I live in a suburb of Sacramento. When I'm out, it's an odd trip that I don't see a dozen or more Tesla. I'll see at least a few Clarity, even, over the course of a week. I didn't realize what a bubble I'm in until I saw this article: https://electrek.co/2022/08/24/current-ev-registrations-in-the-us-how-does-your-state-stack-up/ California's share of the EV market is an outlier.
California has a population that is 1/3 greater than that of Texas and nearly twice that of Florida. It also has a completely different demographic than either of those states. Additionally, it is the original Section 177 state and has aggressively incentivized the adoption of electric vehicles for years. Quite likely, it has the most extensive network of charging stations as well. When analyzed in the context of early adoption, a large population, generous incentives and an appropriate demographic, the outcome doesn’t seem surprising at all.
To me, its actually less than I would have thought. Same percentage of the population as Florida, way lower a percentage than Washington. I guess people do actually make choices that make economic sense (ie low electric rates in Washington and Florida).
This page has a representation of EV's, PHEV's, gas, diesel, etc. by state as a function of count, market share or per capita. https://afdc.energy.gov/transatlas/#/?view=percent&fuel=ELEC&state=US
I thought at first this was very different than the first chart presented. However now I see that the first chart is on a logarithmic scale, so California is indeed the EV capital whether total numbers or per capita.
It is my opinion that EVs have two particularly advantages in heavy traffic: no exhaust and low power consumption at idle. I remember horrific smog in the LA basin and traffic crawling from Santa Ana all the way uptown.
Living in Okla, Clarities are extremely rare. I've seen 2 in the past 3.5 years. At least resale values are good, Carmax has offered me the same amount I paid for my Clarity back in Mar 2019. Have ordered a 2023 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4xe, will be selling the Clarity when the Jeep is delivered.
