the average electric car in the 2012 study. In states with a cleaner mix generation, the gains were larger. The average all-electric car in California went up to 95 mpg-US (2.5 L/100 km) equivalent from 78 mpg-US (3.0 L/100 km) in the 2012 study. States with dirtier generation that rely heavily on coal still lag, such as Colorado, where the average BEV only achieves the same emissions as a 34 mpg-US (6.9 L/100 km; 41 mpg-imp) gasoline-powered car. The author of the 2014 analysis noted that the benefits are not distributed evenly across the U.S. because electric car adoptions is concentrated in the states with cleaner power.
2015 study
In November 2015 the Union of Concerned Scientists published a new report comparing two battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with similar gasoline vehicles by examining their global warming emissions over their full life-cycle, craddle-to-grave analysis. The two BEVs modeled, midsize and full-size, are based on the two most popular BEV models sold in the United States in 2015, the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S. The study found that all-electric cars representative of those sold today, on average produce less than half the global warming emissions of comparable gasoline-powered vehicles, despite taken into account the higher emissions associated with BEV manufacturing. Considering the regions where the two most popular electric cars are being sold, excess manufacturing emissions are offset within 6 to 16 months of average driving. The study also concluded that driving an average EV results in lower global warming emissions than driving a gasoline car that gets 50 mpg-US (4.7 L/100 km) in regions covering two-thirds of the U.S. population, up from 45% in 2009. Based on where EVs are being sold in the United States in 2015, the average EV produces global warming emissions equal to a gasoline vehicle with a 68 mpg-US (3.5 L/100 km) fuel economy rating. The authors identified two main reason for the fact that EV-related emissions have become even lower in many parts of the country since the first study was conducted in 2012. Electricity generation has been getting cleaner, as coal-fired generation has declined while lower-carbon alternatives have increased. In addition, electric cars are becoming more efficient. For example, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt, have undergone improvements to increase their efficiencies compared to the original models launched in 2010, and other even more efficient BEV models, such as the most lightweight and efficient BMW i3, have entered the market.
National Bureau of Economic Research
One criticism to the UCS analysis and several other that have analyze the benefits of PEVs is that these analysis were made using average emissions rates across regions instead of marginal generation at different times of the day. The former approach does not take into account the generation mix within interconnected electricity markets and shifting load profiles throughout the day. An analysis by three economist affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), published in November 2014, developed a methodology to estimate marginal emissions of electricity demand that vary by location and time of day across the United States. The study used emissions and consumption data for 2007 through 2009, and used the specifications for the Chevrolet Volt (all-electric range of 35 mi (56 km)). The analysis found that marginal emission rates are more than three times as large in the Upper Midwest compared to the Western U.S., and within regions, rates for some hours of the day are more than twice those for others. Applying the results of the marginal analysis to plug-in electric vehicles, the NBER researchers found that the emissions of charging PEVs vary by region and hours of the day. In some regions, such as the Western U.S. and Texas, CO2 emissions per mile from driving PEVs are less than those from driving a hybrid car. However, in other regions, such as the Upper Midwest, charging during the recommended hours of midnight to 4 a.m. implies that PEVs generate more emissions per mile than the average car currently on the road. The results show a fundamental tension between electricity load management and environmental goals as the hours when electricity is the least expensive to produce tend to be the hours with the greatest emissions. This occurs because coal-fired units, which have higher emission rates, are most commonly used to meet base-level and off-peak electricity demand; while natural gas units, which have relatively low emissions rates, are often brought online to meet peak demand. This pattern of fuel shifting explains why emission rates tend to be higher at night and lower during periods of peak demand in the morning and evening.
Environmental footprint
In February 2014, the Automotive Science Group (ASG) published the result of a study conducted to assess the life-cycle of over 1,300 automobiles across nine categories sold in North America. The study found that among advanced automotive technologies, the Nissan Leaf holds the smallest life-cycle environmental footprint of any model year 2014 automobile available in the North American market with minimum four-person occupancy. The study concluded that the increased environmental impacts of manufacturing the battery electric technology is more than offset with increased environmental performance during operational life. For the assessment, the study used the average electricity mix of the U.S. grid in 2014. In the 2014 mid-size cars category, the Leaf also ranked as the best all-around performance, best environmental and best social performance. The Ford Focus Electric, within the 2014 compact cars category, ranked as the best all-around performance, best environmental and best social performance. The Tesla Model S ranked as the best environmental performance in the 2014 full-size cars category.
Charging infrastructure
As of 31 January 2016, the United States had 12,203 charging stations across the country, up from 5,678 in March 2013. California led with 2,976 stations, followed by Texas with 686, and Florida with 626. In terms of public charging points, there were 30,669 public outlets available across the country by the end of January 2016, led by California with 9,086 charging points (29.6%), followed by Texas with 1,679 (13.8%), and Florida and Washington state with 1,435 each (11.8%). There were 592 CHAdeMO quick charging stations across the country by April 2014.
Car2Go made San Diego the only North American city with an all-electric carsharing fleet when it launched service in 2011. As of March 2016, the carsharing service has 40,000 members and 400 all-electric Smart EDs in operation. However, due to lack of enough charging infrastructure Car2Go decided to replace all of its all-electric car fleet with gasoline-powered cars starting on 1 May 2016. When the carsharing service started Car2Go expected 1,000 charging stations to be deployed around the city, but only 400 were in place by early 2016. As a result, an average of 20% of the carsharing fleet is unavailable at any given time because the cars are either being charged or because they don't have enough electricity in them to be driven. Also, many of the company's San Diego members say they often worry their Car2Go will run out of charge before they finish their trip.
Plug-in Electric Vehicle Readiness Index
Researchers from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs developed an index that identifies and ranks the municipal plug-in electric vehicle readiness ("PEV readiness"). The evaluation ranked the U.S. 25 largest cities by population along with five other large cities that have been included in other major PEV studies. The rankings also included the largest cities in states that joined California zero-emissions vehicle goal. A total of 36 major U.S. cities were included in the study. The evaluation found that Portland, Oregon ranks at the top of the list of major American cities that are the most ready to accommodate plug-in electric vehicles.
Readiness is the degree to which adoption of electric vehicles is supported, as reflected in the presence of various types of policy instruments, infrastructure development, municipal investments in PEV technology, and participation in relevant stakeholder coalitions. The study also compares cities within states that participate in the Zero Emission Vehicle program, with those that do not, with the objective to understand whether participation in that program has a meaningful impact on PEV readiness.
In order to accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV), many municipalities, along with their parent states, offer a variety of benefits to owners and operators of PEVs to make PEV adoption easier and more affordable. All six cities in the top of the ranking offer purchase incentives for PEVs and charging equipment. Four of the six offer time-of-use electricity rates, which makes overnight charging more affordable. The top-ranking cities also score well in categories such as public charging station density, special parking privileges, access to high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, and streamlined processes for installing charging equipment. Those services and incentives are largely absent from the bottom six cities.
The following is the full ranking of the 36 U.S. cities in 25 states included in the evaluation of PEV readiness:
Markets and sales
Highway legal plug-in electric vehicles
As of December 2017, cumulative sales in the United States totaled 764,666 highway legal plug-in electric cars since the market launch of the Tesla Roadster in 2008, As of December 2016, the American stock represented 28.1% of the global light-duty plug-in stock, down from about 40% in 2014. Sales in the American market are led by California with over 365,000 plug-in electric vehicles sold up until 2017. California accounted for approximately 48% of cumulative plug-in sales in the American market from 2011 to June 2016. The other nine states that follow California's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulations accounted for another 10% of cumulative plug-in car sales in the U.S. during the same period.
As of December 2014, the United States had the world's largest stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, and led annual plug-in car sales in calendar year 2014. By May 2016, the European stock of light-duty had surpassed the U.S. and became the world's largest regional market. By the end of September 2016, the Chinese stock of plug-in passenger cars reached the level of the American plug-in stock. In November 2016, China's cumulative total plug-in passenger vehicles sales had surpassed those of Europe, allowing China to become the market with the world's largest stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, with about 600,000 plug-in passenger cars. As a result, since November 2016 the U.S. has world's third largest stock of plug-in passenger cars. China also surpassed the U.S. and Europe in terms of annual sales of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, both in calendar years 2015 and 2016. IHS Automotive predicted that due to the more aggressive support of the Chinese government toward the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles, China will reach 1 million annual plug-in car sales in 2019, four years before the United States.
National sales increased from 17,800 units delivered in 2011 to 53,200 during 2012, and reached 97,100 in 2013, up 83% from the previous year. During 2014 plug-in electric car sales totaled 123,347 units, up 27.0% from 2013, and fell to 114,248 units in 2015, down 7.4% from 2014. A total of 157,181 plug-in cars were sold in 2016, up 37.6% from 2015, and rose to 194,479 in 2017, up 23.7% from 2016. The market share of plug-in electric passenger cars increased from 0.14% of new car sales in 2011 to 0.37% in 2012, 0.62% in 2013, and reached 0.75% of new car sales during 2014. As plug-in car sales slowed down during the 2015, the segment's market share fell to 0.66% of new car sales, with the all-electric segment flat at 0.41%, while plug-in hybrids declined to 0.25% from 0.34% in 2014. The plug-in market share increased to increased to 0.90% in 2016, and achieved the 1% market share mark for the first time in 2017, with 1.13% of the country's total annual new car sales.
The highest-ever monthly market share for plug-in electric vehicles was achieved in December 2017 with 1.58% of new car sales. The previous record was achieved in September 2017. Monthly sales of plug-in cars in the American market passed the 1% mark for the first time in September 2016 (1.12%). December 2017 is also the best monthly plug-in sales volume on record ever, with 25,149 units delivered. The previous record was set in December 2016 with 23,288 units delivered. Records are usually set in the month of December because of the additional consumers seeking to quickly gain back the federal tax credit of up to US$7,500 on purchases.
As of December 2017, the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid ranked as the all-time best selling plug-in electric car with 133,838 units of both generations, followed by the Tesla Model S all-electric car with 118,817, the Nissan Leaf with 114,827, the Toyota Prius Prime with 65,703 units of both generations, the Ford Fusion Energi with 52,959, the Ford C-Max Energi with 41,649 units, the Tesla Model X with an estimated 39,940 units, and the BMW i3 with 31,017 units. The Leaf passed the Chevrolet Volt as the all-time top selling plug-in in March 2015, but the Volt became once again the best selling plug-in car in the American market in March 2016. In July 2016, the Volt became the first plug-in vehicle in the American market to achieve the 100,000 unit sales milestone. Leaf sales achieved the 100,000 unit milestone in October 2016, becoming the first all-electric vehicle in the country to pass that mark. The Model S achieved the mark of 100,000 sales in the U.S. in June 2017, launched in June 2012, the Model S hit this milestone quicker than both the Volt and the Leaf.
During 2013 sales were led by the Chevrolet Volt with 23,094 units, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 22,610 cars, and the Tesla Model S with about 18,000 units. In 2013 the Model S was the top selling car in the American full-size luxury sedan category, ahead of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (13,303), the top selling car in the category in 2012, and also surpassing the BMW 7 Series (10,932), Lexus LS (10,727), Audi A8 (6,300) and Porsche Panamera (5,421). During the first quarter of 2014, plug-in car sales captured a 3.0% market share of the luxury vehicle segment, of which, the Model S represented 94% of the plug-in sales. In 2014 the Leaf took the lead, with 30,200 units sold, with the Volt ranking second with 18,805, followed by the Model S with 16,689 units. The Tesla Model S, with 25,202 units delivered, was the top selling plug-in car in 2015, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 17,269 units, the Volt with 15,393, and the BMW i3 with 11,024. For a second year on a row, the Model S was the top selling plug-in car with about 29,156 units sold in 2016, followed by the Volt with 24,739, Model X with about 18,028, Ford Fusion Energi with 15,938, and the Nissan Leaf with 14,006. The top five best-selling models in the U.S. accounted for about 65% of total plug-in cars in 2016. Sales in 2017 were led by the Tesla Model S with about 26,500 units, the top selling plug-in car for the third year running, followed by the Chevrolet Bolt (23,297), Tesla Model X (~21,700), Toyota Prius Prime (20,936), and the Chevrolet Volt (20,349), together accounting for 58% of total sales in 2017.
During 2011, all-electric cars (10,064 units) oversold plug-in hybrids (7,671 units), but increased Volt sales, together with the introduction of the Prius PHV and the Ford C-Max, allowed plug-in hybrids to take the lead over pure electric cars during 2012, with 38,584 PHEVs sold versus 14,251 BEVs. Sales of pure electric cars (about 47,600 units) in 2013 were almost even with plug-in hybrids (about 49,000 units), due to large sales of the Tesla Model S and Nissan Leaf during 2013. As of December 2014, cumulative sales of plug-in electric vehicles in the U.S. since December 2010 were led by plug-in hybrids, with 150,946 units sold representing 52.7% of all plug-in car sales, while 135,444 all-electric cars (47.3%) had been delivered to retail customers. During 2015, the all-electric segment grew much faster, with a total of 72,303 all-electric cars sold, up 6.6% year-on-year, while plug-in hybrid were down 22.4% year-on-year, with 42,959 units sold. These results reversed the trend, and as of December 2015, a total of 206,508 all-electric cars and 193,904 plug-in hybrids have been sold since 2010, with all-electrics now representing 51.6% of cumulative sales. The lead of battery electric cars continued in 2016, with 84,246 all-electrics sold, up 18.4% from 2015, representing 53.6% of the plug-in segment 2016 sales, while sales of plug-in hybrids totaled 72,935 unis, up 69.1% from 2015. As of August 2016, the distribution of cumulative sales since 2010 between these two technologies is 52.8% all-electrics and 47.2% plug-in hybrids.
Sales of series production PEVs during its first two years in the U.S. market were lower than the initial expectations. According to a July 2012 study by Pike Research, cumulative sales will reach the 1 million goal set by the Obama Administration only in 2018 instead of 2015. Cumulative plug-in electric car sales since 2008 reached the 250,000 unit milestone in August 2014, and the 500,000 unit milestone in August 2016.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, combined sales of plug-in hybrids and battery electric cars are climbing more rapidly and outselling by more than double sales of hybrid-electric vehicles over their respective 24 month introductory periods, as shown in the graph at the right. A more detailed analysis by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy over the same two-year introductory periods found that except for the initial months in the market, monthly sales of the Volt and the Leaf have been higher than the Prius HEV, and the Prius PHEV has outsold the regular Prius during its 8 months in the market. Over the first 24 months from introduction, the Prius HEV achieved monthly sales of over 1,700 in month 18, the Leaf achieved about 1,700 units in month 7, the Prius PHEV achieved nearly 1,900 sales in month 8, and the Volt achieved more than 2,900 sales in month 23. A 2016 analysis by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) found that 5 years after its introduction, sales of plug-in electric cars in the U.S. continued to outsell conventional hybrids. The analysis considered sales between January 2011 and December 2015.
An analysis by Scientific American found a similar trend at the international level when considering the global top selling PEVs over a 36-month introductory period. Monthly sales of the Volt, Prius PHV and Leaf are performing better than the conventional Prius during their respective introductory periods, with the exception of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which has been outsold most of the time by the Prius HEV over their 36-month introductory periods.
Forecasts
According to Pike Research, global sales of plug-ins will surpass 1 million per year in 2017, after 7 years in the market and almost half the time it took hybrid electric vehicles to reach that sales threshold. As fuel economy standards in the U.S. have become more stringent and push automakers towards hybridization or full electrification, Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecast that 30% of new passenger vehicles in the United States will be plug-in hybrids or full battery electrics by 2030.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its 2017 Annual Energy Outlook 2017 projected that all-electric vehicles sales in the United States will increase from less than 1% in 2016 to 6% in 2040 of total light-duty vehicles sold in the country, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle sales will increase from less than 1% to 4% over the same period. According to the EIA projected sales of light-duty battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will reach 1.5 million in 2025, about 9% of projected total sales of light-duty vehicles.
Key market features
According to Edmunds.com, leasing of plug-in cars instead of purchasing is dominant in the American market, with leasing accounting for 51% of all new all-electric cars and 73% of plug-in hybrids, compared with just 32% of gasoline-powered cars.
As of 2016, the market of used plug-in electric cars is concentrated in California, the state with the biggest pool of used plug-in vehicles, especially all-electrics, followed by Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New York, Oregon and Texas. With the exception of used Teslas, all models depreciate more rapidly than conventionally powered cars and trucks. For all-electric cars depreciation varies between 60% to 75% in three years. In contrast, most conventionally powered vehicles in the same period depreciate between 45% to 50% . The Tesla Model S is more like conventional cars, with three-year depreciation of about 40%. And plug-in hybrids depreciate less than all-electric cars but still depreciate faster than conventionally powered cars.
Researchers from the University of California, Davis conducted a study to identify the factors influencing the decision to adopt high-end battery electric vehicles (BEV), such as the Tesla Model S, as these vehicles are remarkably different from mainstream BEVs. Based on a questionnaire responded by 539 high-end adopters and in-depth interviews with 33 adopters, the 2016 study found that "environmental, performance, and technological motivations are reasons for adoption; the new technology brings a new segment of buyers into the market; and financial purchase incentives are not important in the consumer's decision to adopt a high-end BEV."
Regional markets
- By concentration relative to population
Five states had more than two plug-in vehicles registered per 1,000 people in 2015, of which, three are located in the West Coast. California had the highest concentration with 4.68 PEVs per 1,000 people. Hawaii ranked second (2.94) followed by Washington (2.32), Georgia (2.20), and Oregon (2.04). Mississippi (0.09), Louisiana (0.14), North Dakota (0.15), Arkansas (0.15), and Wyoming (0.16) had the lowest concentration of plug-in cars.
Among the Eastern states, Georgia is the only one with over two PEVs per 1,000 people, likely the result of the generous state incentives that were offered until mid-2015. Other Eastern states with high concentration of plug-ins are Vermont (1.67), Michigan (0.99), Maryland (0.98), Connecticut (0.96), and also the District of Columbia (1.01). Among other regions, Colorado had the highest concentration with 1.09 PEVs per 1,000 people, followed by Arizona (0.93).
As of July 2016, the U.S. average concentration was 1.51 plug-in cars registered per 1,000 people, while California's concentration had increased to 5.83 registrations per 1,000 people. Only Norway exceeds California's plug-in concentration per capita, by 3.69 times, but California narrowly outpaces the Netherlands (5.63), the world's second largest PEV market after Norway in terms of the plug-in segment market share of new car sales.
- By market share of new car sales
During 2013 the top selling all-electric car markets at the state level in terms of their market share of new light-vehicle registrations were Washington (1.4%), California (1.28%) and Hawaii (1.21%), while the U.S. average was 0.32%. During the first half of 2014 the leading states were Georgia (1.6%), California (1.41%) and Washington (1.13%), and the national average remained at 0.32%. In the 12 months between April 2013 and March 2014, the top selling pure electric car metropolitan markets in terms of market share were San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (3.33%), Atlanta (2.15%), Seattle-Tacoma (1.83%), Honolulu (1.71%), and Monterey-Salinas (1.51%).
The following table summarizes the ten states and metropolitan areas leading all-electric car adoption in terms of their market share of new light-vehicle registrations or sales.
A total of 52% of American plug-in electric car registrations from January to May 2013 were concentrated in five metropolitan areas: San Francisco (19.5%), Los Angeles (15.4%), Seattle (8.0%), New York (4.6%) and Atlanta (4.4%). From January to July 2013, the three cities with the highest all-electric car registrations were all located in California, Atherton and Los Altos in the Silicon Valley, followed by Santa Monica, located in Los Angeles County.
California
California is the largest American car market with about 10% of all new car sales in the country. As of December 2017, cumulative sales of plug-in cars totaled 365,286 units, making California the leading plug-in market in the country. The state accounted for approximately 48% of cumulative plug-in sales in the American market from 2011 to June 2016, and also accounted for about 50% of nationwide all-electric car sales and 47% of total plug-in hybrid sales. Plug-in electric cars represented about 0.5% of the passenger fleet on the Californian roads by September 2015.
In 2014 California's PEV market share reached 3.2% of total new car sales in the state, up from 2.5% in 2013, while the national plug-in market share in 2014 was 0.71%. The state's plug-in market share fell to 3.1% in 2015, with the plug-in hybrid segment dropping from 1.6% in 2014 to 1.4%, while the all-electric segment increased to 1.7% from 1.6% in 2014. Still, California's market share was 4.7 times higher than the U.S. market (0.66%), and registrations of plug-in electric cars in the state in 2015 represented 54.5% of total plug-in car sales in the U.S. that year. California's plug-in car market share rose to 3.5% of new car sales in 2016, while the U.S. take-rate was 0.90%. In 2017, California's plug-in market share reached nearly 5%, while the national share was 1.1%.
Until December 2014 California not only had more plug-in electric vehicles than any other American state but also more than any other country in the world. In 2015 only two countries, Norway (22.4%) and the Netherlands (9.7%), achieved a higher plug-in market share than California. Sales of plug-in electric cars in the state passed the 200,000 unit milestone in March 2016. By November 2016, with about 250,000 plug-in cars sold in the state since 2010, China was the only country market that exceeds California in terms of cumulative plug-in electric car sales.
According to Navigant Research, the Los Angeles metropolitan area was the world's largest plug-in electric car city market in 2014. A study from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) published in 2016 found that in 2015 there were 30 cities in California with a plug-in electric car market share between 6% to 18% of new vehicle sales in the state, representing 8 to 25 times that of the U.S. average plug-in market share in 2015. The study found these cities tend to be smaller, and the following twelve have a plug-in market share of 10% or more: Saratoga, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Cupertino, Fremont, Manhattan Beach, Campbell, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, and Berkeley. With the exception of Manhattan Beach, the other eleven cities are located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The ICCT study found that the 30 cities with the highest plug-in electric vehicle uptake underwent the implementation of abundant, wide-ranging electric vehicle promotion programs involving parking, permitting, fleets, utilities, education, and workplace charging. These cities on average have 5 times the public charging infrastructure per capita than the national average. In addition, workplace charging availability in the San Jose metropolitan area is far higher than elsewhere in the U.S. Also, major California public electric power utilities and workplaces are expanding the public charging network to further address consumer confidence and convenience.
According to the ICCT study, higher income is found to be among the factors that are linked to higher electric vehicle uptake, with some cities where the Tesla Model S was the top-selling plug-in electric car with more than a third of overall plug-in sales. Nevertheless, cities with median incomes below US$85,000, such as Berkeley, Alameda, San Jose, Santa Cruz, and Oakland might be more indicative of the growing mainstream plug-in electric vehicle market. These cities have a broader mix of plug-in car sales, such as the Nissan Leaf, Ford C-Max and Fusion Energi, Chevrolet Volt, and Volkswagen e-Golf.
Goals
Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order in March 2012 that established the goal of getting 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in California by 2025. In addition, in September 2014, Governor Brown signed into law bill SB 1275 that created the Charge Ahead California Initiative, and set the goal of placing at least 1 million zero-emission vehicles and near-zero-emission vehicles on the road in California by January 1, 2023. He expects the initiative will help the state to reach the initial goal set for 2025. California's ZEV regulation was first adopted in 1990 as part of the Low Emission Vehicle Program, and it has been modified several times over the years. The ZEV program is under the responsibility of the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The program goal is to reduce the pervasive air pollution affecting the main metropolitan areas in the state, particularly in Los Angeles, where prolonged pollution episodes are frequent.
In January 2018, Governor Brown set a new goal of getting a total of 5 million zero-emission vehicles in California by 2030. As of January 2018, there were 337,483 zero-emission vehicles sold in California.
Sales
Annual registrations of plug-in electric vehicles in California increased from 6,964 units in 2011 to 20,093 in 2012, and reached 42,545 units in 2013. Plug-in car sales during 2014 climbed to 59,485 units representing 3.2% of total new passenger vehicle sales in California that year, and reached 62,217 units in 2015, capturing a market share of 3.1% of new car sales. Sales of plug-in electric cars passed the 250,000 unit milestone in November 2016. Sales totaled 73,573 units in 2016, up 18.3% from 2015, with a market share of 3.5%, and rose to 98,511 in 2017, with a market share of 4.8%. The following table presents annual registrations and market share of new car sales for all-electric and plug-in hybrids sold in California between 2010 and 2017.
California is the leading Volt market and accounted for almost 23% of Volt sales during the second quarter of 2012, followed by Michigan with 6.3% of national sales. The leading regional markets in California were San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, all metropolitan areas notorious for their high congestion levels and where free access to high-occupancy lanes for solo drivers has been a strong incentive to boost Volt sales in the state. As of November 2011 over 60% of the Leafs sold in the U.S. were bought in California. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento were among the top selling markets for Leaf sales during the first eight months of 2013. Nissan noted that in San Francisco the Leaf is among the ten top selling vehicles regardless of powertrain.
California is the largest American market for the Tesla Model S. In March 2013, Tesla Motors reported the delivery of the 3,000th Model S in California, representing around 50% of total Model S sales in the U.S. As of November 2013, with the Model S available nationwide, California continued to lead U.S. sales with a 48% share of national sales. According to Edmunds.com, between January and August 2013 the Model S achieved a high market share of new car sales among the U.S. most expensive ZIP codes, as rated by Forbes. Among the top 25 wealthiest ZIP codes, the highest Model S market shares are all found in California, with Atherton ranking first in the U.S. with a 15.4% share, followed by Los Altos Hills with 11.9%, and Portola Valley with 11.2%. Edmunds' analysis also found that during this period the Model S was the most registered passenger car in 8 of the 25 most expensive American ZIP codes.
The Model S, with 8,347 units sold, ended 2013 as the third best selling luxury car in California after the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series sedans, and captured a 9.8% market share of the Californian luxury and sports segment. During the first half of 2015, with 5,148 units registered, the Model S market share reached 12.0% of the luxury and sports segment in California and ranked third in the segment after the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series sedans.
California is also the leading American market for the BMW i3, with about 3,000 units sold in the state in 2014, representing about half of total U.S. sales that year.
Incentives
California has been a leader in the promotion of plug-in electric vehicles as the state has in place several financial and non-financial incentives. In addition to the existing federal tax credit, PEVs are eligible for a purchase rebate of up to US$2,500 through the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP). Also, battery electric vehicles and initially, the first 40,000 applicants that purchase or lease a plug-in hybrid meeting California's Enhanced Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (Enhanced AT PZEV), are entitled to a clean air sticker that allows the vehicle to be operated by a single occupant in California's carpool or high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV). The white access sticker is reserved for zero-emissions vehicles, while plug-in hybrids use the green sticker.
As of 9 May 2014, the initial 40,000 green stickers available had been issued. The green sticker limit was increased to 55,000 units beginning July 1, 2014, through the budget trailer bill SB 853. In September 2014, law AB 2013 raised the cap for the green stickers from 55,000 to 70,000 new plug-in hybrids. Initially, the green and white clean air stickers were set to expire on January 1, 2015, but in 2013 the expiration date for the stickers was extended to January 1, 2019. As of June 2015, a total of 68,343 green stickers had been issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). In June 2015, bill AB 95 was approved by the State Legislature raising the upper limit from 70,000 to 85,000 green stickers. By December 2015, the 85,000 limited was reached. The DMV continued to accept applications without payment to establish a queue for requesters should an additional amount of green decals be authorized. In September 2016, the budget trailer bill SB-838, and effective from September 13, 2016, removed the limit imposed to the Green Clean Air Vehicle Decal. As of September 2016, both the white and green stickers have the same expiration date, January 1, 2019.
Research performed in 2015 by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation found that access to HOV lanes has a significant impact on plug-in car sales. Researchers linked automobile sales to a sample of more than 7,000 of the 8,057 census tracts in California for the study, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco. They looked at the number of plug-in car sales and the miles of carpool lanes within a 30 mi (48 km) radius of each census tract. The study concluded that the ability to use potentially time-saving HOV lanes prompted the purchase of more than 24,000 plug-in electric cars and hybrids in the four urban areas from 2010 to 2013, or about 40% of the total of such vehicles. The UCLA researcher concluded that without the policy giving plug-in vehicles access to HOV lanes, total plug-in sales in the same study areas would have been only 36,692 for the three-year period.
As part of a package of bills signed into law by Governor Brown in September 2014, through SB 1275 the California Air Resources Board was mandated to draft a financial plan to meet California's goal of 1 million vehicles on the road while making sure that disadvantaged communities can participate. For this purpose CARB has to change the Clean Vehicle Rebate program to provide an extra credit for low-income residents who wish to purchase or lease an electric car. CARB also should provide assistance to carsharing programs in low-income neighborhoods and install charging stations in apartment buildings in those communities. Under SB 1275, low-income residents who agree to scrap older, polluting cars will also get a clean vehicle rebate on top of existing payments for junking smog-producing vehicles.
Another bill signed into law in September 2014, AB1721, grants clean air vehicles free or reduced rates in high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT) lanes. Drivers of clean vehicles already enjoyed discounted rates in some facilities, such the toll to cross the San Francisco Bay Area bridges and to use the State Route 91 Express Lanes in Orange and Riverside Counties. AB 2565 facilitates access to charging stations by requiring commercial and residential property owners to approve installation if the charging station meets requirements and complies with the owner's process for approving a modification to the property. The law makes a term in a lease of a commercial property, executed, renewed, or extended on or after 1 January 2015, void and unenforceable if it prohibits or unreasonably restricts the installation of an electric vehicle charging station in a parking space.
Clean Vehicle Rebate Project
As of 10 March 2014, a total of 52,264 clean vehicle rebates have been issued, for a total of US$110,222,866 disbursed, with only US$3.8 million remaining for fiscal year 2013-2014. The distribution of the rebates issued correspond to 27,210 zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), including both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs); 24,657 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs); 49 commercial zero-emission vehicles (CZEVs); 210 zero-emission motorcycles (ZEMs); and 138 neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs).
The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) notes their figures do not capture all plug-in electric vehicles sold in California because not every PEV owner applies for the rebate. Also, about 2,300 Chevrolet Volts were sold in California before the Volt became eligible for the rebate in February 2012, and therefore, these sales are not accounted in the CVRP database. In terms of market share, plug-in hybrids represented 47.2% of all clean vehicle rebates, while ZEVs, predominantly all-electric cars, represented 52.11% of all rebates issued since January 2011 through early March 2014. Accounting for sales of the 2,300 Volts, the distribution becomes 49.9% for ZEVs and 49.4% for PHEVs. According to the Center for Sustainable Energy, the following are the top five brands receiving the rebates between 2010 and 2015: Chevrolet (21%), Nissan (20%), Tesla Motors (15%), Toyota (14%), and Ford Motor Company (12%).
The following table presents the geographical distribution of the rebates by county and by type of vehicle (ZEV or PHEV) for the top 15 counties, which together represent 93% of all rebates issued by early March 2014. Based on the CVRP database, Southern California is the leading region in plug-in electric vehicle adoption, with over 28,500 rebates issued for PEVs, while the San Francisco Bay Area has benefited with more than 18,300 rebates. Southern California has captured 54.7% of all rebated issued. The top five counties in the state by early March 2014 are Los Angeles (14,420), Santa Clara (7,735), Orange (6,182), San Diego (4,659), and Alameda (3,870). In Southern California plug-in hybrids (15,201) are outselling all-electric cars (13,200), while in the Bay Area electric cars (10,992) are outselling plug-in hybrids (7,249).
In July 2015 California began analyzing to add income-based caps to its plug-in car rebate system. From data gathered through June 2015, it appears higher-income buyers are getting the majority of California rebates. A survey from the second quarter of 2015 showed that about three quarters of rebates went to households earning more than US$99,000 a year. Those with incomes above US$200,000 a year accounted for 26% of total rebates, while those with income under US$99,000 represented 27%. This policy change is expected to primarily affect Tesla Motors, whose lineup starts at US$75,000.
In March 2016 California added income-based caps to its rebate system. Buyers with incomes less than 300% of the Federal poverty level will get up to US$3,000 for a plug-in hybrid, US$4,000 for an all-electric car, and US$6,500 for a hydrogen fuel-cell car and the rebate scales down until Californian buyers with incomes over US$250,000 are no longer are eligible for incentives on hybrids or electric cars, however can get US$5,000 for a hydrogen fuel-cell car. As of March 2016, the Center for Sustainable Energy has issued more than $291 million in the CVRP for over 137,200 vehicles since 2010. The income-base caps went into effect on 1 November 2016. Residents will not be eligible for rebates if their gross annual income exceeds US$150,000 for single tax filers, US$204,000 for head of household filers and US$300,000 for joint filers. These limits do not apply to the purchase of fuel cell electric vehicles, which represent less than 1% of rebate applications.
Georgia
Georgia ranked second in the U.S. after California in terms of total plug-in electric vehicles on the road by mid-2014 . During the first half of 2014 Georgia ranked as the top selling all-electric car market in the U.S. at the state level with a 1.6% share of new light-vehicle registrations, ahead of California (1.41%), and up from 0.94% during 2013. As of August 2014, there were about 12,000 electric vehicles registered in the state, of which, about 80% are registered in metro Atlanta's five core counties. In the 12 months between April 2013 and March 2014, metro Atlanta was the second top selling all-electric car metropolitan market in the U.S., with a market share of 2.15% of total new light-vehicle sales in the state, 5.6 times the national average share of 0.38%. Savannah ranks second in the state after Atlanta, with a market share of 0.13% of total new light-vehicle sales.
Between August 2013 and May 2014, Atlanta was the top U.S. metropolitan market for the Nissan Leaf for eight out of the ten months, and until July 2013, Atlanta was the third largest Leaf market behind San Francisco and Los Angeles. Leaf sales are favored by Georgia's law, which caps sales of electric vehicles sold direct by a manufacturer to 150, setting a restrictive limit to Tesla Model S sales, and the law excluded plug-in hybrids for eligibility to the state's tax credit.
Tax credits
The State of Georgia considers alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) those that run solely on alternative fuel and do not run on regular gasoline. AFVs includes vehicles that operate using battery electricity, propane, natural gas, and hydrogen fuel cell. As incentives to accelerate all-electric vehicle adoption, in addition to the existing US$7,500 federal tax credit, Georgia offers an income tax credit of 20% of the vehicle cost up to US$5,000 for the purchase or leasing of a zero emission vehicle (ZEV). Plug-in hybrids are not eligible for this incentive because sometimes they are powered by electricity from their on-board combustion engine. There is also a 10% tax credit up to US$2,500 for the purchase and installation of qualified electric vehicle charger. This tax credit applies only to non-retail business enterprises and chargers installed at homes do not qualify.
An income tax credit for the purchase of a new commercial medium-duty or heavy-duty AFVs started on July 1, 2015. Medium-duty hybrid electric vehicles also qualify. Eligible medium-duty AFVs with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) between 8,500 to 26,001 lb (3,856 to 11,794 kg) qualify for a credit of up to US$12,000, while heavy-duty AFVs with a GVWR over 26,001 lb (11,794 kg) qualify for a credit of up to US$20,000. The credit is capped at US$250,000 per taxpayer. Qualified AFVs must be purchased before June 30, 2017, remain registered in Georgia for at least five years, and accumulate at least 75% of their annual mileage in Georgia. Up to US$2.5 million in total credits will be available each fiscal year.
Access to HOV lanes
The definition of alternate fuel vehicle for the purposes of an AFV License Plate in Georgia is different from the one for tax credit purposes. The Official Code of Georgia Annotated defines an AFV as a vehicle that has been certified by the EPA in accordance with the Federal Clean Air Act, therefore, both all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are eligible for Georgia's AFV license plate. All vehicles displaying a GA alternative fuel license plate are allowed to use high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV) regardless of number of passengers. Alternative fuel vehicles displaying the proper alternative fuel license plat may obtain a Peach Pass electronic tag that grants them toll-free access to all Peach Pass controlled high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT) lanes.
Time-of-use electricity rates
Georgia Power, the primary utility in Atlanta, offers a time-of-use electric vehicle plan designed for plug-in charging. As of September 2014, the plan has about 1,500 customers statewide. For a monthly fee of US$10, the utility lowers the overnight rate to 1.3 cents per Kilowatt hour (kWh) while raising the peak rate, from 2-7 p.m. from June through September, to 20.3 cents per kWh. There is also a shoulder rate of 6.2 cents per Kwh in between those times. The average U.S. rate is 11.88 cents per kWh.
Charging infrastructure
As of April 2014, Georgia had 238 charging stations with 548 public outlets available across the state. Of these, about 120 public charging stations are located in metro Atlanta, with only about half of these located inside the city limits of Atlanta. Considering the rapid growth of electric cars in the city, there is a shortage of charging infrastructure relative to supply of electric vehicles.
The city of Atlanta is considering legislation to attend the needs of electric car owners and others who want to provide electric vehicle charging at their business, multifamily dwelling or private home. The measure aims to remove a major barrier to owning an electric vehicle by encouraging office and residential landlords to install electric vehicle chargers and reserved parking. Under the proposal, each electric vehicle charging station would be counted as one parking space, and the minimum parking requirement for developers and builders would be reduced by one space for each charging station provided, allowing up to a 10% reduction in minimum parking requirements. The city also wants to simplify the process required to obtain a permit to install electric vehicle chargers and make the spaces more identifiable.
Hawaii
Hawaii has a high potential for mass adoption of plug-in electric vehicles due to the limited driving range imposed by the island geographies, and its high fuel costs, with gasoline prices, as of September 2013, ranging between US$4.25 and US$5.00 a gallon. The number of registered plug-in electric vehicles increased from 581 units in 2011, to 967 in 2012, and reached 1,551 units in June 2013. As of August 2014, a total of 2,821 plug-in highway legal plug-in electric cars have been registered in Hawaii.
In terms of EV adoption, Hawaii ranked in 2013 as the state with the third highest all-electric car market share with 1.21% of new car sales, and during the first half of 2014 ranked fourth with a 1.04% market share. Accounting for sales of pure electric cars between April 2013 and March 2014, the Honolulu metropolitan area ranks as the fourth top selling BEV metro market in the United States, with 1.71% of new car sales.
In January 2011 the state implemented a purchase rebate of up to US$5,000 available for both the purchase of a plug-in electric car purchase and a charging station, but limited to US$4,500 for the vehicle. The rebate ended in May 2012 as high consumer demand depleted the fund. More than 450 rebates were issued totaling about US$2 million. Several efforts to add more funds were unsuccessful.
Maryland
As of December 2015, there were 2,282 all-electric cars registered in Maryland. Sales of the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S account for about 70% of the electrics registered in the state. As part of the incentives to promote electric vehicle adoption, drivers of approved plug-in electric vehicles can use Maryland's high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes at all times, even if they are traveling solo. This incentive is in effect until September 30, 2017.
Plug-in electric vehicles purchased new and titled for the first time between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2017, are eligible for a credit up to US$3,000, calculated as US$125 per kWh of battery capacity. Buyers of PEVs may apply for a tax credit against the imposed excise tax. The credit is returned to the taxpayer in the form of a check from the state. The tax credit is limited to one vehicle per individual and 10 vehicles per business. A qualified vehicle must meet the following criteria:
- Has a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or less;
- Can achieve a maximum speed of at least 55 miles per hour;
- Is a two-, three-, or four-wheeled vehicle;
- Is propelled to a significant extent by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery with a capacity of at least four kilowatt-hours (kWh) in the case of a four-wheeled motor vehicle, or at least two and a half kWh in the case of a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle;
- Has not been modified from original manufacturer specifications; and
- Is purchased after October 1, 2010.
The state also offers a US$900 rebate for buying and installation of wall connectorsfor individuals, US$5,000 for business, or state or local governments, and US$7,000 for retail service station dealers. Between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2016, rebate amounts are equal to the previous amounts, up to 50% of the costs of acquiring and installing qualified chargers.
New York
The stock of plug-in electric vehicles in New York climbed from 1,000 units in early 2012, to over 10,000 plug-in vehicles by mid-September 2,014. The state of New York set the goal to deploy up to 3,000 EV charging stations in public and workplace locations across the state by 2018. As of September 2014, there are about 1,000 charging stations.
Plug-in electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles with a combined fuel economy rating of at least 45 mpg-US (5.2 L/100 km; 54 mpg-imp) and that also meet the California Air Resources Board SULEV emissions standard, are eligible for the Clean Pass Program. Eligible vehicles which display the Clean Pass vehicle sticker are allowed to use the Long Island Expressway HOV lanes, regardless of the number of occupants. Drivers of qualified vehicles may also receive a 10% discount on established E-ZPass accounts with proof of registration. In New York state there are no purchase incentives.
Oregon
As of November 2013, there were about 3,500 plug-in electric vehicles registered in Oregon. In 2013 the state was the fifth top selling all-electric car market in the U.S. at the state level with a 0.89% market share of new light-vehicle registrations, more than twice the national average share of 0.32%. During the first half of 2014 Oregon BEV share fell to 0.67% but continued to rank in the fifth place among the top selling states.
In the 12 months between April 2013 and March 2014, two metropolitan areas in Oregon ranked among the top ten selling all-electric car metropolitan markets in the U.S. Portland ranked eighth with a 1.25% market share of total new light-vehicle sales, ahead of Los Angeles metropolitan area, and Eugene ranked in number 10 with a market share of 0.86%. The national average share during this period was 0.38%.
Incentives
A US$1,500 tax credit for the purchase of a new all-electric vehicle is no longer available. There is a tax credit up to US$750 to cover 25% of the cost of purchasing and installing an electric vehicle charger station, and 35% for business owners. Beginning January 1, 2015, business owners that purchase two or more all-electric vehicles may be eligible for a tax credit of 35% of eligible costs for the incremental cost of purchasing the vehicles. This incentive ends on December 31, 2018.
Electric Avenue
Electric Avenue is a joint research and development initiative of Portland State University (PSU), Portland General Electric (PGE), and the City of Portland. The Electric Avenue was launched in August 2011 to learn about the interaction and performance of charging stations and a variety of electric vehicles. The initiative also aimed to understand the charging preferences and travel patterns of electric vehicle visitors. The charging infrastructure includes quick chargers and both Level 1 and Level 2 charging stations powered by 100% renewable energy from PGE, and offers charging at standard city parking rates. The site comprises eight on street parking spaces with seven available charging stations located along an entire block. The Electric Avenue is located in the south end of downtown Portland, at the PSU's campus adjacent to Portland's Sixth Avenue Transit Mall where light rail trains, electric street cars, buses, cars, bikes, and pedestrians share a well-integrated personal and public transit corridor.
Texas
Texas is the second largest light-duty vehicle market in the U.S. after California, with over 20 million passenger and light truck vehicles registered at the end of 2013. As of May 2014, there were about 5,000 plug-in electric vehicles registered in the state. Accounting for sales of new all-electric vehicles between April 2013 and March 2014, the top three selling metropolitan markets in Texas in terms of market share of total new light-vehicle sales were the Austin metropolitan area with 0.47%, followed by Dallas-Ft. Worth with 0.21% and Houston area with 0.15%. The national average share for the period was 0.38%, with Austin ranking in 15th place, and together with metro Atlanta, the only two cities in the top 15 that are not located on the West Coast.
In November 2013 the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved a rebate program to provide financial incentives up to US$2,500 for the purchase or lease of new eligible vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or plug-in electric drive with battery capacity larger than 4 kWh. The rebate amount for leasing depends on the lease term, only 4-year lease terms are eligible for the full US$2,500, just like new car purchases. Total funding for the program is US$7.7 million, and the maximum number of vehicles allowed is 2,000 units for each plug-in electric drive and natural gas/propane vehicles for the length of the program. Only purchases made on or after May 13, 2014 are eligible to apply for a rebate, and the program ends June 26, 2015 or until funding ends. As of 22 September 2014, there were US$6,7 million remaining in the rebate fund.
Among plug-in cars sold nationwide, the Tesla Model S is not eligible for the rebate because only new PEVs purchased or leased from a dealer or leasing company licensed to operate in Texas may qualify. Tesla Motors is not authorized to sell its vehicles in the state due to its direct-sales business model. But customers can buy directly from the company's website like in any other state.
Texas River Cities Plug-In Electric Vehicle Initiative
Despite the low penetration of plug-in electric vehicles in the state, the Texas River Cities Plug-In Electric Vehicle Initiative (TRC) is one of the most comprehensive plans for electric vehicles and their infrastructure aimed to increase the long-term success of PEV adoption. The TRC initiative encompasses two major metropolitan areas in and around Austin and San Antonio. Austin Energy, one of the project partners, had deployed 239 utility-operated publicly accessible charging stations in the TRC region by 2012. The utility company is the recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy funding for this initiative. The TRC region is projected to have 4,259 PEVs in 2015 and 17,336 in 2020.
Pecan Street demonstration project
This demonstration project is run by the Pecan Street Inc., a University of Texas based research consortium of research and industry partners focused on developing and testing advanced technology, business model, and customer behavior surrounding energy management systems. The project is supported by a US$10.4 million smart grid demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and more than US$14 million in matching funds from the project partners. The demonstration project began in 2010 and is taken place with volunteer residents at the Mueller neighborhood, a planned green community in Austin. The Pecan Street hosts an electric vehicle research program and provides incentives to participants with rebates of US$3,000 and US$7,500 to lease or purchase a PEV that is in addition to the federal tax credits. Through the research program, Pecan Street is studying grid load and monitoring home energy use through management equipment. As a result of the incentive program, Mueller has more plug-in electric vehicles per capita than any other U.S. neighborhood.
General Motors is a sponsor of the Pecan Street demonstration and is supporting the project to learn the charging patterns of plug-in electric car owners, and to study how a residential fleet of electric vehicles might strain the electric grid if all owners try to charge them at the same, which is what the preliminary monitoring found when the plug-in cars return home in the evening. As of June 2013, the community had nearly 60 Chevrolet Volt owners alone thanks to GM's commitment to match the federal government's US$7,500 rebate incentive, which halves the purchase price of the Volt.
Washington
The state set a goal to have 50,000 electric or other clean vehicles on the road by 2020. As of 30 June 2016, there were 30,701 battery-powered and plug-in electric cars registered in Washington. The Seattle metropolitan area concentrated 76% of the state PEV registrations, with 18,154 plug-ins in King County (59%), where the city of Seattle is located, 3,153 in Snohomish County (10.3%), and 2,040 in Pierce County (6.6%). Outside the metro area, Clark County has the largest number of PEV registrations with 1,467 units (4.8%).
Washington was the top selling all-electric car market in the U.S. at the state level in 2013 with a 1.40% market share of new light-vehicle registrations, ahead of California (1.28%). Washington PEV share in 2013 was more than four times the national average share of 0.32%. In the 12 months between April 2013 and March 2014, Seattle-Tacoma metro ranked as the third top selling all-electric car metropolitan market with a 1.83% market share of total new light-vehicle sales, only behind San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (3.33%) and Atlanta (2.15%).
Incentives
New passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles that operate exclusively on electricity, hydrogen, natural gas, or propane are exempt from state motor vehicle sales and use taxes. Qualified vehicles must also meet the California motor vehicle emissions standards, and comply with the rules of the Washington Department of Ecology. The initial sales tax exemption expired on July 1, 2015. The sales tax exemption was renewed on July 1, 2015, for four years, but the incentive was limited to new plug-in cars that cost less than US$35,000. The approved cap excludes what legislators considered as luxury cars such as Tesla Motors and BMW i electric models. The same legislations that extended the incentives through 2019, raised the annual registration renewal fee for plug-in car owners from US$100 to US$150. That annual fee is designed to make electric vehicle drivers contribute toward highway maintenance in lieu of the gas taxes PEVs do not pay.
In April 2016 governor Jay Inslee signed legislation to provide up to about US$3,100 off the purchase or lease of a new car all-electric vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid with at least 30 mi (48 km) of all-electric range - such as the Chevrolet Volt and the BMW i3 REx. The new law also raises the previous purchase price cap to US$42,500, which will allow buyers of the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the next generation Nissan Leaf, and the Tesla Model 3 - all with 200 mi (320 km) of electric range - to be eligible for the incentive. The new law goes into effect on July 1, 2016. Under the updatede scheme, the sales tax exemption applies to the first US$32,000 of the selling price of a qualifying new plug-in electric car, which translates into a tax savings between US$2,600 to US$3,100 for plug-in car buyers depending on where the dealer is located within the state, as the sales tax vary by county. The tax exemption could expire before July 2019 if sales of electric vehicles accelerate because legislators established that the tax break should end the month after 7,500 qualifying vehicles are sold in the state. The state Department of Licensing was directed to start a tally beginning with PEV registrations since July 15, 2015. As of April 2016, the state sales tax is 6.5%, and increases up to 9.8% depending on the county rate.
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) provides a US$500 rebate to the first 5,000 qualified customers for the purchase and installation of Level 2 electric vehicle charging station (EVSE). Eligible applicants must be PSE residential electric schedule 7 customers, must be the registered owner of an electric vehicle, and must install the charging station within a specified timeframe. PSE expects the rebate program to remain available until November 1, 2016, depending on available funds.
Sales by model
As of December 2017, there were 41 highway legal plug-in cars available in the American market for retail sales, 16 all-electric cars and 25 plug-in hybrids. As of December 2016, sales were concentrated to a few models, with only seven selling more than 1,000 units sold in December 2016, and the top 5 best selling plug-in cars accounting for about 65% of total 2016 sales. Car manufacturers are offering plug-in electric cars in the U.S. for retail customers under 19 brands or marques: Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Smart, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo.
As of September 2016, only the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, Tesla's Model S and Model X, BMW i3, Mitsubishi i, Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, Cadillac ELR, and Ford's C-Max and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrids were available nationwide. Several models, such as the Toyota RAV4, Fiat 500e, Honda Fit EV, and Chevrolet Spark EV, are compliance cars sold in limited markets, mainly California, available in order to raise an automaker's fleet average fuel economy to satisfy regulator requirements. As of April 2016, out of the 14 plug-in hybrid models available in the American market, nine were upscale models affordable only for high income customers, namely the BMW X5 xDrive, Audi A3 e-tron, Porsche Cayenne and Panamera S E-Hybrids, Volvo XC90 T8, Mercedes S500, BMW i8, 3 Series iPerformance, and the Cadillac ELR, all priced above US$40,000. Among all-electric cars, the BMW i3, Tesla Model S and Model X are also in the upscale category.
The following table presents key features and cumulative sales of highway-capable plug-in electric cars launched in the American market since 2008 through December 2016.
Car dealers reluctance to sell
With the exception of Tesla Motors, almost all new cars in the United States are sold through dealerships, so they play a crucial role in the sales of electric vehicles, and negative attitudes can hinder early adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. Dealers decide which cars they want to stock, and a salesperson can have a big impact on how someone feels about a prospective purchase. Sales people have ample knowledge of internal combustion cars while they do not have time to learn about a technology that represents a fraction of overall sales. As with any new technology, and in the particular case of advanced technology vehicles, retailers are central to ensuring that buyers, especially those switching to a new technology, have the information and support they need to gain the full benefits of adopting this new technology. A 2016 study indicated that 60% of Americans were not aware of electric cars.
There are several reasons for the reluctance of some dealers to sell plug-in electric vehicles. PEVs do not offer car dealers the same profits as gasoline-powered car. Plug-in electric vehicles take more time to sell because of the explaining required, which hurts overall sales and sales people commissions. Electric vehicles also may require less maintenance, resulting in loss of service revenue, and thus undermining the biggest source of dealer profits, their service departments. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADS), dealers on average make three times as much profit from service as they do from new car sales. However, a NADS spokesman said there was not sufficient data to prove that electric cars would require less maintenance. According to the New York Times, BMW and Nissan are among the companies whose dealers tend to be more enthusiastic and informed, but only about 10% of dealers are knowledgeable on the new technology.
A study conducted at the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS), at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) published in 2014 found that many car dealers are less than enthusiastic about plug-in vehicles. ITS conducted 43 interviews with six automakers and 20 new car dealers selling plug-in vehicles in California's major metro markets. The study also analyzed national and state-level J.D. Power 2013 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) study data on customer satisfaction with new car dealerships and Tesla retail stores. The researchers found that buyers of plug-in electric vehicles were significantly less satisfied and rated the dealer purchase experience much lower than buyers of non-premium conventional cars, while Tesla Motors earned industry-high scores. According to the findings, plug-in buyers expect more from dealers than conventional buyers, including product knowledge and support that extends beyond traditional offerings.
In 2014 Consumer Reports published results from a survey conducted with 19 secret shoppers that went to 85 dealerships in four states, making anonymous visits between December 2013 and March 2014. The secret shoppers asked a number of specific questions about cars to test the salespeople's knowledge about electric cars. The consumer magazine decided to conduct the survey after several consumers who wanted to buy a plug-in car reported to the organization that some dealerships were steering them toward gasoline-powered models. The survey found that not all sales people seemed enthusiastic about making PEV sales; a few outright discouraged it, and even one dealer was reluctant to even show a plug-in model despite having one in stock. And many sales people seemed not to have a good understanding of electric-car tax breaks and other incentives or of charging needs and costs. Consumer Reports also found that when it came to answering basic questions, sales people at Chevrolet, Ford, and Nissan dealerships tended to be better informed than those at Honda and Toyota. The survey found that most of the Toyota dealerships visited recommended against buying a Prius Plug-in and suggested buying a standard Prius hybrid instead. Overall, the secret shoppers reported that only 13 dealers "discouraged sale of EV," with seven of them being in New York. However, at 35 of the 85 dealerships visited, the secret shoppers said sales people recommended buying a gasoline-powered car instead.
The ITS-Davis study also found that a small but influential minority of dealers have introduced new approaches to better meet the needs of plug-in customers. Examples include marketing carpool lane stickers, enrolling buyers in charging networks, and preparing incentive paperwork for customers. Some dealers assign seasoned sales people as plug-in experts, many of whom drive plug-ins themselves to learn and be familiar with the technology and relate the car's benefits to potential buyers. The study concluded also that carmakers could do much more to support dealers selling PEVs.
Future trends
According to a 2011 study by Pike Research, annual sales of plug-in electric vehicles in the U.S. were predicted to reach 360,000 vehicles by 2017. The study projected that the highest sales between 2011 and 2017 would take place in California, New York and Florida. In 2012, and as sales have fallen short of projections, Pike Research projected that annual sales of plug-in electric vehicles in the U.S. will reach 400,073 units in 2020, with California as the state with the highest PEV sales over the remainder of this decade, with nearly 25% of all PEVs sold in the United States between 2012 and 2020. In terms of market share, California will be followed by New York, Florida, Texas, and Washington, but Hawaii is expected by 2020 to have the highest penetration rate of PEVs as a percentage of all light duty vehicle sales. California is predicted to have four of the top ten metropolitan areas for PEV sales: Los Angeles-Long Beach, San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, and Greater Sacramento. Pike Research forecasts that cumulative sales of PEVs in the largest 102 American cities will reach more than 1.8 million from 2012 through 2020, with a share of more than 25% of all annual sales concentrated in the top five metropolitan areas for PEV sales: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland.
In a separate analysis published in September 2013, Navigant Research forecasts that PEVs will represent a 2.4% market share of total new vehicle sales in the United States in 2022. Navigant also predicted that Hawaii will have the highest concentration of plug-in electric vehicle sales in the U.S., with 10.1% of total Hawaiian new light-duty vehicle sales in 2022; followed by Northern California with 9.7%, California as a whole will be 6.0%, and Oregon with 5.8%. Hawaii has a high potential for mass adoption of plug-in electric vehicles due to the limited driving range imposed by the islands size and its high fuel costs. In an updated report published in April 2014 Navigant forecasts that the United States will remain the largest national market for light-duty plug-in electric vehicles during the next 10 years, with the PEV segment growing at a compound annual growth rate of 16.3% between 2014 and 2023, predicting that annual PEV sales in the U.S. will exceed 514,000 in 2023.
According to forecasts made by Pike Research in January 2013, the United States was expected to continue to be the largest market for PEVs in 2020, but the European market was anticipated to have a higher market penetration (4.0% market share) due to its higher gasoline prices and supportive government policies, while Japan was expected to become the largest market for hybrid electric vehicles. A similar trend was predicted by Navigant Research in a geographical forecast published in April 2014. Navigant predicted that by 2023 the fleet of light duty plug-in electric vehicles in use in Oslo is expected to represent 10.7% of the city's total registered light-duty fleet, 7.7% in Amsterdam, and 2.5% in Paris. Navigant also predicts that by 2020 annual PEV sales in the Greater Tokyo Area will surpass Los Angeles, currently the city with the largest PEV market. The PEV fleet in Tokyo is expected to reach a market penetration of 2.3% of the city's light-duty stock in 2023, and become the world's largest PEV city market with a PEV stock of around 260,000 in 2023, while Los Angeles is expected to have a stock of over 250,000 PEVs.
Neighborhood electric vehicles
The chart and table are based on Department of Energy tables. (Table V1 and the Historical Data.) Figures for electric vehicles do not include privately owned vehicles, but do include Low-Speed Vehicles (LSVs), defined as "four-wheeled motor vehicles whose top speed is ...20 to 25 mph (32 to 40 km/h) ... to be used in residential areas, planned communities, industrial sites, and other areas with low density traffic, and low-speed zones." LSVs, more commonly known as neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs), were defined in 1998 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 500, which required safety features such as windshields and seat belts, but not doors or side walls.
Since 1998 Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), the market leader in North America, has sold more than 50,000 GEM battery-electric vehicles worldwide as of October 2015.
Modern production timeline
This is a list of all highway-capable plug-in electric vehicles available for retail customers in the U.S. for sale or leasing since the early 1990s.
1990-2003
- Chrysler TEVan (1993-1995)
- General Motors EV1 (1996-2003)
- Toyota RAV4 EV (1997-2003)
- Honda EV Plus (1997-1999)
- Nissan Altra (1998-2001)
- Dodge Caravan EPIC (1999 to 2001)
- Ford TH!NK City (1999-2003)
2008-2017
- 2008
- Tesla Roadster (production ended in 2011)
- 2009
- Mini E (demonstration program ended in 2011)
- 2010
- Chevrolet Volt (replaced by second generation in 2015)
- Nissan Leaf
- Navistar eStar utility van
- 2011
- Th!nk City (no longer in production)
- Smart ED 2nd gen (available for leasing only)
- Wheego Whip LiFe (no longer in production)
- Fisker Karma (no longer in production)
- Azure Transit Connect Electric delivery van (no longer in production)
- Mitsubishi i (Mitsubishi i MiEV in the rest of the world)
- Smith Newton delivery truck
- 2012
- BMW ActiveE (demonstration program ended in 2014)
- Coda (no longer in production)
- Ford Focus Electric (limited production)
- Toyota Prius PHV (production ended in 2015)
- Boulder DV-500 delivery truck
- Amp Electric Vehicles (SUV and light truck conversions)
- Tesla Model S
- Honda Fit EV (limited production)
- Toyota RAV4 EV (2nd gen) (limited production)
- Ford C-Max Energi
- 2013
- Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid
- Ford Fusion Energi
- Scion iQ EV (limited production available only for carsharing fleets, not for retail customers)
- Smart electric drive 3rd gen (available with battery leasing option)
- Chevrolet Spark EV (limited production)
- Fiat 500e (limited production)
- Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid
- Cadillac ELR (limited production)
- 2014
- BMW i3
- Porsche 918 Spyder (limited edition)
- Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive
- BMW i8
- Volkswagen e-Golf
- Kia Soul EV
- Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid
- 2015
- Mercedes-Benz S 500 Plug-in Hybrid
- Volvo XC 90 PHEV
- Tesla Model X
- Bolloré Bluecar (available only for the BlueIndy carsharing fleet)
- Chevrolet Volt (second generation)
- BMW X5 xDrive40e
- Hyundai Sonata PHEV
- Audi A3 Sportback e-tron
- 2016
- BMW 330e iPerformance
- Mercedes-Benz GLE 550e Plug-in Hybrid
- Toyota Prius Prime (second generation Prius PHEV)
- Chevrolet Bolt EV
- BMW 740e iPerformance
- Mercedes-Benz C 350e Plug-in Hybrid
- 2017
- Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
- BMW 530e iPerformance
- Tesla Model 3
- Kia Optima PHEV
- Honda Clarity Electric
- Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid
- Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid
- Mini Cooper S E ALL4
- Hyundai Ioniq Electric
- Cadillac CT6 Plug-in Hybrid
- Volvo S90 T8 Plug-in Hybrid
- Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV
Future cars
The following is a list of plug-in hybrids with market launch scheduled between 2017 and 2020.
- 2018
- Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in
- Karma Revero (updated version of the Fisker Karma)
- Mercedes-Benz E 350e Plug-in Hybrid
- Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e 4MATIC
- Audi Q7 e-tron Quattro
- Audi Q6 e-tron Quattro
- Jaguar I-Pace
- Bentley Continental Plug-In Hybrid
- Aston Martin RapidE
- 2019
- Audi Q8 e-tron Quattro
- 2020
- Porsche Mission E
- Mercedes-Benz Generation EQ
U.S. electric vehicle organizations
- CalCars (The California Cars Initiative)
- Drive Oregon
- Electric Auto Association (EAA) (North America)
- Electric Auto Association of Northern Nevada
- Electric Auto Association Silicon Valley
- Electric Car Society
- Humboldt Electric Vehicle Association
- NEDRA National Electric Drive Racing Association
- Oregon Electric Vehicle Association
- Plug In America
- PHEV Research Center
- Project EVIE
- RechargeIT (Google.org)
- San Francisco BayLEAFs
- Seattle Electric Vehicle Association
- World Electric Vehicle Association
See also
References
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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