The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released information about the number of registered electric vehicles (EVs) as of Dec. 31, 2023. All 50 states’ data was pulled from state records with help from Experian Information Solutions.
The Alternative Fuel Data Center from the United States Department of Energy website shows the number of vehicles in a bar graph. California had 1.2 million registered EVs in the state. That comes as no surprise, thanks to the state government’s regulations. The Golden State is slightly over a decade away from ending all gas-powered auto sales, and its citizens are getting ahead of the curb.
Photo Courtesy Alternative Fuel Data Center
Florida came in second with around 255,000 registered EVs, and Texas with approximately 230,000.
Florida has also been increasing its charging stops, with just under 3,500 public stations in the Sunshine State.
Texas is boosted by being the headquarters of Tesla and having numerous renewable energy projects deployed across the state, in addition to multiple EV charging stations.
The states with the least EV registrations shouldn’t be surprising, either. The Dakotas, Alaska, West Virginia, and Wyoming were the only states with low enough numbers that didn’t receive a bar on the NREL graph.
Even though these states are all increasing their renewable energy capacity, EV adoption has yet to make serious progress. These states are some of the most rural and mountainous areas of the country. The charging infrastructure is probably not up to scale yet, and there is likely EV apprehension among residents.
However, some mountainous and rural states are making progress. Montana has about 4,600 EVs registered, and Colorado has a little more than 90,000. Oregon and Washington had about 64,000 and 152,000, respectively. Midwest states like Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa have about 99,500, 26,000, and 9,000, respectively.
Southern states like North Carolina (more than 70,000) are also coming around to EVs. Georgia not only has around 92,400 EVs, but it’s also becoming an EV manufacturing hub as Hyundai and Kia open plants in the state.
A March survey from AAA said that EVs went through a slight downturn in sales. Hybrids garnered more interest as a zero-emission driving solution. EV sales have rebounded since then, but more need to be purchased to get the country on track to its 2050 decarbonization goal.
Photo Courtesy Michael Marias
Trucking has been one industry that is slowly adopting EVs. Hauling freight can strain EV batteries, causing the range to drop. However, more companies are ordering electric trucks or vans. There are around 3.5 million total EVs registered in the country right now.
Light EV ownership is important to making the U.S. more carbon neutral. Considerable evidence suggests EV adoption, combined with the effects of renewable energy, leads to a rapid drop in air pollution and carbon emissions. Decarbonizing transportation is crucial to the U.S. hitting its carbon neutrality goals, and more industries and civilians switching to electric power is high on the list.
