If you’ve been following and/or are caught up on EV adoption news, you might have come to a conclusion that EVs are being bought up by the populace left and right. And some reporting is making it seem that way. But, you have to dig deeper to get the real story on EV adoption here in the U.S. Data from Axios shows that the drivers behind the country’s EV adoption, live in just a handful of states.
Bloomberg reported in July that the U.S. had reached a tipping point in EV sales — making up five percent of new vehicle sales. But it’s not that simple. The data from Axios shows just 12 states are leading this EV adoption.
If you were to guess California is number one, you’d be right. Data shows that 38.9 percent of all EVs in the country are in California. But that large percentage is not what it appears to be. Digging deeper, Axios shows that less than two percent of all vehicles on the road in California are EVs. And for 563,070 registered EVs in 2021 to represent less than two percent of vehicles on the road, really demonstrates just how many cars California has. Florida’s EV adoption comes in a surprising second at 6.7 percent.
And of course, Tesla dominates EV sales. S&P Global Mobility analyst Tom Libby told Axios that Tesla has brand loyalty that’s “ higher than any brand in the industry.” And it shows. Just in May of 2022 alone, of the 53,000 EVs that were registered nationwide, over 26,000 were Teslas.
The data highlights an uncomfortable truth about EV proponents and automakers, who have gone all in with billions of dollars in investments on EVs. And it’s a truth they might not like. From Axios:
“We’re a long way from a “tipping point” for electric vehicles. In fact, the EV revolution has barely begun in the U.S. and it’s playing out in super-slow motion — even in places where plug-in cars make the most sense. But with more than 278 million cars, SUVs, and pickups overall on U.S. roads, the historic shift away from gasoline will take years, if not decades, to play out.”
While EV adoption has looked promising, we as a country looking towards electrification still have a long road ahead of us.